Be One With Judah And The Lion

Judan and the Lion w/ Colony House and Tall Heights
Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA
02.16.18

Supporting the rebooted release of their appropriately named album, Folk Hop n’ Roll, Nashville band Judah and the Lion brought a headlining set to Seattle’s Showbox SoDo—a set that jumped genre to genre in their signature style. Whether from the changes in pace or the non-stop dancing, it was a set that kept the entire audience on their toes.

Opening the night was Tall Heights, a trio who also liked to bend genres a little bit, falling somewhere between folk and electronic. They warmed up the crowd with their unique guitar/cello combination and included a cover of “Feliz Navidad” that seemed to blend randomly and happily out of another track.

Colony House then took over the night, rocking out for their quick opening set. Playing the hits from their two album, these guys put their best songs to show, and winning over the crowd. Their tracks hit a sweet spot where of intensity with heavy guitar parts and killer riffs, but were also bright and happy enough to carry an indie attitude. They closed out with “Silhouettes,” and a sweet “I’m sorry Seattle, I just got to go home to my baby.”

Finally, Judah and the Lion filled each space on the stage, dancing very seriously to “Booty Wurk,”which had everyone laughing hysterically right off the bat. The intro faded into “Twenty-Somethings,” and then lead singer Judah Akers set some ground rules for the night:

No matter your religious backgrounds, political stances, gender or sexuality—whatever—the crowd needed to put that aside and become one collective family for the night.
“There is no ‘you’ and ‘us’” but we were all in this together for the night.

The set started off strong, with the band bouncing and dancing from “Hold On” to “Kickin’ Da Leaves” before finally inviting Colony House back on stage for a song. All 10 members of the two bands piled on stage for one of the most intense renditions of “Mr. Brightside” ever. The drum kit got split between the drummers from both bands, and Colony House’s Caleb Chapman split vocals with Judah, creating a really interesting contrast between their two voices.

JATL’s performance slowly shifted a little less hip-hop/rock n’ roll, and a little more folk as the night went on, calming everyone down before getting hyped up again for “Suit and Jacket” and “Take It All Back.”

Review and photos by Lulu Dawson

Judan and the Lion