Moon Music is a group of adults with learning disabilities, volunteers, and Seonaid Murray their Outreach Officer, aged 21 – 71ish. They live in Belfast, Dundonald, Larne, Portadown, Bangor, Spain, Scotland, New Jersey and New York.
Moon Music is a weekly Music Workshop that runs as part of the Moon Base Projects for and by people with learning disabilities – run by The Black Box, Belfast. Their ethos is to provide a safe, positive environment for people to express themselves creatively through Music and the Arts.
They are a big eclectic mix of people – their Outreach Officer is a Community Musician, there are Clowns, Violinists, Guitarists, Singers, Drummers and Dancers in their group!
What genre / style do you create in?
Moon Music is every colour of Music you could think of – anything goes!
What would you be best known for?
Moon Music have made an E.P. ‘Moon Waves’ and they also perform regularly across Belfast and beyond as part of Community Festivals and Events.
What would you consider your biggest achievement?
Moon Music are all very proud of their first E.P. ‘Moon Waves’, their first Music Video for ‘Red Ribbon’ created over Lockdown! And in general – we are so proud of how inclusive we are – there are no barriers to creating Music with us!
What would you consider to be the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your industry?
Moon Music think that there should definitely be more opportunities for people with learning disabilities to perform and showcase their work – we love to make sure our voices are all heard – loudly!
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
For Moon Music – funding is probably the biggest challenge – we find we are applying for funding all of the time – and although it is great that there are so many opportunities for funding – it sometimes gets in the way of the Music Making! If we could apply to one central fund or have some statutory funding that would be great!
Tell us a little about your personal life, are you married, kids, hobbies etc?
Moon Music are all a big mixture of Sisters, Brothers, Mums, Dads, Friends etc!
Tell us about your most recent work?
Our most recent work was creating our Culture Night Video – ‘Moon Music Festival’ – ‘Rock-down in Lock-down’!
What would you like us to tell people about?
Our Moon Music Soundcloud Page! And our Facebook and Black Box website đŸ™‚
If you had to describe your work to someone who has never heard of you what would you say?
Moon Music are a fun, relaxed group of Musicians ready to get the party started – any time!
What’s the funniest experience you’ve had in your business?
Once upon a time in ‘real life’ at The Black Box – our Outreach Officer got her foot stuck before coming on stage – her flip-flop got left behind and she had to go on bare-foot – everyone laughed!
What would your advice be to young people hoping to pursue the same industry?
Music is a fantastic way to express yourself – go for it – get your message across – make sure your voice is heard – and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks!
Anything else you want to tell people about yourself or your work?
Moon Music meet every Thursday at 2pm – on Zoom at the moment – get in touch if you would like to come along đŸ™‚ [email protected]
Who do you look up to and why?
There are so many people that Moon Music to look up to – but here are some: Bob Marley as he is our go to relaxation sound! The Beatles – as we love to sing songs we know! Tracy Chapman – especially ‘Revolution Song’ as we are always in need of a Revolution but especially right now! P.J. Harvey – we love strong women! And anything that Rocks – Joe Cocker’s – version of ‘Get by with a Little Help from my Friends’ – as we need our friends more than ever at the minute!
To learn more about Moon Music visit them on:Â