I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: September 27, 2025] Lucy Dacus 

My daughter and I saw Lucy Dacus on the first night of this tour back in April in Philadelphia.  Now, this was officially the last night of the U.S. tour (she did play other shows this year but not in the same way).  I had certainly never seen anyone on the first and final nights of a tour, and it was fascinating to see how much the show had morphed over the five months.  The set was the same, but the setlist was different.  It was shorter (festival timing rather than solo timing) but she also made some changes to what she played.

And the biggest difference was that she had a string quartet playing with her for many of the songs.

My daughter and I rushed  to the barricade to get right up close to Lucy and were then shocked that the pit remained largely empty.   It wasn’t that people weren’t into her–they were.  And the lawn was massively full.  I guess no one wanted to give up their seats after the long day?

Anyway we were right on the barrier, but pretty far to the right.  So when the quartet sat down, they basically blocked our view of the rest of the stage.  My daughter wandered around the pit (it was that empty) for a better view but determined that there wasn’t a better spot.  [Although having seen her photos, I think straight on was a much better spot].

The set was the same–a gigantic backdrop designed to look like a museum wall.  There were picture frames and columns and it looked amazing.  Although from our location off to the side, you could see the video screens that projected the mages.  Obviously we knew there were video screens, but the illusion was somewhat lost because the images were skewed a bit.

So the show opened the same way except that the Calliope Prelude had the quartet playing (instead of it being projected).  And the quartet stayed on stage for the first few songs.  Like in April, the first song was Hot & Heavy, which is a fun way to get the crowd excited.  She followed it with her biggest new single Ankles.

Then she changed the set a bit, playing the older First Time which she hadn’t played in April.

The quartet left and they played Modigliani from the new album.   I appreciated that Lucy walked around to the edges of the stage although she never got quite close enough to us to make eye contact.  Then she returned to the older stuff with a rocking VBS.  Well, it’s not really rocking but I love the Slayer section.

After Talk, she announced special guests.  And oh my, for a few seconds, my daughter and I imagined who they might be.  In NYC she brought out Zohran Mamdani.  And we assumed that Julien Baker might be backstage (since she was originally supposed to play the festival with Torres but they scrapped the tour).  So it was a little disappointing when she announced it was going to be sixteen couples to get married.  Now, this is an awesome thing and I can’t imagine how cool it would be to get married by your favorite musician, but in terms of special guests, well….  And so she sang Best Guess and then officiated the marriage of everyone on stage and it was really sweet and a wonderful moment.

Interestingly, back in April, right after Best Guess, a couple shouted that they had just gotten engaged.  And I am fairly certain that that event inspired Lucy to get a minister’s license and publicly defy the anti LGBT+ sentient floating through the air these days.

I wonder where you go after you’ve just been married on stage.

She broke with the April setlist again by playing the older Nonbeliever and then the strings came back for Limerence.

She announced another special guest to sing the Hozier parts of Bullseye.  When we saw her in April, the guest was Katie from Muna who was the opening act.  Again we fluttered with excitement as to who it could only to be disappointed that it was Dylan Minette from Wallows.  I mean, I don’t know who else she would have had, but since I didn’t know them at all, I wasn’t that excited about the pairing (although every body else was pretty psyched).

The main set ended with songs from the new album as well as the old favorite I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore thrown in.  When she played it in April, it was a mellow “couch” version, but this one rocked a lot more, like it’s supposed to.  And her bass player was having a ball running around and jumping all over the stage.  {It was the same band: Sarah Goldstone (keys vocals), Dominic Angelella (bass), Alan Good Parker Guitars), Phoenix Rousiamanis (violin), and Ricardo Lagomasino (drums)].

For the encore, I know my daughter was hoping she’d play True Blue (the boygenius song) again like she did in April.  But I was pretty thrilled that she played Sufjan Steven’s Chicago (the song that gives this Festival its name).  It sounded great especially with the strings.

