Are you excited to come out and show your support at this Friday’s Luella and the Sun Benefit Show at Mercy Lounge yet? We certainly are. In case you haven’t heard, Luella and the Sun guitarist, Joe McMahan, recently lost a portion of his home and their studio to a fire, and we’re helping to put on a benefit show with some of Nashville’s best talent to help out one of the most kick-ass bands we have here in town. Yesterday, we published an interview with Justin Townes Earle, who will be performing at the event. Today, we bring you an interview from a recent chat we had with Sarah Dugas of local duo DUGAS, who we are thrilled to see. We caught up with Sarah about her thoughts on DUGAS’s music, Luella, and flea markets. Follow on after the jump to read the interview and sample some of their tuneage.
NC: Thanks for being a part of the benefit show. We are honored to have you. In a few sentences, can you tell us what you aim for in your music?
Dugas: What we aim for is to be honest, passionate and to give genuine emotion both from the lyrical and musical standpoint. If a song should be light or heavy, slow or fast, so be it. We believe songs can hold such great power and change perspective of the greatest skeptics.
NC: There are quite a soul acts fronted by powerful female vocalists that are making a splash lately, some of them right here in Nashville. Do you guys identify with any of these bands and/or artists, and if so, who is your favorite?
Dugas: Though we are huge music lovers, Christian (Sarah’s brother and bandmate) and I were just talking about how we are pretty much the furthest thing from being rock stars. We’ve been in studio, and started lockdown for our first full length release under the DUGAS umbrella. That being said, when we’ve stepped out from under our rock – Not trying to play favorites, but Luella and the Sun is definitely a band we feel has great energy, originality and heart. We always love seeing them live!
NC: How do you know Joe, Luella, and the rest of the band?
Dugas: A few summers ago, when we were touring as part of The Duhks, we toured the same festival circuit as, Michael Farris and the Roseland Review. Joe was then playing guitar for him and we quickly became music nerd buddies. As for Luella, I’d met her a couple times, not long after I moved here, but it wasn’t till I went on a random bike ride and decided to step into the Family Wash that I heard her sing with her other project, Crackerboots! She then preceded to blow my mind!
NC: When did you get the call to help, and what was your reaction?
Dugas: I believe Christian may have been at coffee with Joe the day it happened?! I know we both reached out separately and if we can help rebuild one of Nashville musical havens, we’ll be there.
NC: What made you want to help out?
Dugas: If I remember correctly, Joe has lived in that house for approximately 15 years. When you walked in, it was like this perfectly organized and intentional chaos, filled with hand-picked gems from thrift stores and flea markets. When you hear of someone losing their house, never mind studio… You know how many memories and in this case records are lost in that fire. We just want to help Joe and Luella back on their feet and back in flea markets!
NC: What are you the most excited about for the night?
Dugas: I’m most excited to see how many people come show their support.
NC: What’s coming up for you guys that we should be on the look out for?
Dugas: We have been working quite extensively and excitedly on our full length record (due to come out next year), and we will be releasing a sampler in the next month or two on Southern Ground Music Label! We have a few shows in August, but come September and October we will primarily be opening for The Zac Brown Band. We’re eager to get on the road and start sharing our music!
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Our thanks to DUGAS for being a part of the benefit show. Have a listen below to get familiar, if you aren’t already. If you still haven’t gotten your tickets for the show, you should go ahead and grab those here. I’m afraid you might not make it in the door if you wait until the day of show.
