Adam Alonzo
Ritt Momney.
“Not in a bad way, necessarily, but it’s a bubble,” says Momney, who grew up as a member of the church of the Latter-day Saints, in a recent phone interview.
Touring in support of last year’s sophomore album and major label debut, Sunny Boy, Ritt Momney performs at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, at House of Blues— Cambridge Room.
Rutter’s stage name derived from the band-name that he used with his former bandmates, who quit music to become Latter-day Saints missionaries. Momney continued pursuing music, and his moody cover of Corinne Bailey Rae's “Put Your Records On” blew up on TikTok, catching the attention of Disruptor/Columbia Records, where he quickly signed and began a journey of personal and musical evolution.
“That’s what’s been huge for me, over the past few years, is feeling more like an individual and like I’m more in charge of myself than I was when I was kind of just surrounded by a bunch of people who expected me to kind of just follow what I was supposed to follow, you know,” says the 22-year-old.
The transition from Mormon culture in suburban Salt Lake City to the music industry's secular world was challenging for Momney. There are elements of the church and his upbringing that he stands by, but there are also plenty of things he disagrees with. Having the support of his friends and family, which Momney notes not everybody receives when they leave the church, was key for him.
“People are rooting for me. Love wins out for the most part, I think,” says Momney. “It was more just like me, I don’t know, me working through my own stuff that was hard.”
Momney says his largest fanbase is in Salt Lake City, and the highlights of his career have been getting to connect with his young fans, who’re also trying to come to terms with finding their own way and their own beliefs, at his hometown shows.
“A lot of those kids in the crowd are like, kind of in the process of what I was dealing with a few years ago,” says Momney. “A lot of people will talk to me about how they connect with my music on that level — like telling me it actually helped them in a tangible way. And that’s like the coolest feeling ever.”
Momney’s upbringing and evolution have had a huge impact on his music.
The Sunny Boy track that Momney is the most excited to play is one that he feels exemplifies his personal growth and development.
“I’m really excited to play ‘Dress Song,’ the last song on the album,” says Momney. “I wrote that one relatively quickly, compared to some of my other songs. It’s one that kind of just like came out.”
Momney wrote “Dress Song” in the simplest possible way; he sat down at the piano and gave his stream of consciousness the reigns. That’s exactly how he plans to play it live — stripped-down, seated at the piano, and ready to pour his heart out to the crowd.
“That’s one that I appreciate because like, compared to my pervious music — I’m definitely in a better place than I was, when I was like writing the first album and stuff, and even some of Sunny Boy. I like the positive spin on ‘Dress Song,’” says Momney. “It’s honestly just kind of a new thing for my writing, to feel, to me at least, like it has that kind of hope. Like a benefit, I guess. I just — I’m glad to be in a place where I’m not just like writing something sad, without any type of growth from it, you know. It’s kind of like less wallowing, more like, ‘What can we do with this situation?’”
But Momney is almost as excited for the upbeat moments in the set as he is for the intimate ones. “Set The Table (Feat. Claud)” is a high-energy, fan-favorite track, and Momney is itching to perform it for a crowd.
“I don’t have a ton of like super-fun songs, you know. That’s definitely one of them. That’s gonna be one where I’m like jumping around and trying to get the crowd involved and stuff,” says Momney, “The band that I’m playing with right now is super-talented. I think we’re gonna really kill that song, especially. I think it’ll be super fun.”
