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Filtering by Tag: Lucy Dacus

Live Recap: Katie Gavin with Lucy Dacus at The Chicago Theatre

May 06, 2025  /  Rachel Zyzda

Singer-songwriter and 1/3 of the band MUNA Katie Gavin warmed up the stage for two sold-out nights with Lucy Dacus at the iconic Chicago Theatre on May 1st and 2nd—and I was lucky enough to attend for the second show on Friday night.

Gavin debuted her side-project last year, releasing the acoustic-driven solo album entitled What A Relief in October 2024. The record leans alt-country at times, particularly on tracks like “Inconsolable” and “The Baton” that feature Gavin on violin and pulls out a slight twang on her vocals. This collection of songs on the debut album showcases a tonal shift from MUNA’s usual vibe, but Gavin has said in an interview that shift was driven from the origin of these songs; throughout the years she’s written some material that the band ultimately decided wasn’t a fit with MUNA’s vision.

During the show on Friday night, Gavin told the crowd “This is the last tour that I’m gonna do for this solo record.” When her statement was met with audible disappointment from the audience, Katie added, “No, but you’re not upset because that means I’m going back into MUNA!” The upset immediately turned into excited cheers at the tease of MUNA’s return, but it felt special to get to catch one of the last shows for What A Relief . Another special moment of Gavin’s set included an appearance from her younger sister, who joined the band to play some cowbell for the duration of “Sanitized.” In addition to the cowbell, Gavin brought these stories to the stage playing the keyboard, guitar, and live violin on the aforementioned tracks “Inconsolable” and “The Baton,” the latter of which also featured a full crowd clap-along to the beat.

Towards the end of her set, Gavin slowed things down with the mellowed-out “Sketches,” which she introduced by sharing the song’s inspiration. “This song is a little bit of an exploration of that thing that maybe is love but maybe is addiction and kind of noticing that there’s certain relationships in your life that you can really grow and bloom with, and sometimes your life gets smaller. This song is about one of those times,” Katie said.

Katie Gavin’s performance wrapped up with her single “Aftertaste” and her wishing Lucy Dacus a very happy birthday. Check out photos of the show below, and catch the last few tour dates for Katie’s solo project here.

categories / Gigs, Photos, Reviews
tags / Katie Gavin, Live Recap, Chicago Theatre, Lucy Dacus, MUNA

Live Recap: Pitchfork Festival 2022 Day 2

July 18, 2022  /  Rachel Zyzda

The second day of this year’s Pitchfork Festival kicked off on Saturday, July 16th. The rainy weather had cleared up, leaving behind a muddy Union Park for the fest’s second day.

When I arrived to the park on Saturday, I immediately noticed that larger crowds had come out for the fest that day—everything from the size of the crowd to the merch lines were larger.

I began my day catching a set from The Linda Lindas on the Green Stage, which was the original slot for Chubby and The Gang before they had to cancel their appearance here. I was sad to miss Chubby, but if anyone was going to fill in, I’d want it to be The Linda Lindas. The group composed of Bela Salazar, Eloise Wong, Lucia de la Garza, and Mila de la Garza has been garnering a huge fan base for their refreshing reboot of Riot Grrrl influences. While playing their set, the band members would often dance over to each other, demonstrating an incredible sense of chemistry and stage presence to go along with their great sound. Their setlist included songs from their album Growing Up, in addition to the track “Monica” from their self-titled EP—which Salazar dedicated to her cat named Monica. The group ended their set with a cover of Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl.”

Next up, The Armed began over on the Blue Stage, and this was absolutely the most bonkers, rowdiest show I think I’ve ever seen at Pitchfork. I absolutely loved it. The band is mysterious in the way that they’re a collective hardcore group with rotating, anonymous members, and their performance at Pitchfork included some of the members wearing costumes or face paint. With so many members in the rotation, they all took turns leading the vocals on the microphone, and they often joined fans out in the mosh pit. I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing The Armed back at Pitchfork another year on a bigger stage so they can expand upon their wild spectacle.

Hyd, the stage name of singer and performer Hayden Dunham, took the Red Stage next for a show that was a 180 from The Armed, but spectacular in its own way. Hyd entered the stage on her own, in a dramatic fashion, using movement to accentuate her music. “I have a few songs for you,” she told the audience before performing her single “The Look On Your Face.” If you’re a fan of Caroline Polachek, you should listen to Hyd not only because the two have collaborated together, but because they produce a similar style of music and stage presence. Hyd had a flowery, hazy vibe about her and she glided across the stage through choreographed movement.

Saturday was all about the theatrical choreography because next up, Yeule brought similar vibes back on the Blue Stage. Yeule is the alias for vocalist, songwriter and producer Nat Ćmiel from Singapore. Fans flocked to see Yeule perform, and she did not disappoint and she fluidly moved along to her glitch-pop tracks. As she performed songs from her 2022 album Glitch Princess, Yeule’s stage persona was amplified by her costume and dramatic make up that balanced the delicacy of her ethereal vocals.

Next up, Dry Cleaning brought their effortlessly cool vibes to the Green Stage, performing their mix of experimental rock, spoken word and post punk. For their second song, they brought out a guest saxophone player, and the sax guest seemed to be the theme of the weekend as it kept popping up in different sets. Dry Cleaning mostly performed songs from their 2021 album New Long Leg, but they also included their new single “Don’t Press Me.”

The duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, aka Magdalena Bay, brought their synth pop over to the Red Stage. The pair came onstage in coordinated outfits, with Tenenbaum sporting a microphone headset similar to those that Britney Spears and other 90s pop divas wore. I saw Magdalena Bay perform at Lincoln Hall earlier this year and was struck by how intense their fanbase was, and that same energy was present amongst the crowd at their Pitchfork performance. Tenenbaum danced and swirled across the stage during their entire set, as she and the band performed songs from their album Mercurial World.

