Lucius is coming to Salt Lake City to play The Depot on Nov. 15, 2025. We sat down with singer Holly Laessig to catch up before the show. For the past decade-plus, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe have balanced roles as background-vocalists-for-hire in addition to being one-half of the group. Lucius—bassist Peter Lalish and drummer Dan Molad complete the band.
Laessig and Wolfe have recorded and toured with a dizzying array of artists, including Roger Waters, John Legend, Harry Styles, Ozzy Osborne, Ringo Starr, Sheryl Crow and The Killers. In 2022, the band raised its profile considerably with the release of “Second Nature,” their third non-self-released studio album, which was co-produced by Dave Cobb and Brandi Carlile. With so much hitting simultaneously, Lucius took time in 2023 to take stock of the decade anniversary of their second studio album, 2013’s “Wildewoman.” This moment allowed the band’s current selves to have a conversation with their past selves.
“I guess around 10 years or so, when we were coming up on it, we realized we hadn’t listened to (“Wildewoman”) for almost a decade,” Laessig said in a recent interview. “Listening back to it, we realized that was what the record sounded like. It was like, ‘I don’t sing that harmony anymore’ or ‘I don’t even remember the last time I sang that harmony.’”
So, the current group decided to re-record the album, and last year Lucius released the new version as “Wildewoman (The New Recordings).”
“We thought it would be a nice ode for the tenure and also just to bring some of what the road taught us over time back to this particular record,” she said, explaining the decision to record and release a new version of “Wildewoman.” “It was fun. Some of the things were newer arrangements of the song and some of the things were just pretty true to the original, but with a couple of tweaks that were more road-informed.”
And as it’s turned out, the decision to re-record that 2013 collection of songs created a more far-reaching ripple effect than being a mere walk down memory lane. It had a direct impact on how the band approached the new self-titled album the band released in May.
“When we decided to re-record ‘Wildewoman,’ that kind of solidified for us that we were missing that feeling of hope within our band, the way we started and the nature of it just being us together creating,” Laessig explained. “We had been talking a bit about coming back together, just the four of us and doing a record that we had done the way we did for ‘Wildewoman’ and the early days stuff. This was how it worked so well the first time and how good it felt. We decided to definitely do another record like this. That’s sort of how it went.”
What also helped bring back the in-house, do-it-yourself spirit to the project was deciding to have Molad produce the self-titled album and record the songs at his Los Angeles area home studio and Altamira Sound studio in the Los Angeles suburb of Alhambra.
“With Danny’s production—he kind of understands our musical language like nobody else,” Laessig said. “It cuts out a lot of translating and time. It was also the first time he, Jess and I wrote a bunch of songs together from the beginning of the song. That was a great experience. Pete lives in Portland, OR and he came up a bunch. It was a great experience. It just felt right and like home. The record and all the songs became about home and home life. We’re all just in that stage of life where we’re getting married, buying houses and having babies and are just in that sweet spot right now. That’s kind of where the record came from.”
Although much of the new album is self-contained, the relationships the band has made with other artists naturally bled into the recording process. Among those old friends who checked in were War On Drugs guitarist Adam Granduciel, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes and singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham. These cameos played into the vibe of oneness that came out of this new batch of songs.
“Having these guests played into our favorite part of this overarching feeling of comfort and familiarity,” Laessig said. “Just having Danny behind the wheel and knowing our instincts and his knowing where we might be trying to do (go) with what we’re trying to explain, having that level of communication was the best part and it was really fun—just making music with your friends again.”
This sense of fun and unfettered creative abandon is one hallmark of Lucius’ live shows. Prone to donning matching wigs and outfits, Laessig and Wolfe are often mistaken for being twins. On top of the flawless harmonies they deliver, long-time fans have learned not to bat an eyelash when the duo busts out matching keytars. It’s this kind of spontaneity Laessig nonchalantly mentions when asked what fans should look forward to on this tour.
“Folks coming out to see us can expect a [fiery] show,” Laessig said. “As always, we have small, intimate moments where we come together as just a stripped-down band…acoustic. It’s just us and the audience and then there are other moments with lots of rocking out, big sounds, synths and psychedelia. It’ll be a dynamic show.”
Being in their current phase of life means navigating parenthood while being a professional musician. Laessig, who has a four-year-old and a one-year-old, finds herself bouncing between recording a take quickly before having to dash off to get her child out of daycare. Or being grateful that the motion and the sound of the tour bus rocks her youngest to sleep. These are the little things that she and Wolfe have learned to embrace as they both experience motherhood.
When asked how they’ve fortified the relationship they forged back when they attended Berkeley School of Music, it comes down to the deep respect they’ve gained over time.
“I think understanding and appreciating each other’s strengths and differences and how they complement (each other) has been the key,” Laessig said. “I think that’s really it.”
- What: Lucius
- When: Saturday, Nov. 15
- Where: The Depot
- Tickets and info: livenation.com
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