Moody Joody shines amid other bands in Nashville

If you know me at all, you know I’m basically a fixture at Nashville venues. Any given week, you’ll find me somewhere like the East Room, The Basement, Exit/In — wherever catching whoever’s playing. It’s just kind of what I do. I’ve seen a lot of bands. Which is exactly why it’s kind of a big deal when I tell you that this past Tuesday, I walked into Basement East and saw a band I had somehow never caught before.

That band was Moody Joody.

I honestly don’t know how they slipped past me, because they have not been flying under the radar. After their 2024 EP Dream Girl dropped, things moved fast for them and I mean fast. Rolling Stone. Fader. Atwood Magazine named them one of the best bands of 2024. These aren’t small mentions. These are the kinds of co-signs that make you go, okay, something real is happening here.

And standing there Tuesday night, I got it immediately. Like within the first few minutes, I understood exactly why this band has blown up the way it has. There’s an “it factor” with some artists that you just can’t manufacture or explain… and Katie Forbes and Kayla Hall have got it. The whole band has it. You can feel it in the room, where everyone kind of leans in a little without realizing they’re doing it.

Katie mentioned from the stage this night that she was just genuinely happy to be back performing, because their last show was in October of last year. You could feel that energy, too, honestly; there was something about the performance that felt like a release, like a band that has been itching to get back out there and was finally letting it all out. The set had this really great push and pull to it, with high-energy moments that had the room moving leading up to these quieter, more vulnerable stretches that made you stop and just listen.

Both sides of it worked.

The new single “OOPS!” was a highlight for me, personally. It’s co-written by GRAMMY-nominee Scott Harris, who’s written what feels like half the songs on your playlist, whether you know it or not. “OOPS!” is a sharp, hooky, well-constructed song that also just feels good live.

Here’s the thing about Nashville — we are absolutely swimming in talented artists. The bar here is genuinely high. And even by Nashville standards, Moody Joody felt like something different. An act that belongs on bigger stages real right now. I’ve been doing this long enough to know when a band is still figuring it out versus when a band is ready. Moody Joody is ready. Tuesday night wasn’t a glimpse of potential, it was a statement. If you haven’t caught them yet, do yourself a favor and fix that before their performance venues get a lot bigger. Because they will.

Photography by Derek Jones

Share this article

or