Premiere: Lily B Moonflower’s ‘By My Side’ is a gorgeous ode to unconditional love

Lily B Moonflower. // photo courtesy the artist

Americana musician Lily B Moonflower has been making music for ages now, but her upcoming full-length, Fairy of the Prairie, seeks to reintroduce her psychedelic folk and bluegrass-tinged country to the world at large. The album’s lead single, “By My Side,” shows off everything that makes Lily B Moonflower such a distinctive musician, with her rich voice, clever worldplay, and infectiously catchy music.

We’re premiering the video below, featuring Moonflower’s dog, Honey, who is also the inspiration for the song, described as setting the tone for “a project rooted in connection—whether to places, people, or the moments that shape us.”

It’s a joyous and fun romp, filled with adorable dog antics to accompany the heartfelt song. Have a watch below, then read our interview with Moonflower about the path to making Fairy of the Prairie.

The Pitch: What kind of dog is Honey?

Lily B Moonflower: She’s a pure-bred standard poodle, the runt of her litter. She looks big because of all her fluff but she’s only 40lbs. People always wonder why she doesn’t look like a normal poodle, it’s because we never shaved her and every time I give her a bath, I give her a blowout with the dryer. We’ve had her since she was a puppy during Covid so she’s 6 years old which is hard to believe.

Where’d you shoot the video?

Part of the video was shot 5 minutes from my house in Eudora on my favorite back road, the other part was shot at Baker Wetlands in Lawrence, which was the first park we took Honey to when she was a puppy. Her paws used to slip between the wood of the boardwalk when she was so tiny.

Why did you want this to be the first single off Fairy of the Prairie?

This song is one of the most special on the album for me. It felt like the best single to release first because I wanted to invite listeners into my personal world right off the bat. Making this record was like a homecoming for me, and of course, Honey is my favorite thing about being home.

You’re calling this your debut, so what’s changed in the five years since Moonflower that makes you want to reintroduce yourself musically?

I’ve been playing with my band MoonShroom, which is a collective of my husband and my songs, putting in lots of work recording our album “Take A Trip” and touring with that project. Amidst the busy MoonShroom schedule, I have grown and evolved as a performing artist and was inspired to get back to my roots.

I started out playing solo, busking at coffee shops, and playing small shows right out of high school, and actually met my husband, Jake Keegan, doing that. He played in my band before we started our band MoonShroom together 5 years ago. I have given my all to music throughout my 20s, making an honest living doing what I love. Creating this record was truly like a homecoming for me and it gave me the freedom to express myself as an individual and that is why I wanted to reintroduce myself musically.

Who’d you record with on this go-around?

The fun part about making a record is hand-picking all the musicians, engineers, and graphic designers. I put a lot of thought into the big cast of talented artists that I called up to leave their mark on Fairy of the Prairie. I had been wanting to collab with these characters for a long time. Here is everyone who lent a helping hand to bring this album to life:

Produced by Ian Dobyns & Joel Nanos
Recorded at Element Recording Studios by Ian Dobyns
Mixed & Mastered by Joel Nanos
Album Artwork by Mycelium Design
Written by Lily B Moonflower
Vocals & Acoustic Guitar by Lily B Moonflower
Drums by Fritz Hutchison
Bass by Zach Bozeman
Banjo by Kyle Tuttle
Mandolin by Alex Hawf
Acoustic Guitar by Andrew Morris
Electric Guitar by Johnny Mullenax
Fiddle & Keys by Staś Heaney
Pedal Steel by Marco Pascolini
Dobro by Jake Keegan
Train Whistle by Lily B & Fritz Hutchison