Not a lot of artists can successfully switch from punk rock to bluegrass and traditional songwriting, but second generation musician Austin Lucas pulled it off.
The singer/songwriter from Bloomington Indiana will be playing an evening patio concert at the Rockwater Grill and Bar on Monday June 4.
Raised in a musical family (his father Bob Lucas was a songwriter and producer with credits on Allison Krauss’ Grammy-winning album “So Long So Wrong”), Lucas honed his vocal control in six formative years as a member of the nationally-acclaimed Indiana University Children’s Choir.
Singing with the conviction of a preacher bereft of his faith, Lucas accordingly tackles recurrent themes of the soul, sin as personal purgatory, and the possibility of finding redemption in this life.
He has released five albums (some of which featured songs that climbed as high as seventh on the Billboard Bluegrass chart) since 2006 when he put out his solo debut. He is currently touring, supporting his latest record “A New Home in the Old World.”
Recorded in December 2010 at Farm Fresh Studios in Lucas’ hometown of Bloomington, A New Home In The Old World was mixed and mastered by Paul Mahern, who has built his reputation engineering records for Bloomington’s prodigal son, John Mellencamp.
Not only was it the first time Lucas took on the task of self-producing, it also features the musical talents of some of his closest friends and family.
The patio show takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Rockwater, and features opening act PJ Bond.
