Classically trained yet deeply rooted in folk tradition, Lydia Luce brings both emotional weight and graceful restraint to her songs. In early December 2024, the Fort Lauderdale-born singer and guitarist Chris West joined me at Loudmouth’s design studio in Utrecht to record a session for The Influences. They performed Occasionally, a standout from Luce’s work, alongside covers of Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right and Damien Rice’s The Blower’s Daughter.

“I begged my mom to buy me an acoustic guitar.”

Naming the impressionistic songwriting of artists like Damien Rice and Joni Mitchell among her longtime inspirations, Luce first began writing songs of her own in her early 20s, expanding on the refined musicality she’d honed since taking up classical violin as a small child. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, she worked at world-music label Smithsonian Folkways Records, later relocating to Nashville and establishing herself as an in-demand session musician. She recorded violin or viola for people like Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Eminem, Annie Lennox, Rod Stewart and many more.

“I started playing the violin when I was 6 and begged my mom to buy me an acoustic guitar in middle school so I could start learning some of the songs that I loved. One of the first songs I learned on guitar was Delicate by Damien Rice. I loved how the string arrangements on his songs and feel in love with his writing. He definitely inspired me to give songwriting a try. I recorded a version of his song The Blower’s Daughter recently with a string quintet and have been performing it on tour.”

From Mozart to Dylan

“Growing up my parents had very different musical interests. My mom is a classical conductor so when we were in her car we exclusively listened to Mozart and whatever classical repertoire she was working on at the time. We called dad’s car the fun car because we got to listen to his favorites like Fleetwood Mac, Cat Stevens and Bob Dylan. Both of their musical tastes have influenced my songwriting and musical career greatly.”

In 2016 Lydia Luce founded Lockeland Strings—a Nashville-based community arts organization that hosts a monthly showcase of local artists accompanied by string quartet arrangements, alongside performances of new contemporary classical pieces from local composers. With past guests including country superstar Kacey Musgraves, Lockeland Strings’ profits go toward nonprofit groups like ACLU of Tennessee and Girls Write Nashville. 

Photos

Keep watching

Thank you for watching and enjoying this session. You’ll probably like some other sessions from The Influences’ archive too, like these earlier ones we filmed with Andrea von Kampen and Andrew Combs.

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