Indie-Pop Darlings Celebrate the First Birthday of Second Nature

1. Gather 1200 of your best friends
2. Get a complete powerhouse to kick the party off
3. Follow that powerhouse with an energetic and emotional set of your own
4. Be surprised by a birthday cake in the middle of your set and give it to aforementioned 1200 closest friends
5. Sneak up behind those friends and play encore surrounded by them

Lucius released Second Nature, on April 8th, 2022. The album was their first since the acoustic collection, Nudes was released in 2018 and a lot had changed for frontwomen Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig in those 4 years. The album addresses pressures that all of us have felt the weight of recently–the pandemic, politics, and separation–but also more personal challenges–motherhood, divorce and career challenges. To get through the obstacle course that is life, Lucius tells us the best way is to just “Dance Around It.”

To celebrate the first birthday of the album, Lucius brought 1200 people together at XL Live in Harrisburg for a dance party. Although many of the lyrics are heavy and sometimes sad, the music and melodies make it almost impossible for you not to dance around it.

To get the dance party started, Lucius brought along Danielle Ponder. Ponder, a former public defender from Rochester New York is a true vocal goddess. Her classic soul and R&B voice tells stories of heartbreak, social injustice and mushroom trips layered over a current sounding sonic landscape. Halfway through her set, Danielle told us that in 2020 she sang on the virtual open mic night that Lucius hosted during the pandemic. “It’s unreal to me that just a few short years ago I was a huge fan of Lucius and late one night got to sing for them on their open mic. Now look at me! I’m on tour with them. Follow your dreams, people. This is the song I sang that night. She then sang “Holding Me Down,” which Lucius says completely blew them away that night. Her energy completely captivated the audience and got everyone’s dancing shoes warmed up. Do yourself a favor and check her out now.

Live performance on KEXP

DANIELLE PONDER PHOTO GALLERY

When Lucius strutted on stage in their customary matching outfits–tonight, flowing black dresses and capes with fringes, adorned sparsely with sequins that give the impression that you are staring at the stars on a dark night everyone there was ready to get down. Snapping their fingers in unison they slowly made their way to the circular riser at the rear of center stage and turned their backs to the audience.  As the beat drops, they turn and in beautiful harmony belt out the opening lines to the title track of the album being celebrated tonight.

Jess and Holly met at Berklee School of Music in 2005 when they were both vocal students and as clear as it is that they are both uber-talented vocalists in their own right, it is even more clear that a  synergy has developed between them. This is no more evident than when the two meet at center stage to share a pony mic and sing together. The first song they sang with the shared mic stand was “The Man I’ll Never Find.” One of those songs that came from the recent personal challenges they faced and one that gives a break from the disco dance party and affords the opportunity to slow dance one last time with the one you love even though you know it isn’t going to work.

As everyone wiped the tears away, Jess and Holly brought up that it had been one year to the day that the album was released and how happy they were with the reception that it had received because of how personal it really was to them. As they were telling their closest friends that, a birthday cake was brought up from backstage for the girls. Visibly surprised and touched, Jess and Holly turned to the crowd and offered everyone a piece of cake saying it would be back next to the merch table.

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Now if you have read any of my posts in the past, you know that I am not a fan of encores. Unless they are done the way Lucius did theirs on this night. As they concluded “Genevieve,” the girls walked off stage while the band rocked out for a few minutes before they also left the stage. The crowd, many of them dressed to look like Jess and Holly, screamed and applauded hoping for a few more songs. With their attention still fixed on the stage, they saw the band return to the stage and erupted even more. Then, unexpectedly, they reappeared behind them in shimmering, sequined dresses. Everyone in the crown must have had the same thought that I did. “Now this is how you do an encore!” 

The spotlight turned and the ecstatic crowd encircled them as they sang “Two of Us On the Run.” The joy displayed on the faces of almost everyone was worth the price of admission. (even if Lucius was generous enough to put me on the guest list, I did pay for my girlfriend’s ticket) 

So, if you want to throw an epic birthday party for yourself or anyone else, you now have the blueprint. I just hope someone throws me a party like this.

LUCIUS PHOTO GALLERY