West of East

Simply put, it is two guitars, an amazing voice, and a bunch of great stories about life and its many meanings!

West of East is a mostly acoustic duo comprised of Sara Moilanen and Tim Suchocki, who's music borrows elements from Folk, Country, Rhythm & Blues, and Rock & Roll. They have had a successful early career playing and creating lasting impressions in the Milwaukee and greater Wisconsin area.

Sara Moilanen (Vocals and Guitar) has been involved in music, one way or another, for her whole life. It was in her early twenties however, that she began to discover her talents as a guitar player and songwriter, writing songs about all aspects of life and relationships. For nearly ten years she developed those talents while writing and performing music with the PeaceHill Musicians in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Her songs demonstrate a stark honesty and passion that walk the delicate line between confidence and vulnerability. Her knack for songwriting coupled with her powerful yet velvety voice makes you feel every emotion. In a review of one of her performances with The PeaceHill Musicians, it was once written in the Miami Herald that “Sara can sing the loneliness out of a Roy Orbison Song.”

As Tim developed as a lead guitar player he began to create additional layers and add textures to many of Sara’s existing songs. At this point they began writing songs together and performing at open stages and acoustic music events around Milwaukee as “Sara and Tim.” Inspired by a lyric written by Sara’s longtime friend and Musical mentor, the late Boe Harbison, (“I asked someone where I might find peace, they said somewhere South and West of East, found by those who search the least…”) Sara and Tim began playing under the name “West of East.”