Words and Photos by Katherine Cardinale
Lucy Dacus played an intimate acoustic set at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn, New York last night, and it kicked off a sold-out run of nine special shows located in churches, museums, and other unconventional venues around the United States and Europe. The concert in Brooklyn was Lucy’s first solo show since January 2023, and a limited number of tickets could be purchased on a lottery-based system.
Fans from all over bundled up in hats, coats, and scarves and lined up outside the venue, eagerly anticipating the church’s doors opening. Once we were let inside, venue staff scanned our tickets and led us into the largest area of the church. They handed out exclusive programs and stickers and guided people to the pews.
The lights dimmed at precisely 8pm and the show began with just a pianist at the front of the room. Lucy walked out with her guitarist and quickly launched into the first song of the night, which was “Hot & Heavy,” a.k.a. the lead single off her third record, Home Video. The fan favorite “Christine,” which is also from the same album, followed suit. After finishing these first two songs, Lucy gave a quick speech, mentioning the beauty of the venue and thanking the crowd for waiting in the cold to see her perform. She then stated that the actress who starred alongside her in the “Ankles” music video, Havana Liu, graduated in the very church we were sitting in and, to everyone’s excitement, launched right into playing the single.
Throughout the evening, Lucy played a mix of old and new songs, including many off her upcoming album, Forever is A Feeling. Perhaps the most special part about this concert was the fact that many of those tracks have never been played live before in front of a crowd, which was acknowledged by both the audience and Lucy, who stated that “I feel like it’s rare to go to a show where you don’t know the songs — that was cool of you to want to do that.”
One of the highlights of a typical Lucy Dacus concert is her ability to connect with the crowd, and this event was no exception. After playing a few more tracks off of Forever is A Feeling that have yet to be released, Lucy opened up to the fans, talking about her nervousness regarding returning to headlining shows after a three year break and joking about the awkwardness of having to tune her guitars between songs. She also encouraged the crowd to sing along to the songs they did know the lyrics to, which resulted in choir-like renditions of “VBS” and “Going Going Gone.”
Later in the evening, I was thrilled to hear a specific unreleased song off Forever is A Feeling that I had first heard in October 2021 at one of Lucy’s Home Video era shows. Hearing this song was definitely a full circle moment, as fans were asked not to record it at the October 2021 show and I have been trying to recall its lyrics and melody ever since.
Lucy closed out the show with an acoustic rendition of her hit song “Night Shift,” which is just as incredible stripped back as it is with a full band sound. After the show concluded, fans flocked to the back room, as Lucy mentioned during the concert that the original oil painting of her album cover was on display next to boxes of exclusive themed tote bags with the show date and venue name on the back.
This show was just a small taste of what Lucy has in store for her fans this spring on the Forever is A Feeling Tour, and I feel incredibly grateful to have already been able to hear what many of her newest songs sound like. Many of Lucy’s tour dates are now sold out, but you can still purchase tickets to select shows here. Hope to see you there!
Loudspeaker Collective 