Heymoonshaker

Heymoonshaker is a blues duo made up of Andy Balcon and Dave Crowe. The group forms in New Zealand and the United Kingdom and has been active since 2008. Its music centres on blues, combining raw guitar, beatboxing and vocal performance, with elements that also draw on roots music, heavy rock and roll and dubstep.

Formation and style

Balcon and Crowe meet as street performers in New Zealand in 2009, where they begin blending blues with electronic bass music for passing crowds on the South Island. After taking different travelling routes, they reconnect in Sweden in the Northern Hemisphere and start developing the project for the stage. Their live sound depends on the contrast between Crowe’s beatboxing and Balcon’s vocals and guitar, with the two performers described as creating a kind of musical sparring on stage.

The duo describes its approach as beatbox blues, and its work stays rooted in the blues even as the sound expands into louder and more varied territory. The group takes inspiration from artists including Led Zeppelin and Muddy Waters.

Performances and touring

Heymoonshaker performs in small venues and on festival stages. It appears at events including Marsatac Festival in Marseille, where it supports Ghostpoet, De La Soul and Baxter Dury, and receives positive notice for its performance. In France, the duo plays venues such as Bataclan in Paris, where it supports Walk Off The Earth, and Le Divan Du Monde, where it sells out a headline show. Festival appearances also include Printemps de Bourges, Cognac Blues Festival, Festival d’Été in Canada, Fusion Festival in Germany, Paléo Festival in Switzerland, WOMAD, Glastonbury and Sziget Festival in Hungary.

Recording and online presence

The duo releases its first EP, Shakerism, in March 2013. The eight-track release includes songs from earlier recordings alongside previously unreleased material. It is later reissued as Shakerism (Definitive Edition), which adds the track “Colly Drop” and a solo beatbox piece recorded in a studio in France. Heymoonshaker also builds a large YouTube audience through videos of its street and live performances.