Judah & the Lion
A Nashville-based indie folk trio helmed by singer/songwriter Judah Akers, Judah & the Lion blend harmonies and acoustic instrumentation with soaring pop melodies and hooks with occasional electronic elements. After an early CCM phase, the band transitioned into a secular act and found chart success with their 2014 debut, Kids These Days. Their breakout came two years later with the single "Take It All Back," from their sophomore album, which featured a curious melding of hip-hop and indie folk that topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in 2016. Their sound continued to evolve on 2019's more personal Pep Talks and 2022's life-affirming Revival.
Singer/guitarist Akers met mandolinist Brian Macdonald and banjo player Nate Zuercher through mutual friends and the three began playing together in late 2011. Initially aligning themselves with the Christian music scene, their debut EP, First Fruits, was a worship-themed record that blended expansive folk and bluegrass with rich, old-timey harmonies. A year later, they returned with the more secular-oriented and pop-leaning Sweet Tennessee EP, which bore more of a resemblance to the uplifting nu-folk of Mumford & Sons and launched them into the Top 20 of the Billboard bluegrass and folk charts.
Building on that momentum, they finally released their first full-length album, 2014's wistful Kids These Days, which rose to number four on Billboard's folk chart. For their follow-up, Judah & the Lion worked with producer Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell) to deliver 2016's Folk Hop n' Roll, an album that further blended their myriad influences from hip-hop to indie rock and folk. By the end of that year, their breakout single, "Take It All Back," had reached number one on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart and they followed it up in February 2017 with the similarly successful "Suit and Jacket," as well as releasing a deluxe version of Folk Hop n' Roll. A single, "Pep Talk" b/w "Quarter-Life Crisis," appeared in 2018 and was later included on Judah & the Lion's third full-length, the expansive and deeply personal Pep Talks, which came out in 2019. After a 2020 EP of remixes, Pep Talks, the band followed up with the single "Beautiful Anyway." Two years later, they unveiled their hopeful and cinematic fourth long-player, Revival.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo
Similar artists
-
Folk Hop n' Roll (Deluxe)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Mar 4, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Revival
Alternative & Indie - Released by Judah and the Lion LP2 on Jun 10, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pep Talks
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Aug 7, 2019
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kids These Days
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Sep 9, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
scream! (shhh)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Judah and the Lion LP2 on Sep 30, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Folk Hop n' Roll
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Mar 4, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beautiful Anyway
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Jan 6, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Judah & The Lion (Unplugged)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Judah & The Lion on Sep 25, 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Find Another Reason Why
Alternative & Indie - Released by Judah and the Lion LP2 on Nov 12, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bluegrass Live (Live)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Feb 14, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Take It All Back (Remix EP)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Aug 31, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Judah & The Lion (Live)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Feb 7, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Decisions
Alternative & Indie - Released by Cletus The Van Records on Mar 1, 2024
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beautiful Anyway (Acoustic)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Jan 6, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pictures
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Feb 20, 2019
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kids These Days
Pop - Released by Good Time Records on Sep 9, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Only to Be with You (Unplugged)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Feb 3, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Take A Walk
Alternative & Indie - Released by Judah and the Lion LP2 on Feb 25, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Going to Mars (!)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Round Hill Records on Jan 19, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
scream!
Alternative & Indie - Released by Judah and the Lion LP2 on May 6, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo