Lucy Dacus: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music’s Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It’s the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

Lucy Dacus sits at a very special desk for this Tiny Desk (home) concert. And though she’s played the NPR Tiny Desk twice — first in 2016 and a few years later with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers as boygenius — the desk at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School likely holds deeper memories. Much of her third album, Home Video, is centered on her school years in Richmond, Va., and the friendships formed and shattered there. During those high school years, she met her musical mate, guitarist Jacob Blizard (seated on the right side of the screen), and the audio engineer capturing all these songs, Collin Pastore.

Lucy Dacus opens with “Brando,” a song about young adulthood, and for Lucy, understanding how others perceive her. “You called me cerebral,” she sings, “I didn’t know what that meant.” She and her band play “VBS,” which Lucy explains “means vacation bible school, for all you heathen folks.” It’s Lucy, as a young Christian, thinking about her faith. Then, four acoustic guitars gather for “Going Going Gone,” as Ricardo Lagomasino moves from the drum kit and Dominic Angelella puts down his bass. Sarah Goldstone helms the keyboards. For the final tune, the band vanishes as Lucy plays the most troubling song from Home Video, “Thumbs,” a song where Lucy fantasizes about murdering a friend’s estranged father. It’s a tune I often find too disturbing to listen to. But it’s also an example of why artists create — to deal with profound issues. When successful (and “Thumbs” certainly is), these types of songs can move writers and listeners to think hard and understand.