On April 16, Lucy Dacus kicked off her Forever is a Feeling tour at Philadelphia’s The Met. The tour is her first solo one in three years, though much of that time was spent recording and touring with boygenius, the band she shares with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers. The sold-out crowd in Philadelphia, where Dacus lived for five years, buzzed with the honor and excitement of being the first to see the show.
Opener Jasmine.4.T, the musical project of Jasmine Cruikshank, set the tone for the night: queer joy. Cruikshank, joined onstage by Phoenix Rousiamanis, played a striking set, somehow creating a powerful wall of sound with only a few instruments and their piercing vocals. The crowd cheered loudest for their song “Woman,” in which Cruikshank sings, “in my soul I am a woman.” Hours before the show, the UK ruled that trans women are not legally women. It was a moving experience, then, to watch two trans women radiantly take up space onstage, and to hear the support of the crowd.
Katie Gavin, lead singer of MUNA, took to the stage next. Gavin released her solo album What a Relief last fall, and expressed that she was excited to get to play some songs off the album with a full band; Nana Adjoa, Sarab Singh, and Eric Radloff are accompanying Gavin on this tour. Gavin has a natural playfulness onstage, an easy confidence in the way she moves and interacts with the audience. While her current set is a far cry from the neon lights and electronic production of a MUNA show, Gavin’s talent shines in this simpler environment, where her vocals are highlighted as well as her skill on piano, guitar, and violin. Gavin played the majority of What a Relief, including standouts “Aftertaste” and “Sanitized,” as well as an unreleased song.
The noise in the room reached a fever pitch as Dacus’s band emerged onto the stage. For both openers’ sets, the backdrop of the stage had remained covered in drop cloths. At the end of Dacus’s first song, the cloths fell, revealing panels reminiscent of a museum exhibit. With Dacus onstage were Sarah Goldstone, Dominic Angelella, Alan Good Parker, Phoenix Rousiamanis, and Ricardo Lagomasino.
Dacus played nearly all of her new album, along with a few cleverly placed tracks from her beloved earlier records. Opening with “Hot and Heavy” was unexpected and brilliant, making the energy in the room nearly giddy. Other old favorites on the setlist included “VBS,” “Partner in Crime,” and a new acoustic arrangement of “I Don’t Wanna be Funny Anymore.”
The intentionality behind the changing set, with the panels displaying art and graphics to fit each song, and the ethereal and romantic nature of the show – it all lent itself to a feeling of significance. As the night flowed on, some moments stood out as particularly awe-inspiring. Fleeting scenes, snapshots in time: Dacus and Gavin giggling before performing “Bullseye.” Strobes beaming from the stage during “Talk.” Dacus sitting on the edge of a riser, pensive, singing “Limerence.” A couple shouting from the mezzanine after “Best Guess,” having just gotten engaged.
When I last saw Dacus perform solo, in 2022, she was singing from a couch – her solution to a back injury that restricted her mobility. She acknowledged those shows, lovingly referred to by Dacus and her fans as the “couch tour,” during the show in Philadelphia. “How many of you saw me sing from a couch?” she asked, to cheers from the crowd. “I’m better now,” she said, referring to her back, “and the couch is better, too.” It’s true: at The Met, Dacus took a mid-set interlude to sit on a blue velvet couch and play toned-down versions of several songs.
I couldn’t help but marvel at the growth Dacus has seen over the past few years. At that 2022 couch tour show, the crowd numbered around 500. This time, she was playing to an audience of over three thousand, and the fans singing along were deafening. The show itself was technically complex and deeply impressive, with its changing backdrops and flawless instrument swaps. But the heart of the experience remains the same between the two shows: Dacus’s stunning voice, and her remarkable command over a room.
During “Forever is a Feeling,” the last song of the main set, fans held paper cutouts of clouds to their flashlights, creating a sea of floating clouds in the crowd. Dacus was visibly moved. She waved goodbye to the crowd, still chanting “forever is a feeling,” and disappeared through the door in the middle of the set. Snapshot: Dacus triumphantly singing “forever,” turning and dancing offstage.
The audience was shocked and delighted when Dacus returned to the stage and played the opening chords to “True Blue,” a boygenius song. After finishing the song, Dacus laughed, “I’m allowed, I wrote it!” She closed with her smash hit song “Night Shift.” Snapshot: thousands of people screaming along at the top of their lungs, Dacus shredding away.
The night was celebratory and emotional, delicate and powerful. Dacus is a master of that duality, throughout the night alternately sipping from a mug of tea and headbanging over her guitar. What a joy to witness an artist so undeniably at the top of her game.
