Lucy Dacus

Lucy Dacus
Lucy Elizabeth Dacus (born May 2, 1995) is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Dacus attracted attention with her debut album No Burden (2016), which led to a deal with Matador Records. Her second album, Historian, was released in 2018 to further critical acclaim. Dacus's third studio album, Home Video, was released in 2021.
In addition to her solo work, Dacus is also a member of the indie supergroup boygenius, alongside Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers. The band has released one studio album and two EPs to critical acclaim and widespread touring.
In October 2023, Rolling Stone named Dacus the 213th-greatest guitarist of all time, noting: "[her] guitar is as essential an instrument as her voice."
Early life
Dacus was adopted as an infant and grew up in Mechanicsville, Virginia, a suburb of Richmond. She is of Uzbek and Irish descent. Her adoptive mother is a professional pianist and music teacher, and her adoptive father is a graphic designer. Dacus had an early interest in music, and bought her first guitar, an Ibanez, from Craigslist when she was in middle school. After graduating from Maggie L. Walker Governor's School in 2013, she began studying film at Virginia Commonwealth University, but left to avoid student debt and the "feeling of being misunderstood" in her university program. Prior to becoming a full-time musician, she was employed by Richmond Camera as an editor for children's school photos. During this time, she wrote approximately 30 songs, nine of which would comprise the tracklist of No Burden.
Career
2012: Girls Back Home EP
Dacus released this EP on Bandcamp on August 31, 2012, when she was a senior in high school. The track list consists of seven songs: Girls Back Home, Finest Cursive, Pretty Girl, Lullaby, Time Travel, Black Lungs, and Kiddie Pool. Like all her other projects, it includes production from Collin Pastore and Jacob Blizard. It was digitally available for a time, but Dacus took it down shortly before her debut album, No Burden was released. In a Reddit AMA, she stated she took it down because she “didn’t want this EP to be somebody’s first impression of her.” For years after its removal from Bandcamp, the songs were considered lost. However, internet user Lucyhistorian managed to salvage the entire track list. It is currently available to listen to, in its entirety, on YouTube, although no official label release exists.
2015–2018: No Burden and Historian
Dacus first performed in New York City in March 2015. Her first single, "I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore," premiered in November 2015. Her debut album, No Burden, was produced in Nashville by her hometown friends, Berklee College of Music graduate Collin Pastore and Oberlin Conservatory of Music graduate Jacob Blizard; it was recorded at the request of Blizard for a school project. The album was originally released digitally on CD, and on vinyl via Richmond's EggHunt Records on February 26, 2016. Dacus was then signed to Matador Records, who re-released the album on September 9, 2016. In the same year she performed at Lollapalooza, in Chicago's Grant Park and made her national television debut on CBS This Morning. She recorded a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR the same weekend. In October 2016 she played the London Calling festival in Amsterdam, as a replacement for The Duke Spirit, who were forced to cancel.
Dacus's second album, entitled Historian, was released on March 2, 2018. Like its predecessor, it was met with widespread critical acclaim. Writing for Pitchfork, Sasha Geffen praised its nuance and sensitivity: "It’s not an easy album to wear out. It lasts, and it should, given that so many of its lyrics pick at time, and the way time condenses around deep emotional attachments to other people." Rolling Stone rated the album 4/5 stars, as did NME. Historian, like No Burden, was recorded in Nashville, at Trace Horse Studio, in a similar collaborative effort by Lucy Dacus, Jacob Blizard, and Collin Pastore.
2018–present: Boygenius, 2019 EP, and Home Video
In 2018, Dacus, along with Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker, formed the group boygenius. They released three songs in August 2018 and subsequently announced an EP and tour. The EP, titled boygenius, came out on October 26, 2018.
To coincide with Valentine's Day 2019, Dacus released a cover of "La Vie en rose", the first in a planned series of songs commemorating major holidays.
In 2021, Dacus announced her third album, Home Video, which was released on June 25. She performed one of the album's singles "Hot & Heavy" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on April 13. On November 10, Dacus released her single "Thumbs Again", a re-release of her song "Thumbs" with additional instrumentation, alongside the announcement of 2022 US tour dates.
On February 2, 2022, Dacus released a single "Kissing Lessons", which was accompanied by a music video.
During 2022, Dacus toured Europe, Australia and America.
Dacus released a music video for the song "Night Shift" for the five-year anniversary of her album "Historian" in March 2023.
Boygenius released their debut full-length studio album, titled The Record, on March 31, 2023, after releasing 4 singles.
Activism
After Texas's new abortion law went into effect on September 1, 2021, Dacus announced on Twitter that all the money she makes at her upcoming shows in Texas "will be going towards abortion funds." She also informed her fans to bring extra money to her Houston and San Antonio shows for the donation to the abortion funds. During her Home Video Tour in July 2022, Dacus announced that she and her support act, Camp Cope, would be donating tips from the merchandise stand to the organization Fund Abortion Not Police.
While performing with Boygenius at Coachella in April 2023, the band spoke in support of trans rights following bills proposed in states like Florida and Missouri. At a later tour date in June 2023 in Tennessee, Dacus and her fellow band members performed in drag in protest of anti-drag legislation that state governor Bill Lee signed into law that was blocked in federal court.
After former President Barack Obama included "Not Strong Enough" by boygenius on his annual summer playlist, Dacus quote tweeted him, saying "war criminal :(".
Personal life
Dacus was raised Christian but has since become irreligious. She describes herself as queer, and says that the terms bisexual or pansexual come closest to defining her sexuality. Dacus lived in Richmond, Virginia, until late 2019. As of June 2021, she resides in Philadelphia.
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Other appearances
Music videos
Guest appearances
As part of Boygenius
Boygenius (2018)
Boygenius (Demos) (2020)
The Record (2023)
Tours
2016 Tour (2016)
2017 Tour (with Hamilton Leithauser) (2017)
Historian Tour (2018)
North American Summer 2018 Tour (2018)
Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers with Lucy Dacus Tour (2018)
2019 Tour (2019)
Fall Tour 2019 (2019)
Spring UK/EU Tour (2020; suspended after 2 dates)
2021 North American Tour (2021)
Winter Tour 2022 (2022)
UK/EU 2022 (2022)
Summer Tour 2022 (2022)
Home Video Tour (2022)
Re:SET Concert Series (2023)
The Tour (2023)
Accolades
Notes
References
External links
Official website
Living people
1995 births
American women singer-songwriters
Musicians from Richmond, Virginia
LGBT people from Virginia
American LGBT singers
21st-century American singer-songwriters
Queer women
Boygenius members
Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies alumni
Feminist musicians
21st-century American women singers
Singer-songwriters from Virginia
American people of Uzbek descent
American people of Irish descent
21st-century American LGBT people
American singers of Asian descent
People from Mechanicsville, Virginia
American adoptees