Judah & the Lion | Cause A Scene Music

I learned something really early on in my friendship with Nashville’s newest Americana-folk buzz band, Judah & the Lion: When these guys play a show, people show up en masse. When I booked them for a showcase in January, I had no idea what to expect from the show. I had heard their first EP, First Fruits, and enjoyed it, and had heard buzz around Belmont’s campus, but on that warmer-than-usual mid-week night in January, nothing could have prepared me for the 250+ people that packed into Red Earth Trading Co’s pop-up shop in Hillsboro Village for an old-fashioned big tent revival. After curating nearly 30 shows over the first year of Cause A Scene, we had our fair share of bands play our shows. Judah & the Lion on that night seemed to transcend them all, with a sound and performance that made it seem impossible for that show to really be one of the very first shows they had ever played.

Since then, I’ve seen them garner quite a bit of attention and well-warranted praise from their latest EP, Sweet Tennessee, with the six-track album rising to #1 on iTunes Singer/Songwriter charts and breaking the Top 25 overall on the same platform. This week, Judah & the Lion released their brand-new video for the title track of the album, and it seems to simply reinforce the magic that this band has on stage and the fact that wherever this band plays, crowds tend to show up and fill the room. It’s a trend that shows no signs of changing anytime soon.

If you’re in Nashville, there’s a few chances to catch the band live, first at the Americana Music Festival in mid-September, again at Musician’s Corner in Centennial Park on October 12, and finally in November opening for Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors at the Cannery Ballroom. Something tells me that the vast majority of the fans and friends in this video will be at all three.

– Larry Kloess

Here at Cause A Scene, we’re always looking to discover new artists and help others do the same. One of the great resources for developing bands is the fantastic website NoiseTrade. As part of a new series of posts on the blog, we highlight a few artists who have albums currently available via NoiseTrade that we’ve worked with (or are just big fans of…or both) that are worth checking out. Now, without further ado, here are this week’s picks:

Judah & the Lion

We’ve had the pleasure of hosting Judah & the Lion for two Cause A Scene shows now, both of which happened to set records for CAS. We hosted this fantastic young eight-piece band for a showcase at Red Earth Trading Co. in January and had people coming out of the woodwork to see them perform. The buzz around this band is palpable, with a knack for hooky melodies and pitch-perfect harmonies over a bed of folk and rock textures. They’re cut from a similar cloth of Mumford & Sons, Needtobreathe, The Lumineers and play with such passion that seeing them live on a small stage makes it easy to envision them belting out their catchy songs for an arena full of people. Both of the band’s EPs are on NoiseTrade currently for you to check out. We highly recommend starting with their newest release, Sweet Tennessee.

Judah & the Lion plays tonight at Tin Roof on Demonbreun as part of a Lightning 100 series of shows, starting at 8:00. If you’ve never seen them play live, you need to resolve that immediately.

Parke Avery

Simply put, Parke Avery is one of our favorite human beings on the planet. When we hosted our first ever Collective show in March of 2012, Parke was the first artist through the door and brought with him the same warmth and excitement that is seen all throughout his music and his EP, Wishful Thinking. The album is, as NoiseTrade describes it as “grandiose as it is precise while always being irresistibly catchy. The title track acts as a mission statement. An on-going profession of doubt backed by huge guitars and lush strings.” It’s a beautiful record that reflects wonderfully what is going on inside the heart and mind of a talented young troubadour. Parke has been one of the best advocates for Cause A Scene in our first year and a half, and we’re thrilled to have him as part of our musical family.

Casey Black

Casey Black is no stranger to Cause A Scene as he’s been a great supporter of ours by attending several shows, although we’re still pretty new to his music. It’s a feeling of finally being let into a secret, recognizing what a uniquely gifted individual and storyteller Casey is. When Casey sings, it’s easy to recall the gravelly voices of Tom Waits and Matt Berninger from The National. His songwriting has an everyman quality that feels perfectly penned for the blue-collared workers, sounding like they were birthed straight from the plains of the Midweest and the red clay of the South. His songs have teeth to them, with enough grit and heart to keep you coming back to them again and again. If you’re a fan of Bruce Springsteen and Christopher Porterfield of Field Report fame, Casey’s one to keep your eye on. If you want to catch him live, be sure to get over to the iconic Bluebird Cafe on June 25 or his album release show in Leiper’s Fork on July 3.

Archives For Judah & the Lion

Judah & The Lion Debut Video for “Sweet Tennessee”

Now on NoiseTrade: Judah & the Lion, Parke Avery and Casey Black