Lydia Luce's last 18-months have been full of the typical stresses faced by musicians in a pandemic and then some. Last year, her home was also in the direct line of a tornado that ripped through Nashville, leaving carnage not only in her neighborhood, but in the exact spot she had been sitting just moments before.
Luce started out as a pianist, but migrated to violin and eventually viola by high school. She followed that route all the way to a Masters degree in viola performance from UCLA. Though not the most useful primary instrument for a budding singer/songwriter career, Luce has also become proficient on guitar, and lets her string background color the lush orchestral arrangements on the new album Dark River.
During our session, she played a few tunes from the new album, and talked about how her extensive experience adding string parts to albums of others has helped her develop her own unique sound.
