Judah Akers and Brian Macdonald carry a banjo and a mandolin into rooms that run on a hip-hop PA. That collision is the whole premise of Judah & the Lion — Americana instrumentation pressed through contemporary production, the tension running both directions at once. They bring The Boys Are Back Tour to Emo’s Austin on Sunday, September 27, six weeks after their sixth album lands.
About Judah & the Lion
The Nashville duo formed at Belmont University in 2011 and spent the next decade growing from acoustic college sets into festival bills at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Their 2016 album Folk Hop N’ Roll laid out the proposition: bluegrass instruments at the center of something that also runs on hip-hop production and alternative-rock energy. “Take It All Back” broke through on alternative radio. “Pictures” peaked at number seven on Billboard Alternative Songs and passed 200 million streams on Spotify. The approach held.
Founding member Nate Zuercher left in late 2021 and Akers and Macdonald kept going as a duo. The new album — their sixth — is I Am A Prism, out August 14 via Dualtone Records. Lead single “Maybe the Best Is Now” is streaming now. Jeremy Lutito produced it; Ryan Hewitt mixed it, with live audience recordings folded into the sessions. The album runs through faith, identity, and reinvention. They’ve worked that territory before and they work it straight.
About Emo’s Austin
Emo’s Austin sits at 2015 E. Riverside Drive — a 1,700-capacity room on the reliable mid-size tier of the Austin touring circuit. Cashless venue. Age requirements vary by event; check the listing before you go. Show starts at 6:30 PM. The venue recommends rideshare with drop-off at the front entrance.
Tickets
Presale opens June 15, 2026 at 10:00 AM MST. Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, June 19 via Ticketmaster. The Boys Are Back Tour runs 38 dates across North America — the Emo’s show is the Austin stop.