NIKO MOON

                                                                      W/ ZAC BROWN

                                                               "Heaven Has A Bar" 

                                                                RCA Records Nashville

Widely recognized for his laid back, modern country infused style and round the campfire anthems that radiate positivity, Niko Moon has built a solid artist resume on the back of songs such as “Good Time,” “Easy Tonight,” and “Paradise To Me.”

However, before he walked the artist route, Moon was a songwriter pounding the Nashville pavement and trying to find his path when the Zac Brown Band came calling. Recording several songs that Niko co-wrote, ZBB gave him #1 credits on “Beautiful Drug,” “Homegrown,” and “Lovin’ You Easy,” while providing stellar foreshadowing of where his path would eventually lead with “Castaway.”

With his newest release, “Heaven Has A Bar,” we see Moon teaming back up with Zac Brown, only this time on a song of his own.

Sticking snuggly in that good time zone, he sets the summertime in motion on the back of another insatiable groove that keeps you swaying and drifting alongside him as he sings us through a relatable first verse where he fully admits that he’s more Saturday than Sunday, more sinner than saint, and that while he may not make it up to heaven’s pearly gates, if he does then his prayer request is – as the title suggests - that heaven has a bar.

Injecting appreciative nods to the rich tapestry that makes Nashville “Music City,” Moon punches into the chorus with descriptions of what he hopes heaven’s bar would look like with a Friday night atmosphere and a band full of Opry legends jamming with an angel on steel guitar.

Brown slides in to handle the second verse, giving the song a true collaborative feel as he piggybacks off the descriptive lyrics of the chorus by continuing to describe the hope of what heaven’s bar could be like, singing of there being no closing time, the drinks always being on the house, and the water turning into wine.

Without question, Niko Moon has a niche for these types of feel-good songs, but there are always little idiosyncrasies to look for in the craftiness of his songwriting. In this one, it’s how he switches lines of the final chorus from simple, vague descriptions of an Opry band jamming to a tip of his hat in respect to specific legends when he namechecks George Jones, Johnny Cash, and Merle Haggard.

The teaming of Niko Moon and Zac Brown gives us a warm, fuzzy moment that in many ways sees the student reaching back to the teacher with a pure, heartfelt thank you. Wrap that truly special moment together with another song that you just can’t stop playing on repeat, and Niko Moon has just delivered  another song that we should see racing up the charts throughout the warmer weather months. 

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)