Lucy Dacus spins her favorite Philly artists on WXPN

Indie singer-songwriter fave Lucy Dacus is back in Philly this week, gearing up to play the Make The World Better benefit concert at FDR Park on Friday, July 25th. She’s in the midst of a year-long tour in support of her fourth LP, Forever Is A Feeling — a tour that kicked off at The Met Philly.

“That was either two weeks or two decades ago,” Dacus joked when she stopped by to hang out with WXPN Midday Host Mike Vasilikos for a guest DJ set. She’s an artist with local ties — when she’s not traveling around the country, she says she still lives here part-time, and has for the past five or six years — so her guest DJ set was focused on her favorite Philly things. To start off with, Mike asked what brought her to the city.

“I’m from Richmond, Virginia,” Dacus said. “I had never lived anywhere else. I kept thinking for years, where else could it be? And I’d go to all these other cities on tour. And Philly won out because it’s close to Richmond. We have tons of friends. And it’s a big city and a lot goes on, but it’s so manageable with the public transit. And the food is so good. And also the quality of my friends here are very high. I have people that I consider family, and really there’s no place is better than the people that are in it.”

She shouted out the Northern Liberties vegan restaurant Pietramala, as well as West Philly’s beloved Fu-Wah Mini Mart, as favorite places, along with The Barnes Foundation. “I wrote some of my record there, and it’s a very inspiring building to me. … Any place that requires or inspires silence is a good place. Churches, graveyards, libraries, and museums. When you can just be slow and take in what’s around you in a measured way. That’s a speed of my brain that is good for me. And this art that took people so much effort and thoughtfulness, it makes me want to put in effort and be thoughtful too.”

In addition to writing and spending time with friends, Dacus says she enjoys walking when she’s in Philly. “I like to walk to Jersey. I’ll walk eight miles in a day, and that’s kind of cool, to cross a state line on foot.”

Listen to Dacus and Vasilikos’ full conversation in the player above, and see what she had to say about her Philly song picks down below. You can catch Lucy Dacus in person headlining night one of the Make The World Better concert in FDR Park on Friday, July 25th; tickets and information can be found at the WXPN Concert Calendar.

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Hop Along – “Kids On The Boardwalk”

“I went back for what I think might be a deep cut. It might be the first Hop Along song I ever heard. A friend showed me them in high school and I was obsessed immediately, and I wore out Get Disowned. And they continue, every record that they have made is good, there is not a skip in the discography in my opinion. And Frances Quinlan is one of the best lyricists and voices that we have in my humble opinion. I wanted a way to see them, I was very excited that they said yes. And there’s a lyric at the end that I think about all the time: ‘I want truth and beauty, I want to love someone simply / I want truth and beauty, I want to love something without it having to need me.'”

Orion Sun – “Already Gone”

“I love Orion Sun. I feel like whenever people are asking me for music reccs, I’m just going to Orion Sun. I believe not enough people are listening, and it’s some of the music I listen to the most actually. It really speaks to me and it’s so well-made and well-written and heartful.”

Florry – “Take My Heart”

“I think I met some of the folks in Florry before I knew about Florry existing. Jon Cox of that band is my birthday twin. Taurus excellence! And I think I had seem them play, I don’t know if it was Florry songs or other bands they’re in, during Porchfest in West Philly one year. I have a bunch of friends that are like ‘Did you check out the new Florry? Did you check out the new Florry?’ And that was the last record. And now there is new Florry again. I’m half way through the new record and it’s really good, and fun. It feels good to listen to.”