Songstress Moen makes Charleston debut

Overview:

Chicago-based musician Elizabeth Moen is currently touring the Southeast in a duo configuration with her friend and frequent collaborator Hayden Holbert.

Chicago-based musician Elizabeth Moen is currently touring the Southeast in a duo configuration with her friend and frequent collaborator Hayden Holbert. The two are out exploring in a mobile home suitable for musical adventures — a refurbished old bus from Holbert’s farm.

On Feb. 4, Moen’s soulful vocal prowess and classic songwriting sensibilities will be front and center when this reimagined bus rolls into town for the pair’s intimate performance (and Lowcountry debut) at the Charleston Pour House.

Moen told the Charleston City Paper she was inspired to teach herself how to play guitar while growing up in a very small town in Iowa, absorbing her parents’ rich record collection which included Willie Nelson, the Rolling Stones and Sam Cooke, among others.

While she appreciates the idea of musical lineage and everything she learned along the way from her heroes, Moen isn’t burdened by any arbitrary expectations or boundaries.

“To be honest, I don’t think much about it,” she said. “When I go into making a song, I don’t envision a certain genre or sound. I just let it be whatever it ends up being.”

That approach is perhaps what makes Moen’s work so endearing. While mostly flying under the radar, she has produced several heartfelt, honest and rather well-received LPs and EPs. Moen also dropped the playful double-sided single “What’s the Rush?” just before hitting the road this time around.

According to Moen, this latest offering was a long time coming, as she had been sitting on the idea for nearly five years before some like-minded cohorts helped her get it to the finish line.

“I adore classic country and cheeky duets,” she said. “I was writing the line ‘love sits on a platter’ and the concept of [love] being food. The song quickly turned into a story of two people sitting at a table with loss, as if it were also a person. Loss eventually leaves, but the two people are afraid it could come back. They’re scared to eat the love on the table, but in the end, deciding that the fear of it not working isn’t worth not taking a bite.

“I was so happy my friends Ella Valentine, aka Ella Williams of Squirrel Flower, and Becca Mancari were down to join on the fast and slow versions. Their beautiful voices add so much to this lovey-dovey tune.”

A magical, musical ride

In addition to excavating the many nuances of her existing catalog, Moen said she has another (as-yet-unreleased) album’s worth of new tunes ready to sprinkle into her Lowcountry set.
“People always say this or feel like they need to say it about a new body of work, but I sincerely think this next one is going to change something for me in a big way. These are my best songs, and I can’t wait to start their journey.”

For Moen, bringing original material — both old and new — to audiences is the part of the job that is most magical. “I love writing and recording, but live performance is my favorite part of being an artist. I love the connection it brings. The songs are like a pie, and it feels like I can actually eat it once I’m with other people at the show.”

Ultimately, Moen has realized that “making it” in this field requires a steady, long-term effort, and she is all in.

“I used to think once you get to one level, it’s all easy,” she said. “It’s not easy, but anyone who gets to make any kind of way in art is extremely lucky. I didn’t come from any money, connections or really anything, so any dollar made is appreciated and earned from working hard in this business.

“More importantly, any new fan made is a joy. If I can make someone feel something from a song or show, that’s success to me.”

Elizabeth Moen Duo plays at the Pour House at 8 p.m. Feb. 4. Tickets are $13 to $15.