Although LouFest may already seem like a distant memory, the sound and energy of music culture lives on. During the festival, I had the opportunity to sit down with Nate Zuercher, Spencer Cross, Judah Akers and Brian Macdonald of Judah & the Lion and get their take on their rise to stardom and their experience at this particularly muddy year of LouFest. Answering wholeheartedly my most general and specific questions, the band offered a great look at the potential we all have as college students pursuing our dreams and the timeless influence music can have as the universal language.

Student Life’s Greer Russell after her interview with Judah & the Lion. The Nashville-based group performed on Sunday.

Student Life :

You all came from pretty different backgrounds and were brought together by college [at Belmont University in Nashville]. Can you speak at all to how you all met and really realized your true potential to become the Judah & the Lion of today?

Nate Zuercher:

Well, Judah called me through a mutual friend. He had written some songs, and I had kind of wanted to see what they sounded like. Brian and I had been playing at church a little bit, so I brought him along. The three of us met at the bell tower on [Belmont’s] campus. Brian and I had jammed with a bunch of people before, so we maybe hadn’t expected to hear anything really different, but the moment Judah started playing, and we were all together, it was really obvious that this was different and exciting—something really special. That was 4 1/2 years ago, right before Christmas break, and when we came back, everything just really took off from there.

SL:

In regard to each of your coming from different hometowns and backgrounds, do you feel as though these differently shaped perspectives have proven an asset to your work or made it more difficult when trying to work together to create new music?

Spencer Cross:

Definitely an asset. I think there are absolutely times where out differences can butt heads, but I think it ultimately makes us better. And, honestly, I think our differences are what set us apart because we all are from different parts of the country, have different tastes in clothes, listen to different types of music—but I think that’s what really keeps our creative juices flowing. We have all these different outlets, and everyone is listening to different things. It helps us to get inspired and keeps the wheels turning.

SL:

The name of your most recent album “Folk Hop ‘N Roll” is a play on three genres that can overlap but can also be very different from each other. How would you personally define the music you create?

Judah Akers:

I guess we are technically considered alternative, just because alternative has yet to be really defined. And that’s kind of the way we want it to be with our music. As we said earlier, we come from different backgrounds but also have different instruments that are usually pegged with different genres, like folk, bluegrass, the drum machine from hip-hop and the electric guitar from rock ‘n’ roll. I think it’s just who we are as people. We never really wanted to be defined as anything.

SL:

Just last week you guys made your first entrance onto alternative radio charts with your song “Take It All Back” ranking at No. 19. A huge congratulations! How are you guys feeling after this accomplishment?

Brian Macdonald:

We’re super pumped; it’s our first time having a song go to radio, and we can already feel the impact a little bit. Like in the recent shows we’ve been playing, whenever we play the song, there’s just an energy that changes, almost, which is just really cool to see. And we’re just really thankful that people are hearing it. It’s creating a lot of opportunities for us right now, which is great.

SL:

Are there any little quirks that help you and the band when you hit a bump in the road in terms of writing or performing?

NZ:

I think it kind of comes back to us all being different people and the way that we look at things. You know, there are a lot of times when we’ll be rehearsing and trying stuff, and maybe I might struggle to vibe with something really quickly, but Brian is really adamant about it, but we just try to take the time to play it out and see it if becomes something special. Especially in these last few months, when we’ve been writing, I’ve found I’ve really appreciated trying to think more along the lines of “let’s just ride this out.” I think we’ve come up with some of our best songs and ideas through having that time. It may not have been a cool thing at first, but over an hour of trying stuff, it turned into something really special. It’s just another example of how our different perspectives are allowing us to learn and grow from each other. I used to dream about being in a band with all the guys that were exactly like me and saw the same things in the same way and did the same stuff. I’m really grateful that that’s not who we are because we are always making each other stronger and pushing each other to be better and think differently.

SL:

How did you feel today’s performance here at LouFest went?

JA:

It was fun! Sometimes earlier on in the day it’s a little bit hard to get people going because they are trying to pace themselves for the headliners at night, plus it’s a little hotter during the day, too. We had a pretty big crowd there toward the end, which I was super surprised about. There was some mud—I was expecting people to stay away, but they got right down into it. It was awesome.

SL:

One aspect of your group I find so exciting is your growth from independent touring as opposed to some major record label. How has being on the road played a role in your success?

SC:

It’s affected it a lot. Being out on the road and having the interactions with fans drastically impacts what we do. I know with this last record and this whole past season of touring we’ve grown to love putting on live shows, and we’ve really come to find it as one of our greatest strengths. And so, with this last record, we really wanted to focus on the live show and thinking about how people would react in that setting. We’re really trying to convey that energy that we have live into our recordings.

SL:

What does music mean to you?

SC:

Well, I think for me—I play the drums, so I started out way back in the day as a means of communication. And I think about it like that now too, that music is really this means of communication. But it’s something deeper than words; it’s something that can impact people across languages and different cultures. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, the musical elements of it can impact anyone.

NZ:

It transcends everyone’s differences, and one person can hear a song one way, and another person can hear the same song at the same time, and it can mean an entirely different thing. Something can feel spiritual whether it’s speaking to something spiritual or not. To be able to perform that and hear stories about how our music influenced someone in an entirely different [way] from what we could have imagined is a really powerful thing. Especially in traveling so much now, and the way it’s helped us to connect to other people and make new friends.

JA:

It’s hard to add on to all those things, but I think, for me, it’s just such a feeling. It’s an outlet for people to feel not alone. For us, in music and writing, and particularly in our song “Insane,” people can feel a certain way about something that’s super physical and real that is going on in their life. But it can be spoken in a way through a song that makes them feel less alone in it. It can be healing, hope or sadness—that you’re not alone in that too. Really, just a feeling of belonging.

BM:

It’s always been an outlet for me, not an escape, but more just any human stress or issues that happen, I know that can go sit down at the piano and play. With that said, we try to make the music that we create provide people that outlet, hope or joy.