Alt-folk rockers Judah & The Lion (Judah Akers and Brian Macdonald) are out on the Happy Again Tour in support of their latest release, 2022's Revival. When they came through Los Angeles, they had time to stop by the Setlist.fm studios to share stories of their most formative concerts. Listen and learn about a few of the gigs that shaped who they are, and who they want to be:
The Format in Nashville:
Judah: "One of my monumental shows actually was the reason why I got into music in the first place is going to a show at Exit/In which is small club in Nashville where I grew up for this band that I didn't know at the time. They were going on tour on their record for Dog Problems which I became obsessed with after the show and the band was The Format who eventually became the band fun. I was ninth grade. I got invited by a random friend so it was like, "You wanna bop to Nashville and go to this show?" And was honestly the first time having a car outside of our parents too. So it felt like a little rebellious to go to this like rock show. I just remember having so much fun at it. And specifically Nate, the the front man, was just so intoxicating when he performed. After the show, I immediately went to the merch table, got a t-shirt, got the record Dog Problems, went back home, called my uncle who taught guitar, and picked up a guitar that next week and started playing music."
The Academy Is... in Chicago:
Brian: "One of my first shows was also at a club, but it was in Chicago where I grew up. And I saw The Academy Is... It was very small. Maybe there were 150 people there. So I went to the show with my older brother and all of his friends. I was in seventh grade at the time so he would've been... I think they were seniors in high school. It was kind of all of his buddies and the little kid brother tagging along. But they knew I was into music. And I think the most memorable thing for me being like a 12-year-old at this show was just like the mosh pitting. Like I remember trying to go to the front of the audience and just like kind of getting swallowed up and being this scrawny little kid. The smoking, it was just like all... Seeing all these new things at once. And every song on that album, I probably don't know the name of, but I could sing every word if you turned it on. I was just listening to it again before we started the interview and it just kind of like takes me back to that nostalgic place of being in middle school and like having that experience of hearing an album that you really connect with."
The War on Drugs in San Jose:
Judah: "The show that we've seen together that was, I think, really monumental. We were playing this festival with him in San Jose, this amphitheater. Billie Eilish played before our set, which is kind of ironic to think about now, and then Blink-182 played after War on Drugs. But this night, War on Drugs was the very magical part of it. Just seeing what the band does musically. They are so connected to each other. You just didn't want to stop like listening. You could close your eyes and listen. You could watch."
Brian: "All of us walked out there just to kind of check out the show, but didn't really know what we were in for. We just all became taken into that moment and it was so simple and so like powerful at the same time. It was a very inspiring moment, like Judah said. Being a band that wants to put on the best show we can and like take people into that moment with us."
Judah: "I think in a world that shows can become so much about like the LED screens or like the flash of social media, The War on Drugs, they go up there and play music. It's just beautiful because of the music and the showmanship that they bring to the table."
Brian: "I mean this tour that we're on right now, we're kind of been inspired to make it a rock show. Get away from all the extra stuff that you can add on. We're just playing music, we're connecting with the crowd and there's big can lights. That's definitely inspired from what The War on Drugs does."
