In the 2010s, singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus was playing house shows in her hometown of Richmond, Virginia, and emailing DMV venues like DC’s DC9, begging to make their night’s bill. This month, she embarked on her biggest solo tour yet and first since signing to major label, Interscope’s Geffen Records.
On her second stop of the Forever Is a Feeling tour, promoting her 2025 release of the same name, Lucy Dacus recently played two sold-out nights at The Anthem, alongside opening acts of jasmine.4.t and Muna’s Katie Gavin.
Dacus was selling out shows before this run, from nights with her trio boygenius or on her previous years on the road; however, it was clear this tour was a new level of elaboracy. The museum-inspired set, and an expanded band all made the bill a night to remember — for each night on April 18 and 19! Columns framed the stage to look like Ancient Roman architecture and art made to look like oil paintings and iconography, and lyrics related to the songs danced in “gold frames” on the screen. Dacus’ show wasn’t just a concert but the closest you could get to a museum on stage.
Both nights remained thoroughly intimate, but the second night, Dacus seemed to be the more comfortable of the two for the singer. During one song, which she historically calls a sing-a-long, she came into the crowd for the first time of tour, and called out flaws in the US government and beyond and preached how important shows that bring folks with common interests together are.
Another fun element of the show was during “Most Wanted Man,” when a photo of a different person in the audience was on screen and shouted out on stage. On the screen for the second night most notably was NPR’s Bob Boilen, who Dacus shared was a huge part of her success early in her career. Nearly a decade ago, Boilen named Dacus his favorite new artist of 2016.
Listen to Forever Is a Feeling from Lucy Dacus here on Spotify:
While one may expect the tour’s opener to be one of the 13 new tracks, Dacus surprised fans by opening the night with her first single off her third record, “Hot and Heavy.” Singing her first line of the night, “Being back here makes me hot in the face/ hot blood in my pulsing veins…,” took a new meaning with Dacus’ DMV origins and her fanbase’s undeniably excitement for her return. After the song’s outro, “museum security” in suits and flashlights came out to pull sheets covering the frames on the backdrop to reveal her new era.
In addition to opening with “Hot and Heavy,” Dacus also played a select older hits, including “Partner in Crime” and the tour debut of “Triple Dog Dare” on night one. Night two, Dacus’ “surprise songs” were “First Time” and “Going Going Gone.”
Her oldest hit on the setlist, “I Don’t Want to Be Funny Anymore,” was played acoustically.
These coming-of-age songs balanced out the love songs of the new album, a theme new for Dacus. This new era of the indie-rock artist’s journey brings new sounds compared to Dacus’ earlier works. It features lush arrangements incorporating violin, synthesizers, harp, and programmed drums — all of which were brought along on tour.
For “Bullseye,” Dacus’ song with Irish singer Hozier, jasmine.4.t had come back to the stage to exuberant cheering to fill in on the first night. On the second night, Gavin sang the verse.
Watch Lucy Dacus and Hozier perform “Bullseye” live from the National Gallery of Ireland on YouTube:
To start the evening on both nights, jasmine.4.t, who had previously opened for Dacus on her Historian Tour, was the tour’s first opener. She sang a short set from her album, You Are the Morning, which was produced by Dacus and her fellow boygenius members, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers. Jasmine.4.t. sings about her transgender identity and political issues in her home of Manchester — as well as friendship.
The second opener, Katie Gavin, brought energy so high that the venue was vibrating from dancing. Night one at the barricade, fans even heckled her to play an extra song, a fan favorite, “Keep Walking,” to which she obliged. The following night, it was also added to the setlist. Gavin, who is best known as the lead singer in Muna, released a solo album in late 2024 from which she played hits.
The DC show was the closest thing to a hometown show for Dacus for this leg of tour, and it was clear it was special, both to her and for her friends and family she mentioned were in the crowd.
To Dacus, the life she has now is not something she expected, she made clear.
”Every day I am surprised this is my life.”
Here are some photos of Lucy Dacus, jasmine.4.t., and Katie Gavin performing at The Anthem on April 18 and April 19. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Sami Pye.
