Rising Stars: Meet Happy Landing of East

Today we’d like to introduce you to Happy Landing. Them and their team share their story with us below:

HAPPY LANDING is a folk rock band from Oxford, MS. The band is made up of Matty Hendley (lead singer, Jackson, MS), Keegan Lyle (singer, Knoxville, TN), Wilson Moyer (bass, Franklin, TN), Andrew Gardner (fiddle, Oxford, MS), and Jacob Christensen (Drums, Fort Mill, SC). Matty Hendley, the band’s frontman, will answer these questions.

Like most indie bands, we got our start with very humble beginnings. We got together as friends in a tiny room that our drummer, Jacob, and I shared as students at Ole Miss. The five of us piled in our bedroom and started experimenting with this idea of a new folk sound – a little punk, some rock, all with an underlying folk vibe. Those practices’ energy vibrated the room’s walls and annoyed the neighbors, but we knew we had found something special.

We started playing around our college town, and by the time we played at our first actual venue in April 2021, word had spread on campus. We sold out back-to-back nights at our favorite venue in Oxford, Proud Larry’s. We recently graduated from Ole Miss and moved to Nashville, where we have been for over a year. In 2022, we were signed by a touring agency. We completed a 50-show tour this past summer and fall. We opened for bands such as The Head and The Heart, The 502s, Boy Named Banjo, Chris Renzema, and The Stews.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We have had no shortage of challenges. We wouldn’t recommend starting a band amid a global pandemic – although it did give us some time to grow in friendship and hone our sound and what we wanted to do with this project.

Please tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others.
What sets us apart from other bands are our high-energy live performances. We all play multiple instruments, and we sing four-part harmonies. We want to relate to kids who love entertaining young adulthood’s wild and free nature while also portraying a positive and joyful message in our music.

Before we go, can you share it with us?
The name HAPPY LANDING comes from my grandfather, who would tell his grandkids stories of how when they would jump out of airplanes in the army, they would wish each other a “Happy Landing.” He named his Happy land Landing a place where his family could have a happy place to land. That place is very special to me, as that’s where I started my first band with my cousins, playing at family reunions. Happy Landing plans to release a new EP in 2023, followed by a national tour. Thank you! We want to share this American experience with everyone, and we hope folks can happily land upon our music.

Contact Info:

• Website: Website launching in 2 weeks
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happylandingxo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happylandingxo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjWxVmk1JZOUI_zQMq4jq0w
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Jsv2nBcTfKpM9dbZcBbk6?si=2o0VpFb9Qe-X7ORQvNl6Ug

Image Credits
Photos by Dylan Basden