Eclectic Rock/Folk Duo HuDost Has The Cure For Furor On “Acting Out the Outrage” Single
Righteous indignation is society’s most perfect perpetual-motion machine: Once it gets started, it has little problem generating its own energy and heat. Turning down that temperature is the objective of “Acting Out the Outrage,” the new single from the eclectic, electric rock/folk duo HuDost that urges us to lower the boiling of the culture wars to at least a simmer.
Partners in melody Moksha Sommer and Jemal Wade Hines have issued a plea for empathy and tolerance that manages to come off as measured and wise, without succumbing to knee-jerk both-sideism or victim-blaming.
A little bit of rain removes the static
Clear our eyes of all the panic
Take a breath from all the manic
Little space from our mistakes
In keeping with the “chill out” message, the song starts out as an airy slow jam that gives full exposure to the gorgeous richness of Sommer’s voice. But just past the halfway mark—right when you’ve started to wonder if HuDost really feels a lullaby is the best remedy for social injustice—the whole thing kicks into a double-time rave-up that fully vindicates the pair’s reputation as impassioned activists.
The antihero, the prophet and the sage, they’re
Acting out the outrage
Acting out the outrage
The CEO, the politician on crusade
Acting out the outrage, Acting out the outrage
Sommer and Hines say they were driven to write and release the song by the banning of drag performances in Tennessee, which clearly hit close to home for this Kentucky-by-way-of-Quebec outfit. The context is made plain by the accompanying music video, which features a breathtaking transformation by Canadian queen KIARA that develops into a full-on Pride parade. But the breadth and purposeful ambiguity of the lyrics reflects HuDost’s belief that performative uproar is distorting and delegitimatizing a host of other important issues, including women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, faith, race, education, and politics in general.
“We live in a time of challenge,” the group says. “Debates on social media rage on every issue, with little consideration of who those debates affect. What if we hear the perspective of people whose lives are truly being affected? What if we share the stage instead of stealing the spotlight?”
When it comes to their own music, HuDost is certainly willing to share the spotlight. They co-wrote the new song with Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay, and the recording itself finds them joined by a host of friendly collaborators. In addition to the bedrock contributions of Sommer (on vocals, keys, and harmonium) and Hines (guitars, vocals, production), the track features Hasletine’s bandmate Charlie Lowell on keys, as well as Chris Powell (Brandi Carlile) on drums, Dan Walters on bass and Kai Welch (Kacey Musgraves) on horns. The “gang” backing vocals were supplied by Liza Holbrook (SHEL), Rachael Davis, Matthew Odmark, Bethany Bordeaux, and “Charlie” (with Sommer and Hines joining in to provide even more muscle).
That loosely collaborative approach is typical of the way HuDost works. Sometimes they’re a duo; at other times, they’re a full-on band, with guest musicians of varying sensibilities and backgrounds. Often, they widen their focus even further by incorporating dancers into their onstage presentation. The instrumentation makes room for vocals, harmonium (the Indian pump organ), live looping and beats, NORD Keys, guitars, Dulcinet, percussion and a slew of sonic ambient effects. The result is a unique blend of pop, rock, and more exotic elements, ranging from traditional Sufi music to the folk sounds of Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, and other far-flung locales.
Cultural curiosity has been good for this pair. They met when Sommer was just a teen, on an impulsive trip from her home in Montreal to a Rumi Festival put on by Turkish Sufis in North Carolina. Hines was playing frame drum there, and their meeting ended up blossoming into a partnership in every sense of the term: a band, a marriage, and a life together as activists fighting the good fight. Throughout their personal and professional relationship, they’ve been staunch supporters of initiatives like ONE, a nonprofit that works to end extreme poverty.
Their shared path took a rocky turn in 2008 when Sommer had to undergo a painful process of brain surgery to remove a tumor. In the aftermath, she had to re-learn her language skills, cope with the temporary loss of her proper sight, and weather some nasty seizures. But despite the myriad challenges, the couple came out on the other side with two healthy children: son Kaleb, born in 2013, and baby Sylvan, who arrived in 2022.
