NonCOMM Recap: Lucy Dacus brings Historian to World Cafe Live

Lucy Dacus | photo by Senia Lopez for WXPN | www.senialopez.photography

Virginia native Lucy Dacus delivered an incredibly sophisticated performance, second to last on the upstairs stage for NONCOMM night one. Following the blowup success of 2018’s LP, Historian, it seems like the radio can’t get enough of her. Dacus was introduced tonight by NPR’s Bob Boilen, who called Historian his favorite album of the year.

Dacus’s set was amazingly smooth and well put-together. There were moments of incredible heaviness and incredible lightness, but the transitions between the two extremes was easy and effortless. She opened her set with her hit, “Addictions,” followed by “The Shell,” “Nonbeliever,” and “Timefighter.” During the latter especially, the crowd could not stop moving. The band really found its groove because they were pushing their time slow and definitely did not want to get off the stage yet. The guitar kicked it into high gear and the set instantly felt far from over.

To close, they played “Night Shift,” and the mood slowly drifted back into that mellow zone that Dacus started her set with. Dacus is an incredibly multi-faceted vocalist with the ability to quickly shift her focus from loud, punchy to soft and simple. She delivered a perfect almost-close to night one.

You can find her newest release, Historians, everywhere now, and listen to an archive of her performance below.

Setlist
Addictions
The Shell
Nonbeliever
Timefighter
Night Shift