By Madeleine Nolan
Oxford, MS – As one may know, the year 2020 has been a little difficult, from Covid-19 to election mayhem it almost feels never ending. Yet, three students here at Ole Miss took it into their own hands to make this year worth it. Matthew Hendley, Jacob Christensen, and Keegan Lyle decided to take on the world of music here in Oxford, MS during the quarantine. With time on their hands and goals on their mind, they started a folk/folk-rock band called Happy Landing.
Happy Landing has three band members in Oxford, Matthew is the singer/songwriter/guitarist, Jacob is the drummer, and Keegan as the vocalist. Keegan has not been featured in the album yet, but Hendley said that when realizes they need band members who could be in town and available to practice, she was perfect for the open spot.
Matthew Hendley had an internship during the Fall of 2019 in New York City. Matthew said, “For some reason, the city was super inspiring, I just started really getting into folk and folk-rock, and I thought to myself – I think this is my kind of sound, the type of music I want to write.”
Hendley wrote all of the songs on Happy Landing’s EP “Just Kids At Heart” in New York. After he said he talked to his brother, Jacob Hendley, and his roommate, Jacob Christensen if they should go to a studio and record. Enough was enough and they finally recorded in the Spring at Oxford Recording Studio, releasing their single “She’s Got Brooklyn” and the EP in August.
Jacob Christensen said their single “She’s Got Brooklyn” got onto a release radar and discovery weekly and now has generated over 32,000 streams on Spotify alone.
Since the release of their EP “Just Kids At Heart,” they have gotten positive feedback and a good monthly listener following on Spotify and Apple Music. Hendley said, “it’s so weird to start a band at this time because in a way it’s more difficult, but it’s also good because you can’t play as many shows and have as big of a crowd, or go on tour, but at the same time you’re forced to play small shows, and people want that live show because they miss it.”
To get their name out there, Happy Landing had their EP release party in their friend’s backyard during the Florida/Ole Miss football game weekend. The release party only had 30-40 people because of Covid regulations but said it was a hit. They had people from Florida asking them if they can come to play in Gainesville, Florida, as well as a few other college towns.
At the end of this month, Happy Landing will be playing at the University of Florida and Auburn, along with performing at the annual fall concert in the grove on November 4th, hosted by the Ole Miss Student Activities Association.
Happy Landing is currently working on new songs, one new song they have been working on is called “Coastal Town” this song is the first song played in my documentary, and has only been performed to a select group. The song is a hit among those who have listened to it.
Another song they are working on is not officially named yet, Hendley said “It was called “Wait On Me” because most of the song is the repetition of those lyrics, but there’s one line in there that I love, “In spite of the way you treat me, I’m all grown up, I still love your guts.” So, they are thinking it should be called I love your guts because it’s different. Christenson said this song has a very upbeat drum part and reminds him of his favorite band’s type of music; Hippo Campus.
All members believe that their journey with Happy Landing is just getting started and they could not be any happier with the responses they are getting. They are working on merchandise as well as getting back into the studio.
“We’re all about high energy and keeping the energy up, we love upbeat shows, and never letting the crowd take their eyes off us.” Hendley said, “We want to give people a good experience, an experience they’ll remember.”
Happy Landing’s next album is still a work in progress, but to listen to their latest releases find them on Spotify and Apple Music, and to keep up with them and any future releases make sure to follow them on Instagram @HappyLandingXO.
Madeleine Lowe 