Lucas MacKenzie

Obsessed with the lyricism of lead guitar, torn between individuality and belonging and always striving to shed light on dark places, Lucas MacKenzie has stories to tell. His songs weave a rich tapestry wherein we can find both the familiar and the arcane aspects of love, longing, secrets and tragedy. Never content with one genre, he channels his heroes Zappa, Bowie and Garcia to utilize the strengths of rock, country, folk, blues and jazz and the various incarnations of each, all with a particular sonic focus on the guitar.

For many years he cut his teeth playing lead guitar and fronting the indie rock band New Teeth. They toured extensively across Ontario and Quebec, rocked many festival stages such CMW and Ottawa Bluesfest and even opened for his childhood idols Janes Addiction and Death From Above at Bluesfest in 2011. With their disbanding in 2017, the time was ripe for Lucas to set out on his own path and he set to work on his debut solo EP ‘Togetheralone’.

Recorded in a cabin in the woods 20 minutes north of Napanee and in a warehouse in the Junction in Toronto, ‘Togetheralone’ embodies a coalescing of both rural and urban sounds. Backed by some of Toronto’s best musical talent, Lucas MacKenzie has crafted a lush and lovingly produced batch of 6 songs that explore the timeless paradoxes of interpersonal relationships and personal identity. ‘Togetheralone’ sees Lucas MacKenzie simultaneously asking and answering the question “who am I”, as his identity as a master songwriter and poet are distilled upon listening.

Lucas MacKenzie will be debuting his band and releasing a  ‘Togetheralone’ on March 3rd at Handlebar in Kensington Market, and it will be available for streaming on SoundCloud and Bandcamp in February 2018.