Lucius has good friends. After their first two critically and artistically successful albums, the band catapulted into another level of popularity, thanks to collaborations with icons like Joni Mitchell and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, pop stars like John Legend and Harry Styles, and country leaders like Sheryl Crow and Brandi Carlile.
For their self-titled, self-produced fourth album, which arrived May 2 via Fantasy Records, the band looked inward. Lucius is a deeply personal record, reflective of finding roots, growing families, and clinging to a sense of stability. Still, Lucius also brought in a number of musical guests to help round out their sound, including The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel on “Old Tape,” Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith on “Stranger Danger,” and Madison Cunningham and Ethan Gruska on “Impressions.”
This past weekend at the Newport Folk Festival, where Lucius are regular performers and fan-favorites, the band also invited multiple friends and fellow performers on stage with them during their own Sunday slot on the Harbor Stage: Newport Folk Steward Nathaniel Rateliff (the first artist to hold the title since Pete Seeger!) joined Lucius for a cover of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts. Jeff Tweedy came on stage for a version of Wilco’s “Jesus, Etc.” And SG Goodman, who seemed to be everywhere during the festival, covered Cunningham’s harmonies on Lucius’ own “Impressions.” As co-lead vocalist Jess Wolfe said before Tweedy’s guest spot, “We’re just so fortunate that we’ve been a part of some of the most magical moments of our lives here.”
In light of the band’s new music and their so-packed-you-can’t-move set at Newport, No Depression, checked in with Wolfe, fellow co-lead vocalist Holly Laessig, and drummer/producer Dan Molad as part of this “In The Deep End” feature. Questions in this series start easy and get progressively deeper, and the band’s responses have been edited for style and clarity.
