Lilly Hercik ‘27 is an average college student by day, but by night, she is country singer Lilly Moss.
“’Lilly Moss Hercik’ is my full name,” Moss said. “I just chopped off the last name because a lot of people would pronounce it wrong. So it just became ‘Lilly Moss,’ which kind of fits the genre of my music.”
Originally from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Moss has been performing around the Lehigh Valley for the past two years. She has released music with producer and mixing engineer Dan Malsch from Soundmine Recording in nearby Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
After the release of her first singles, Moss and Malsch decided to release an album — “Meet Me on Broadway” — because they wanted to “do something more,” according to Moss. The album will be released later this year.
“The process was kind of a whirlwind,” Moss said. The production company “sent over the tracks and I wrote to them. We did a weeklong of me recording vocals over spring break. So it all kind of happened really fast, but it was so much fun and I learned a lot from the process.”
Malsch recalled seeing talent in Moss from the moment he met her.
“She’s only in her second year of college, but she gets better and better at a very quick pace,” Malsch said. “Most importantly, she’s a really good writer and that’s the biggest thing I look for.”
Moss said that her songs are based on real experiences and inspired by the instrumentals.
“The music is given to me beforehand, so I always say I write to the feeling of the music,” Moss said. “Just hearing the instruments of a song, if you close your eyes and just imagine what you’re feeling in that moment, you can either create a story or it can evoke emotions that you went through in the past.”
Although Moss is not directly involved with the music department at Lafayette, she said that the college has heightened her musical ambitions and her professors’ encouragement allows her to balance both her music and academics.
“I’ve had conversations with my professors where I explained to them what I’m up to outside of class and what I do in my free time,” Moss said. “So building that connection with [them] and them knowing that I’m doing this outside of class built an understanding that we both have a lot going on.”
Alongside releasing her music with Malsch, Moss also performs live with local band The Steel Ponies. Moss performed alongside the band on Aug. 29 in Scott Park, Easton.
“Performing with them is a lot of fun,” Moss said. “It’s one of those things that I never thought I’d be able to do. I started on the piano by myself. I gravitated to a guitarist and then performing with the full band has always been a dream.”
After college, Moss is not sure whether or not she wants to pursue a full-time career in music or law just yet.
“They’re both huge passions of mine and I’m just going down both roads and seeing what happens,” Moss said.
However, Malsch is hopeful that Moss will continue to evolve as a musical artist.
“I hope Lilly goes all the way,” Malsch said. “I hope that she’s able to tour and become a full-time musician.”