Judah And The Lion bring a therapeutic evening to Salt Lake City

By Molly McCoy

Hot off the first week of their new tour Judah and The Lion made their long anticipated stop at the Union Event Center in Salt Lake City. While their new album and tour is called “The Process” I think one could easily nick name it “The Group Therapy” tour because that is what the entire evening felt like, a break from the hustle and bustle of every day and an opportunity to really feel whatever it is you may be going through, accompanied with friends new and old and great music.

To kick off the night was “Town of Trees.” During Judah and the Lion’s last tour they gave local bands the opportunity to open for their hometown show. This continued on into the Process tour as well. While Town of Trees is from Idaho originally, Judah and the Lion were not making a stop up there on this tour, so they came to Salt Lake. I thought that Town of Trees did a great job in their set. While they had a good stage presence and it was obvious they were having fun on stage, it seemed like they had a hard time connecting with the crowd. Despite this I do think they put on a great performance and I am sure that Salt Lake would be happy to have them back at any time.

Second to take the stage was Abe Parker. Abe is the official tour opener that has stayed with the band throughout the tour. At the end of his first song the sound cut out and I was so impressed with how well he handled it. Without missing a beat he prompted the crowd to finish the song before engaging with the crowd in a back and forth singing experiment, (think freddie mercury and the hey ho’s). By the time this was done the sound was back and he moved on to his next song. I really hope that Abe Parker comes back to Utah for his own show, his vocals were so strong and he moved around stage a ton which really helped to draw in the crowd. I think his sound is the perfect companion to Judah and the Lion, both artists are lyrically talented and tell great stories in their song writing. He thanked the crowd before leaving the stage and the room started to buzz with excitement as the time ticked on.

Finally, the lights dimmed and music blared through the loud speakers, the crowd cheered in excitement, as the song continued through the speakers someone in the crowd started cheering “JUDAH” and it wasn’t long before entire crowd joined in, the cheering worked as the band came out on stage shortly after the cheering began. The lights changed to a singular spotlight as Judah Akers gravelly sang out the first note of Denial.

This tour named after their new album, “The Process” was broken up into segments inspired by the five stages of grief. Before each stage was performed there were projections on to a multicolored backdrop that told what stage we were entering; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. The band moved through each stage so effortlessly it really did almost feel as though you were going through the stages yourself. It’s clear that this album means alot to the band as they performed each one with a heartfelt passion.

The setlist was a perfect blend of new and old songs, while it was mainly new songs from the album someone from the outside wouldn’t have been able to differentiate because everyone sang along to each and every song with the same enthusiasm despite the album being less than six months old. They did play some of their more popular songs from previous albums like, “Suit and Jacket”, “Quater Life Crisis”, and “Take It All Back”. They also played the widely popular

songs from their new album like “Only Want The Best” to which Judah affectionately told the crowd “Salt Lake, I only want the best for you.” and “It Is What It Is.”

This was my third time seeing the band, the first was at a local festival they headlined about three years ago and then again when they opened for another band who was touring in the area and finally this show, their own show. While this was only my third time seeing them, Judah and the Lion have been a band for over a decade, it was clear that many of the fans at the show had been around for a while. Judah spoke fondly, remarking in disbelief at the size of the crowd on a weekday. “It doesn’t matter how small the crowd is, or how big the crowd is in Salt Lake. It’s one of our favorite shows,” Akers said, met with a cheer of excitment.

The band is comprised of two members Brian Macdonald and Judah Acker, both have a touring band with four other members for a total of six on stage. Throughout the night as the crowd would sing back to the band, they joked that Utah had the best sounding crowd and that we were surprisingly on pitch. This got a good laugh from the audience as the band exited the stage.

They weren’t off the stage for long before the crowd yelled and cheered requesting an encore. They came out to dance to “Booty Wurk” Judah joked that it always gets a mixed reaction but they enjoy doing it and will continue to do so. Before going into their second to last song of the night Judah remarked that their main goal is to “create music that we feel safe to, to have their shows be a sacred spot for fans.” With this they went into their freshly released song, “What A Time to Be Alive.”

Ending a show with a new release is not common in the industry. However, I think this was the perfect capstone to not only the set, but to the entire message of the album. The set is brimming with lyrics like “It is what it is / Wasn’t meant to happen any other way”, “Some of us surviving/ Some of us just hoping the world will move more slowly.” “We’ve got spirit/ There’s no give up, give up give up in us.” Throughout the night as we moved through the stages of grief the audience was often reminded of the good that can be in each stage. Ending the show with a song that covers a list of current events and experiences that we have or may face in our lives before saying “What a time to be alive” reminds the audience to look for and find the good in the bad. Judah and Brian created a moment in time where everyone can experience the feeling of healing. Before leaving the stage Judah promised that as long as we keep coming out for shows the band would keep coming back.

With roughly two more weeks of shows throughout the midwest and east coast this is not a show to miss! Get your tickets now to experience one of the best shows of the year. As far as Utah fans go I think I can speak for all of us when I say we will anxiously be awaiting the return of Judah and the Lion.