Artist 101: Walk the Moon

Here’s your Artist 101 scoop on the Ohio-based indie rockers, Walk the Moon!

Who are the members of Walk the Moon?

Nicholas Petricca (vocals/keyboard/synthesizer)

Kevin Ray (backing vocals/bass/acoustic guitar)

Eli Maiman (backing vocals/guitar)

Sean Waugaman (backing vocals/drums)

What are their birthdays?

Nick – February 16th, 1987

Kevin – December 7th, 1986

Eli – February 7th, 1986

Sean – September 18th, 1987

What’s their most popular song right now?

“Shut Up + Dance”

Fun facts: This song is about an encounter lead singer Nick Petricca had at a night club in Los Angeles, hence the setting. Also, at the beginning of the music video, you can hear WTM’s song “Aquaman” playing.

What should I know about Walk the Moon?

Walk the Moon is based out of Cincinnati, Ohio and was formed by Nick Petricca. The band went through multiple members before locking in the current four members in 2010. They self-released their first album, I Want! I Want! the same year. Their sophomore, self-titled album included the hit, “Anna Sun,” which was recognized as the 2011 song of the summer by MTV and Seventeen Magazine. “Shut Up + Dance” served as the first single of their third album, Talking Is Hard. The band’s first headlining tour, the “Talking Is Hard” tour, took place in 2015.

WTM came together with AT&T and the Deaf Professional Arts Network in 2015 and created a special video for their song, “Different Colors.” Read more about it here.

In their performances, you might see the guys wearing face paint. This stems from the looks seen in their music video for “Anna Sun.” In a 2012 interview with KROQ, they said they went for a Peter Pan/Lost Boys vibe and it stuck. Petricca said, “People started coming to the shows in facepaint, and so, we started bringing it…it just became this tradition.”

WTM sometimes refer to themselves as Kaleidoscope Space Tribe, which is a term that came about in a few interviews in 2013. According to a WTM fan tumblr account, their fans—known as the ‘Moonwalkers’—use it to connect themselves with the band. There’s even a KST twitter account, but it’s been inactive since November 2013.