The night wrapped up with a trio of Indie Darlings, the first being Lucy Dacus over on the Green Stage. Dacus took the stage wearing a brightly-colored outfit featuring rainbow and cloud details, and her fans were some of the most vocal of the entire festival. I could hardly hear Dacus over the sounds of fans shouting along the lyrics to songs like “Hot & Heavy” and “Night Shift.” The last time I had seen Lucy Dacus, she had performed at Thalia Hall, laying on a couch the entire time because of herniated discs, so it was wonderful to see her return to performing in full form. Towards the end of her set, Dacus even treated the festival audience to a cover of the iconic “Believe” by Cher, which was the first time she’s performed this cover live.

Japanese Breakfast closed out the Red Stage for Saturday night, a level up from the last time the band had performed at Pitchfork over on the Blue Stage. Michelle Zauner brought along a stage full of musicians in addition to her regular bandmates, adding depth to her songs with string musicians and a saxophone. The set opened with Zauner banging a gong during “Parprika,” while the rest of the set had her rotating between playing guitar or dancing around the span of the stage. Towards the end of the show, Jeff Tweedy joined Japanese Breakfast as a guest vocalist, singing “Kokomo, IN” from the album Jubilee. The band and Tweedy also performed a cover of Wilco’s “Jesus, Etc…” and Zauner thanked Tweedy by saying “Jeff tweedy is my favorite songwriter of all time.”

The second day of the festival concluded with Mitski, who was welcomed onstage with overwhelming applause. Mitski sauntered onstage to moody lighting framing her graceful movement. Mitski put out her sixth album Laurel Hell earlier this year, and her set featured some of those songs like “Working for the Knife” and “The Only Heartbreaker,” but she also sprinkled in tunes from earlier albums like 2018’s Be the Cowboy and Puberty 2. Mitski’s stage presence was the perfect way to end the theatrical tone of the second day at Pitchfork.

See the full photo recap below, and stay tuned for coverage of the third day of the festival.









































categories / Reviews, Gigs, Photos, Festival
tags / Pitchfork Music Festival, Pitchfork, Live Music, Live Review, Live Recap, Mitski, Japanese Breakfast, Lucy Dacus, Magdalena Bay, The Armed, The Linda Lindas, Hyd, Yeule, Dry Cleaning, Jeff Tweedy

PHOTOS: Indigo De Souza and Lucy Dacus at Thalia Hall

February 17, 2022  /  Rachel Zyzda

This past Tuesday night, fans gathered at Thalia Hall for a sold out show from Indigo De Souza and Lucy Dacus. Despite having herniated discs in her back, Lucy still managed to put on an incredible performance—all from a couch that was placed on the stage before her set. The stage set up gave out cozy vibes that almost made it feel like we were watching the show from our own living rooms.

If you missed out on the gig, check out our photo recap below, and see where you can catch Lucy next here.

categories / Gigs, Photos
tags / Lucy Dacus, Indigo De Souza, Thalia Hall, Photo recap, Photo Set, Concert Photography

PHOTOS: Sharon Van Etten and Lucy Dacus at Thalia Hall 2.15.19

February 18, 2019  /  Rachel Zyzda

This past Friday night, Sharon Van Etten headlined the Thalia Hall stage for night two of her back-to-back sold out shows in honor of Valentine’s Day. If you missed out on tickets to the second sold out show, also featuring special guest Lucy Dacus, check out our photo gallery of the night below.

Listen to Sharon Van Etten’s latest album in full below

categories / Gigs, Photos
tags / Sharon Van Etten, Lucy Dacus, Thalia Hall, Photo Set

PHOTOS: Supergroup boygenius Brings Their Special Show to Thalia Hall for Two Nights

November 19, 2018  /  Rachel Zyzda

Last week, the supergroup of the year, boygenius, brought their unique and collaborative show to Thalia Hall for two sold out shows. Both nights featured individual sets from boygenius collaborators Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers, and Julien Baker, before all three singer songwriters joined forces and closed out each night with a magical performance as a trio. Check out photos from Tuesday night’s show below and see where else you can catch boygenius on tour here.

Listen to the boygenius EP in full below

categories / Photos, Gigs
tags / Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, boygenius, Matador Records, Thalia Hall, Photography, Concert Photography

PHOTOS: SXSW 2018

March 26, 2018  /  Rachel Zyzda

It's been just over a week since SXSW ended, and just like you, we're still missing the sun, the tunes, and the tacos. Luckily, we have some photos from the packed week of shows to hold us over until next year. Check out our photos from SXSW 2018 below, and stay tuned for interviews with some of our favorite South By artists!

Photos by Rachel Zyzda, featuring Shame, Sunflower Bean, White Reaper, Liza Anne, Blue Dream, HINDS, Acid Dad, Soccer Mommy, Post Animal, Anna Burch, High Waisted, Girl Ray, Caroline Rose, Ron Gallo, The Nude Party, OHMME, Rookie, The Evening Attraction, and Lucille Furs

Photos by Erica Tello, featuring Hembree, Jade Bird, and Mt Joy

Photos by Justin Kibbel of Superchunk, Wye Oak, Bully, Shamir, Lucy Dacus

categories / Gigs, Photos
tags / Photos, Photo Gallery, SXSW, Shame, Sunflower Bean, White Reaper, Liza Anne, Blue Dream, HINDS, Acid Dad, Soccer Mommy, Post Animal, Anna Burch, High Waisted, Girl Ray, Caroline Rose, Rookie, The Evening Attraction, Lucille Furs, Ron Gallo, The Nude Party, Ohmme, Hembree, Mt Joy, Jade Bird, Lucy Dacus, Superchunk, Bully, Shamir, Wye Oak