Judah & the Lion
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Judah & the Lion | |
|---|---|
| File:Judah and the Lion Spring 2016.jpg Judah & The Lion Spring 2016. From left to right: Judah Akers, Brian Macdonald, Spencer Cross, Nate Zuercher | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.[1] |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2011–present[1] |
| Labels | Independent |
| Members | Judah Akers, Brian Macdonald, Nate Zuercher, Spencer Cross |
| Website | judahandthelion |
Judah & the Lion is an American alternative band from Nashville, Tennessee that started in 2011. Their latest release is Folk Hop 'N Roll (2016). The band is made up of Judah Akers, Brian Macdonald, Nate Zuercher, and Spencer Cross.
Background
Akers, Zuercher, and Macdonald met while attending Belmont University in Nashville, introduced to each other through music and mutual friends. “We all had similar stories, despite the fact that we’d grown up in different places,” said mandolin player Brian Macdonald, “Judah is the Southerner, I’m the Chicago city slicker, and Nate is the laidback, bearded Rocky Mountain guy." The band finds their influences from a number of different genres. They loved it all: the twang of folk, the beat of hip-hop, the drive of rock & roll, the punch of pop. Later, after college brought all four musicians to Tennessee, it only made sense to combine those different backgrounds — and different sounds — together.[4]
The band has toured nationally and continues to play through the American South.
Music
Judah & the Lion released Sweet Tennessee on April 16, 2013, and it charted on the Billboard charts on May 4, 2013. The placements were at No. 2 on the Bluegrass Albums, No. 9 on the Heatseekers Albums and at No. 15 on the Folk Albums.[5][6]
Judah & the Lion released their debut full-length studio album Kids These Days on September 9, 2014, where it entered BILLBOARD’s Heatseekers chart at #2 and the Folk Albums chart at #4 its first week out. The album garnered the #1 spot for Heatseekers in both the South Atlantic and South Central regions and the #4 spot for Heatseekers in East North Central, Mountain and West North Central regions. In addition, Kids These Days entered several other Billboard charts and their song “Kickin’ da Leaves” off the new album clocked in more than one hundred thousand streams since the September 9th release and made Spotify’s VIRAL 50 Chart alongside Meghan Trainor, Fall Out Boy, Betty Who, Karen O among others.
The band released their latest album, Folk Hop 'N Roll, on March 4, 2016. The album reached number 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, number 7 on the Billboard Americana/Folk Albums chart, and number 17 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. Since the release, the band and album have received notable coverage through USA Today, Garden & Gun, Consequence of Sound, Slant News, Paste Magazine, AOL, Bluegrass Situation, Beyond the Stage, Mix Magazine, Nashville Lifestyle, The Tennessean, Relix Magazine and Blue Ridge Outdoors.
Members
- Current members[1]
- Judah Akers – guitar, lead vocals
- Brian Macdonald – mandolin, backing vocals
- Nate Zuercher – banjo, backing vocals
- Spencer Cross—drums
Discography
Albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US BLUE |
US FOLK |
US HEAT |
US | ||
| Sweet Tennessee |
|
2[5] | 15[6] | 9[5] | |
| Kids These Days |
|
4[7] | 2[8] | ||
| Folk Hop 'N Roll |
|
7[9] | 2[9] | 4[9] | |
References
- ^ a b c d e Judah & the Lion (December 12, 2011). "Judah & the Lion - About". Facebook. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
- ^ Ruehl, Kim (July 2, 2013). "ABOUT TO BREAK: Judah and the Lion". The Bluegrass Situation. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
- ^ a b Hamm, Josh (April 26, 2013). "Judah & The Lion - Sweet Tennessee". Indie Vision Music. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
- ^ http://www.judahandthelion.com/pages/about
- ^ a b c Allmusic (2013). "Sweet Tennessee - Judah & the Lion : Awards". Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ a b Billboard.biz (May 4, 2013). "Folk Albums : May 4, 2013". Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
- ^ "Folk Music: Top Folk Albums | Billboard: Sep 27, 2014 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard.com. September 27, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
- ^ "Heatseeker Albums : Sep 27, 2014 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard.com. September 27, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Folk Hop n' Roll - Judah & the Lion | Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2016.