Over the course of the last several years, the Little Moon Travelers have become a locally-driven band with a steady evolution as they played festivals, river trips and hometown stages across the Yampa Valley.

Now, they are taking the next steps individually and collectively.

After five days tucked away in a remote mountain cabin on the eastern slope of the Gore Range with producer Tim Carbone and engineer Todd Divel, the Steamboat-based band completed the most defining and powerful project of its journey so far, the recording of its debut album “Long Haul, Easy River.”

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The record represents years of shared growth as well as a shared creative identity taking shape through a transformation that turned a band of friends into what they emotionally describe as “a family.”

A ‘whirlwind’ year and a growing identity

Guitarist and vocalist Jeremy Campbell says the last year has been “a blur,” as the band has played performances at WinterWonderGrass, Baja WonderGrass, Tico Time and a number of other shows throughout the Yampa Valley region. The band also performed with the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra, a project which Campbell arranged with help from his uncle, who is a longtime composer and musician.

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“That was a labor of love that lasted months on end,” Campbell said. “For the symphony to ask us to do something of that magnitude was a dream come true.”

Even with the internal development of the band and the momentum they were carrying out of the last year of performances, the band found itself stepping into new territory as it moved toward recording.

“We’re not diving into this to be something huge,” Campbell said. “We’re doing it for its own sake because we absolutely love to write music and play it for people. Somehow the universe has let us step on the accelerator by doing exactly that.”

Making the leap to a first record

Coordinating schedules for five musicians with jobs, young children and full, community-driven lives proved to be one of the most difficult steps in getting the album nailed down. Add in Carbone’s touring schedule and Divel’s availability, and the timing became even more complicated.

“The stars have to align,” Campbell said. “But to finally get to record this and record it right is incredibly cathartic. It feels like a capstone on the whirlwind that got us here.”

“Long Haul, Easy River” draws inspiration from Northwest Colorado and the lives that the members of the band, their families and their friends hold here. It also celebrates the deep emotional currents that the band has navigated as individuals and as a cohesive group of musicians.

“It’s an impressionistic view of the place we live and the lives we live,” Campbell said. “Songwriting helps me process heavy times and experiences. These songs help me move forward and help us move forward as a band.”

Defining a sound rather than fitting a genre

When Carbone first heard TLMT, he experienced something different and visceral. Known for his work with Railroad Earth and with nearly 90 productions under his name, he foresaw a raw power within the group that pointed to a sound that could not be easily boxed into the concept of a single genre.

“I realized the raw materials were there for a really good record,” Carbone said. “They have their own sound. My goal was to make the arrangements more concise and keep them on point. It’s not exactly bluegrass. It’s more of a song band with old-time influences put into a modern era.”

Carbone likened his work with TLMT to an artist chiseling a piece of marble, with the overall shape already present inside the stone and his job simply to define and reveal it.

“They already have their own voice,” he said. “I just want to make sure that voice is legible.”

Finding strength in individual voices

One of Carbone’s key contributions, according to the band, has been his encouragement of each musician’s strengths to rise clearly and equally within the mix.

The album will also feature an increased vocal presence from Kay McKenzie, the band’s fiddler.

“It’s been really powerful,” she said. “We knew we each had strengths, but we didn’t always know how they fit together. This has shown us how to compose and play off each other without everyone doing everything all the time. It’s been a really nice editing process.”

Campbell echoed that excitement, especially about featuring more of McKenzie’s vocals.

“We’re excited for people to hear that,” he said.

Discovery through vulnerability

Bass player Eric Baker said the early moments of recording were filled with a balance of enthusiasm, humble uncertainty and a bit of nerves.

“You’re under the microscope,” he said. “At first it took me to a place of humility. But then through Tim’s guidance and Todd being the wizard behind the curtain, you hear the rough tracks back and think, wow, we’re creating something pretty cool.”

At one point during days of recording, the band’s families came to visit, a moment that banjo player Von Wilson called one of the most emotional points of the week.

“We had a lot of work before they got there,” Wilson said. “Then we shared the rough tracks and it sounded great. Even the things you think you messed up sound awesome. Our families sacrifice as well. Hearing that made it all worth it. I felt super proud.”

Mandolinist Aaron Van Wyk compared the experience to a long mountain bike race featuring equal parts exhilaration and exhaustion.

“There are parts that are fun and the trail is great,” he said. “But six hours in the saddle you’re thinking you’ll never do it again. Then you finish, have a good meal, get some sleep and sign up for next year.”

A “tribe” in the making

Carbone said he felt an immediate connection with the band when he arrived.

“The best bands are tribes,” he said, referencing a quote from Henry Rollins. “And this band is a tribe. They all jumped in the lake together in the morning. They’re unique people with amazing talents. They’re polymaths in their own right.”

For the band, the week affirmed something deeper about their ever-emerging creative chemistry.

“This process has changed the band for the better,” Wilson said. “We’ll be tighter and more focused than when we came in.”

Campbell agreed.

“There aren’t many humans I could ask this much of,” he said. “To spend this much time together doing something that requires real vulnerability and come out even closer than before is unbelievable.”

The band also gave a high level of credit to its supporters for helping make the recording possible.

“We did a Kickstarter and our community showed up in force,” Campbell said. “We’re absolutely grateful. This has been a dream for us.”

Leaving the cabin, looking ahead

The Travelers wrapped up the recording process on Wednesday and left the remote cabin both tired and fulfilled.

“My brain will be glad to leave, but my person won’t,” Campbell said with a laugh. “This has been more than recording. There have been late-night conversations about life and trying to stay sane. This process has been such a treat for all of us.”

Next steps will involve long hours of mixing and mastering, which will be followed by a release date in the spring of 2026. For now, the band is processing and absorbing what happened inside the walls of a cabin overlooking a lake.

“You have to integrate experiences like this,” Campbell said. “Doing this interview together has helped us do that.”

“Long Haul, Easy River” may be the band’s first record, but it carries the weight of something larger — a sound uncovered, a circle tightened and a creative path still unfolding in the heart of the valley that shaped it.

More information on The Little Moon Travelers can be found at TheLittleMoonTravelers.com.