And of course, she ended with Night Shift.  Whenever I feel like Lucy’s getting a little too mellow for me she busts out Night Shift and I remember how awesome she is.  And when the whole stadium sings along, it gives shivers.

Having said that, I’ve seen Lucy seven times now. First when she was playing the teeny Johnny Brenda’s and now headlining a Festival.  I feel that she gets mellower as she moves along and she might be drifting away from what I like best about her.  So we’ll see what the next album brings as to whether there will be an eighth time.

But it was cool seeing her in this context.  And it was a fun ending to a long day.

 

All Things Go, Day 2, September 27, 2025	The Met Philadelphia, April 2025	Free at Noon, July 2022	Union Transfer, October 2021
Calliope Prelude ♥ (with live orchestra)	Calliope Prelude ♥	Triple Dog Dare Ô	First Time Ô
Hot & Heavy Ô (with live orchestra)	Hot & Heavy Ô	First Time Ô	Addictions ⇔
Ankles ♥ (with live orchestra)	Ankles ♥	Hot & Heavy Ô	Hot & Heavy Ô
First Time Ô (with live orchestra)  *not in April	Big Deal ♥	VBS Ô	Christine Ô
Modigliani ♥	Modigliani ♥	Partner in Crime Ô	VBS Ô
VBS Ô	Limerence ♥	Brando Ô	Cartwheel Ô
Talk ♥	Talk ♥	Kissing Lessons ⇔	Nonbeliever ⇔
Best Guess ♥ (wedding on stage)	VBS Ô	Night Shift ⇔	Yours & Mine ⇔
Nonbeliever ⇔ *not in April	Come Out ♥		Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen) ℵ
Limerence  ♥  (with live orchestra)	Best Guess ♥		Timefighter ⇔
Bullseye ♥ (with Dylan Minnette)	For Keeps ♥		Partner in Crime Ô
Most Wanted Man ♥	Partner in Crime (couch section) Ô		Brando Ô
I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore ⊗	I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore (couch section) ⊗		Thumbs Ô
Lost Time ♥	Bullseye (with Katie Gavin) (couch section) ♥		Going Going Gone Ô
Forever Is a Feeling ♥	Most Wanted Man (Live debut) ♥		I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore ⊗
encore	Lost Time ♥		Night Shift ⇔
Chicago (Sufjan Stevens song)	Forever Is a Feeling (Live debut) ♥		encore
Night Shift ⇔  (with live orchestra)	encore		Triple Dog Dare Ô
	True Blue (Boygenius)		WISF Lucy solo.
from April, she did not play Big Deal, Come Out, For Keeps, Partner in Crime, or True Blue	Night Shift ⇔

 

Newport Folk Festival July 2019	White Eagle Hall, April 2019	Johnny Brenda’s April 2018
Addictions ⇔	Fool’s Gold ℵ	Addictions ⇔
Green Eyes, Red Face ⊗	Addictions ⇔	The Shell ⇔
I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore ⊗	The Shell ⇔	Nonbeliever ⇔
La vie en rose ℵ	Direct Address ⊗	Yours & Mine ⇔
My Mother & I ℵ	Nonbeliever ⇔	Body to Flame ⇔
Thumbs	Green Eyes, Red Face ⊗	Timefighter ⇔
	La vie en Rose (Edith Piaf song) ℵ	Next of Kin ⇔
	Timefighter ⇔	Pillar of Truth
partial setlist//left early	Pillar of Truth ⇔	Map on a Wall ⊗
	I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore ⊗	Dream State…⊗
	Night Shift ⇔	…Familiar Place ⊗
	Historians ⇔	I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore ⊗
	encore	Night Shift ⇔
	Bobby (Alex G. song) with Fenne Lily	encore
	Thumbs Ô	Historians ⇔

♥ Forever is a Feeling (2025)
Ô Home Video (2021)
ℵ 2019 (2019)
⇔ Historian (2018)
⊗ No Burden (2016)