ALT 92.9 Presents Judah & the Lion - Going to Mars Tour

Years before forming one of Nashville's most genre-bending bands, the members of Judah & the Lion grew up in separate corners of the US, listening to every type of music that came their way. They loved it all: the twang of folk, the beat of hip-hop, the drive of rock & roll, the punch of pop. Later, after college brought all four musicians to Tennessee, it only made sense to combine those different backgrounds - and different sounds - together.

With their second full-length album Folk Hop N Roll, the guys shine a light on the place where their influences overlap. It's a wide-ranging sound, with fuzz bass, hip-hop percussion, distorted banjo riffs, and super-size melodies all stirred into the same mixing pot.

"There are no boundaries," says front man Judah Akers, who shares the band's lineup with drummer Spencer Cross, mandolin player Brian Macdonald, and banjo wiz Nate Zurcher. "We wanted to make something raw, something with attitude. we all grew up loving these hip-hop beats, so why not make an album that has the grit of Run DMC or Beastie Boys, along with all the folk instruments that we play?"

Like "Kids These Days" - the band's debut record, which climbed to number four on the Billboard Folk Chart and number two on the genre-wide Heatseekers chart after its release in September 2014 - Folk Hop N Roll was produced by award winner Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton). Cobb captured the band's new songs in a series of quick, inspired takes, aiming for performances that sounded real and raw rather than polished and perfect. Everything was done in just two weeks. The goal was to fuel the album with the same electricity that fills the band's live show.

Anthemic and wildly creative, Folk Hop N Roll is unlike anything else in modern music. It's a rule-breaking record, with Judah & the Lion creating a sound that belongs entirely to them. From the earthy stomp of roots music to the bold bounce of hip-hop, Folk Hop N Roll casts a wide net, proof that Judah & the Lion - who are now four releases into their career - have developed quite the roar.

Judah & the Lion followed the release of Folk Hop N Roll with a massive tour spanning most of 2016. Later in the year, after being named iHeartRadio's Artist on the Verge, their single "Take It All Back" began to climb the ranks at Alternative Radio, eventually culminating in a three-week stint in the #1 spot to kick off 2017. In tandem with their first #1 song, Judah & the Lion also kicked off a tour as support for Twenty One Pilots, Kaleo Incubus and Jimmy Eat World, which brought them to arenas and amphitheaters across the US.

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