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May 19, 2021 By Mark Redfern Photography by Ebru Yildiz

Lucy Dacus is releasing a new album, Home Video, on June 25 via Matador. Now she has shared another song from it, “VBS,” via an animated video for the single. She has also added a handful more tour dates. Check out the Marin Leong-directed video and all her tour dates below.

“VBS means vacation bible school, and I went to tons of them,” explains Dacus in a press release. “It’s where Christian parents send their kids over the winter, spring, or summer breaks from school to get closer to God, maybe learn some outdoor skills, and bring home useless crafts and totems like fruit of the spirit sand art and purity rings. I wrote the song in the van on the way to Nashville to record Home Video after seeing one of those readerboards outside a church advertising a wholesome church camp for kids. I thought about my first boyfriend, who I met at VBS, the resident bad boy who loved Slayer and weed more than Jesus. I took it upon myself to save him, and make him stop doing drugs (with an exception for snorting nutmeg). God, I was so lame.”

Leong also commented on the video for the song: “A lot of the album examines navigation of self and how it evolves, and Lucy and I have often talked about bodies, the part they play in our ideation of self, and both connection and disconnection to them. We arrived at this world where her physical self is being distorted by the landscape that she’s present in, both in a beautiful and slightly uncanny way. One of the reasons I find animation and music compelling is the freedom in world building, the ability to translate story and tone, and synthesize it into a visual landscape using imagery that isn’t necessarily rooted in reality. And although I was treating this video like a diptych or braided essay with the song, rather than an overt visual depiction, I was able to make some subtle but direct references to the lyrics as well, so I’m excited for people to find those.”

Home Video includes “Thumbs,” a new song she shared in March that was #1 on our Songs of the Week list. When the album was announced Dacus shared its second single, “Hot & Heavy,” which also made our Songs of the Week list. Then she performed “Hot & Heavy” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, performing it with her backing band from the stage of the Virginia Repertory Theatre, in her native Richmond. Dacus’ mother used to play piano for musicals at the theater, musicals Dacus would sometimes appear in as a child.

Dacus’ last album, Historian, came out in 2018. The following year, she released the EP 2019.

Home Video was recorded at Trace Horse Studio in Nashville with the aid of Jacob Blizard, Collin Pastore, and Jake Finch. Shawn Everett mixed the album and Bob Ludwig mastered it. Two songs feature her boygenius bandmates Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers. Dacus’ regular touring band is Jacob Blizard (guitar), Dominic Angelella (bass), Ricardo Lagomasino (drums), and Sarah Goldstone (keys, background vocals).

Read our interview with Dacus and boygenius.

Read our 2018 interview with Dacus on Historian.

Read our 2016 Artist Survey interview with Lucy Dacus.

Lucy Dacus Tour Dates:

Wed. June 23 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheater @
Thu. July 29th - Bethlehem, PA @ Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks !
Fri. July 30 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium !
Sat. July 31 - Queens, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium !
Fri. Sept. 10 - Richmond, VA @ The National &^^
Sat. Sept. 11 - Richmond, VA @ The National &% - SOLD OUT
Mon. Sept. 13 - Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom %
Tue. Sept. 14 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West %
Wed. Sept. 15 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl %
Fri. Sept. 17 - Dallas, TX @ Trees %
Sat. Sept. 18 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall- Downstairs %
Sun. Sept. 19 - Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn %
Mon. Sept. 20 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger %
Wed. Sept. 22 - Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole %
Fri. Sept. 24 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel %
Sat. Sept. 25 - Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory OC
Mon. Sept. 27 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore %
Thu. Sept. 30 - Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre $
Fri. Oct. 1 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom $
Sat. Oct. 2 - Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre $
Tue. Oct. 5 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge $
Wed. Oct. 6 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater $
Fri. Oct. 8 - Iowa City, IA @ The Englert Theatre $
Sat. Oct. 9 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue $
Mon. Oct. 11 - Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre
Tue. Oct. 12 - Columbus , OH @ Newport Music Hall $
Thu. Oct. 14 - Toronto, ON @ The Opera House $
Fri. Oct. 15 - Montreal, QC @ L’Astral $
Sat. Oct. 16 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues $
Mon. Oct. 18 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground $
Wed. Oct. 20 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^
Fri. Oct. 22 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club $ - SOLD OUT
Sat. Oct. 23 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
Mon. Oct. 25 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel - SOLD OUT
Tue. Oct. 26 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

%= Bachelor supporting
$ = Bartees Strange supporting
^ = Shamir supporting
#= Laura Stevenson supporting
^^=Thao and The Get Down Stay Down supporting
&= with Julien Baker
@=supporting Shakey Graves
!=supporting Bright Eyes

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