Judah and the Lion Play At Riviera Theater

Judah and the Lion, an American folk band from Tennessee, made a stop at The Riviera in

Chicago on their headline “Process Tour”, bringing along Ethan Regan as support. The band, while formed in Nashville, actually contains a band member from the Chicago suburbs which made this a fun homecoming for Brian Macdonald. Although, it seemed just as fun for the band’s namesake, Judah Akers, who came out in a Bulls jersey showing his support for Chicago sports.

The band has been touring for 10+ years, even opening for big names such as Twenty One

Pilots and Jimmy Eat World, so touring is no stranger to them. Despite having a few charting

hits throughout the years, they still have managed to maintain a loyal and tight knit fanbase.

Even though I wasn’t able to witness the VIP set before the show, I saw evidence on their social

media to show how intimate the setting was and how deeply they care for their fans. Even

further, they started the show in the audience!

When the lights dimmed and the crowd cheered, the fans wondered where the band was as they failed to come to the stage. That’s when a spotlight beamed at the audience and people in the back started to cheer louder while the front turned around, confused as to what the chaos was about. The two main members of the band, Judah and Brian, were slowly making their way from the back of the audience to the front 3 rows where they set up a guitar and mic stand. They wanted to start the show with a personal greeting to the fans and make it clear this show was going to be special.

The rest of the show was just as intentional, the band played songs that ranged through their

long discography, including fan favorites “Rich Kids” and “Take It All Back 2.0”. From folk, to pop, to a fun dance with the whole band, the range in music kept the crowd fully engaged, even the folks in the back by the bar and the large balcony of tiered seats. The fans even planned a ‘fan project’ during the song “Only Want The Best” where they held up different colored papers to their flashlights to show a sea of multi-color lights; presumably to represent the album cover from which the song comes from, “The Process”

Throughout the night, the band kept showing the audience how much they value their fans, this would include the rest of the band changing before the encore into Bulls jerseys to show Chicago support, as well as performing an unreleased song dealing with some grief that Judah had recently experienced. This was a specifically intimate moment for the crowd because without everyone knowing the lyrics, they could truly just sit and listen to Judah’s voice and the lyrics he wrote. The band finished the show with the song “Sports” off their 2019 album,“Pep Talks”

Judah once again went into the crowd, this time taking the time to say hello to people and even going upstairs into the seated crowd. He stopped at the balcony to finish the song, then took his time coming back down to the audience, saying hello to more fans, and then left the stage.

All in all, the band put on a very special show for the Chicago audience that they won’t forget

anytime soo