01 May Take 5: Judah & The Lion

On this final, fantastic day of SunFest 2016, we still have a full day’s worth of wonderful acts.

Taking the JetBlue stage at 1:15 is Nashville’s genre-melding band Judah & the Lion. Judah Akers (guitar and vocals), Spencer Cross (drums), Brian Macdonald (mandolin), and banjo wiz Nate Zuercher took time out of their busy schedule to share a little more about what fans can see and hear today:

I’ve read you guys travel with some very interesting instruments! Guitars and banjos and mandolins and more!  What can new and old fans expect to see this SunFest?

Akers: Definitely have a lot of instruments riding with us. In addition to the expected acoustic guitar, mando, banjo, we’ve got some electric guitars, electric mandolins…..not to mention FOUR banjos.

I’ve also heard your dance moves are on point. Should the crowd come prepared to move and shake?

Akers: Yes, please! If the crowd isn’t dancing and singing, we are doing something terribly wrong. 

What are you most proud of on your release “Folk Hop N’ Roll?”

Askers: I would say we maintained our distinct “sound,” whatever that means, but also branched out with new instrumentation and shed a new light on the music.

Can you describe your sound using rhymes, like a poem?

Organic,

in your face,

distorted,

out of place.

         …right where we need to be.

WAKE up and dream,

about what it would be like,

to dance like no one was watching you…

WAIT, no one is watching you, CAUSE EVERYBODY IS DANCING.

What does the rest of 2016 have in store? I saw you have Bonnaroo in your future…

Akers: Lots of festivals this summer, which is always a lot of fun! We are still figuring out the fall, but definitely will be traveling and playing somewhere!

When are you happiest?

When we are playing Spikeball.