The term “friend of a friend” is casually thrown around nowadays with the role that social media plays in everyday life. However, for Judah & the Lion, the offhanded phrase is embedded in their core. As a band, Judah & the Lion call Nashville home after meeting at Belmont College, even though the four members share an individually dissimilar background.
“We all had similar stories, despite the fact that we’d grown up in different places,” mandolin player Brian Macdonald said. “Judah is the Southerner, I’m the Chicago city slicker, and Nate is the laidback, bearded Rocky Mountain guy.”
Somehow, Judah & the Lion have been able to fuse their individual tastes to create an irresistible genre unique to themselves. Like a stained glass window, each member adds his own color.
After surging up the charts with their first full length record Kids These Days, Judah & the Lion returned with Folk Hop N’ Roll - an album that only intensified their uniqueness.
“We all listen to and love different kinds of music,” banjoist Nate Zuercher said. “With that we wanted to try to make a record that incorporated bits and pieces of what we are all inspired by rather than staying inside a box of what we have done in the past. We also wanted to get more adventurous and try new sounds with the banjo, mandolin and drums.”
The sound is pleasantly perplexing and it’s difficult to not tap your foot through the banjo-mandolin duets under Judah Aker’s speedy vocals.
“We ran the banjo and mandolin through guitar amps and added effects as well as using some electronic drum sounds, giving some added energy and a bigger sound than anything we’ve made before,” Zuercher said. “If someone has been to one of our shows, our new record might make more sense to them. We wanted to make a record that would translate really well to our live show.”
Judah & the Lion live by the commitment of delivering a promising live show - so much, that the band played 150 shows in 2015. The quartet feel at home living on the road and those that attend Judah & the Lion’s performances reap the benefits.
“The set we’ve been playing is one we’re really proud of and can’t wait to bring to North Carolina,” Zuercher stated.
Judah & the Lion will drop by Cat’s Cradle (Carrboro, NC) on Sept. 28 and The Orange Peel (Asheville, NC) on Oct. 1, in addition to many other cities outside North Carolina. Which city nearest to you will Judah & the Lion visit in the near future? Find out here.
More information on the band can be found at their website.
No comments