For Richmond singer/songwriter Lucy Dacus, the past few months have likely flown by, as success has emerged quickly and excessively from the release of her debut album, No Burden, which dropped in February. She’s been reviewed by big music publications, been booked for big name festivals like SXSW and the famed Lollapalooza, and is even going overseas to play the End of the Road Festival in England. But even with all that, she’s reached another milestone of success: she has just signed with Matador Records.
According to her Facebook page, they’ll be repressing the indie darling’s No Burden for release in the fall with a CD/LP out Sept 9.
In an interview with FADER, she elaborated on the success and the excitement that comes from it – success that might not have happened if she had decided to stay in film school.
“We’re gonna play a bunch of really cool cities that we’ve never been to, and festivals,” Dacus told Fader. “As someone who’s been to Lollapalooza, I was like, ‘Man, everyone who plays this has to feel awesome.’ I was still in film school at the time and not thinking about music, so I couldn’t even imagine that happening.”
Just a few years ago, Dacus was still enrolled in film school, “being told that music should be a hobby.” Her mother, a music teacher, suggested Dacus get a stable, well-paying job, as opposed to a music career that could be hit or miss. But Dacus decided to record her debut album, a hasty endeavor that turned out to be fruitful despite being thrown together in a short amount of time. The album itself was recorded before the band had played any of the songs live, and they were basically put together just days before the album was made.
Her signing to Matador Records, the longtime New York-based indie record label famed for signing such acts as Queens of the Stone Age, Liz Phair, Mogwai and Modest Mouse, comes just in time it seems, since Dacus told FADER that her debut album had grown so popular they’ve run out of vinyl.
The band, which is getting a few weeks to rest after two months of touring, is slated to hit the road again in July to continue their nationwide tour, this time embarking on the road for four months starting in Michigan, then hitting, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Washington, California, Arizona, Texas, Massachusetts, and Georgia.
Check out tour dates here and read the full FADER interview with Lucy Dacus here.
You can also read up on her song writing process and her No Burden album in our interview with her for RVA Mag’s 23rd issue here.
