Judah & the Lion is an American band from Nashville, Tennessee, that formed in 2011. Their latest release is Folk Hop n' Roll Deluxe (2017). The band consists of Judah Akers (vocals, guitar), Brian Macdonald (mandolin, vocals), and Nate Zuercher (banjo, vocals).

Contents 1 History 1.1 Formation 1.2 Name 1.3 Influences 2 Members 3 Music and Discography 3.1 First Fruits (2012) 3.2 Albums 3.3 Extended plays 3.4 Singles 4 Awards and nominations 5 References 6 External links History Formation

The original members of the band met while attending Belmont University in Nashville.[5] Lead singer, Judah Akers had written songs that he wanted to add more organic and acoustic sounds to and met Brian Macdonald and Nate Zuercher through classes and mutual friends.[5] While at Belmont, the band won Belmont’s 2012 Christian Showcase and Best of the Best competitions.[6] Their first EP, First Fruits released by the band was a Christian worship collection, but the band knew that they did not want to exclude a wider audience and decided to stray from being strictly a Christian group.[5]

Name

According to Judah Akers, the band received their name from a passage in the bible about The Lion of the Tribe of Judah.[7] The name fits the band since the lead singer is named Judah and because of their Christian backgrounds.

Influences

The band wrote that their music has the "grit of Run DMC or Beastie Boys" but played on folk instruments.[8] MacDonald said he was influenced by Kendrick Lamar and the Beatles.[9]

Members

Current members[1]

Judah Akers – guitar, lead vocals Brian Macdonald – mandolin, backing vocals Nate Zuercher – banjo, backing vocals

Past members

Spencer Cross – drums

Touring members

Dylan Oglesby – guitar, backing vocals, accordion Daniel Weatherby – keyboards, synth bass Troy Bruner – drums Music and Discography First Fruits (2012)

Judah & the Lion released their first EP, First Fruits, on June 19, 2012.[10]

Albums List of albums, with selected chart positions Title Details Peak chart positions USBlue USFolk USHeat USAlt Kids These Days Released: September 9, 2014 Label: Good Time Inc. Formats: CD, digital download Their debut full-length studio album. During the release, Judah & the Lion opened for Mat Kearney and Ben Rector. During their headlining tour, they performed for the first time in Sweden in 2015 and wrote a song for their fans ("Stockholm"). — 4[11] 2[12] — Folk Hop n' Roll/ Folk Hop n' Roll Deluxe Edition Released: March 4, 2016 Label: Cletus the Van Records Formats: CD, digital download, LP In November 2016, Judah & the Lion released the Take It All Back 2.0 + Stockholm EP. In January 2017, Billboard magazine named Judah & the Lion their first "Chartbreaker" artist.[9] On January 12, 2017 the band made a late night appearance on the show Conan, hosted by Conan O'Brien.[13] The band also made festival appearances at Bonnaroo, SunFest and Hangout Fest. They opened for Twenty One Pilots on their Emotional Roadshow Tour and select dates with Kaleo.[14] On March 17, 2017, the deluxe edition of the album was released. The band made numerous festival appearances including Music Midtown, Sloss Fest, Firefly, Forecastle, Governors Ball. They opened for Incubus and Jimmy Eat World on the 8 Tour in the US as well as Kaleo's Express Tour in Europe TV appearances included The Late Late Show with James Corden on March 14, 2017, Good Morning America on June 5th, Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 18, 2017, and CONAN on February 7, 2018.[15] They performed 90 headline shows throughout the US and Canada selling over 100k tickets for the "Going to Mars" tour. — 7[16] 2[16] 4[16]