Meanwhile, they’ve continued to thrive on the artistic front. Their albums have earned critical acclaim—writer Kristi Wooten called HuDost’s music “as sacred as a church service, [but] without the identifiers which can separate and shame non-believers”—while also making a big splash on the charts. They’ve hit #4 on the Canadian National Folk/Roots/Blues Chart, #9 on the U.S. Folk Radio Charts, and #24 in the Billboard Folk/Americana chart. In the process, they’ve won an Independent Music Award for Social Action Song, and in 2020, they were honored to receive two “Best of Nashville” awards.
Now that the new single is out, HuDost has a busy second half of 2024 lined up, with live shows booked all across the United States. Dates are as follows:
July 31 – Oregon Shakespeare Fest, Ashland, OR
Aug. 1 – New World Concerts, Corvallis, OR
Aug. 3 – Water Sines Studio, Seattle, WA
Aug. 9 – BlueMoon, Vancouver, BC
Aug. 31 – Floyd Yoga Jam, Floyd, VA
Sept. 13 – Allerton Park Concerts, Monticello, IL
Sept. 20-22 – Earthwork Harvest Gathering, Lake City, MI
Nov. 2 – The Pittsburgh Witches Ball, Pittsburgh, PA
Nov. 7 – The Ringling, Sarasota, FL
Nov. 8-9 – Gainesville, FL (location TBA)
After all that activity has subsided, 2025 will bring a new HuDost album, of which “Acting Out the Outrage” is but a tantalizing glimpse. And who knows? Maybe by then, the world will have learned to stop manufacturing drama and just live and let live. Okay, probably not. But spend a little time with this crew and see if you don’t come out feeling anything is possible.
Hi Moksha! Care to introduce yourself to the readers?
Sure! I’m Moksha Sommer. I’m a full-time artist who is active in Music Performance and Composition, 2D and 3D media, Interdisciplinary Intermedia Studies and Practices, Arts Production, Performance/New Genre Art, Feminist Art and Theory, and Social Activist Art. My main project is HuDost which is an electric folk, world rock music ensemble with my husband. We tour internationally and our last couple of albums have made the charts.
How did the banning of drag performances in Tennessee influence the creation of this song?
We were already scheduled to have a songwriting session with Dan Haseltine from Jars of Clay. The ban had just happened and we were in shock and couldn’t stop talking about it with each other. We have drag musician friends who were being directly affected by it and they are the kind of people who cause no harm to anyone. If anything, they are lights in the community, doing positive and celebratory work. We kept asking ourselves if the people who were heavily judging even knew people in the drag community. What was their fear? Why were they the ones stepping up on soapboxes, especially in the arena of social media where it takes no courage at all to yell judgments, and being heard? Shouldn’t the voices of people within the drag community itself be listened to?
What was the collaborative process like working with Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay on this track?
We’ve now written a bunch of songs with Dan. It is always a fun and inspiring process where the three of us enter without ego and brainstorm together. It is always a process where lots of ideas are shared and then the real gems are picked.
This song started with those questions about the drag ban but then expanded into talking about all of the voices that are suppressed and how the spotlight is frequently stolen by whoever can whine the loudest. This song is about everyone that is not being heard that deserves to share their story. It is also simply a plea to return to love and compassion and stepping away from the slander of social media and seeing people from a genuine and open place.
How do you balance addressing social issues in your music without falling into both-sideism or victim-blaming?
I think anytime we can return to empowerment and truly look people in the eye and hear their story, we can be free of both-sideism and victim-blaming. I have always been most humbled and learned the most when I am willing to try to understand, truly understand, the perspectives of others. Especially when they have lived lives that are really different from mine. Judgment is removed pretty quickly when I can do this because most fear comes from injury, most hate comes from fear, and most people simply want to love and be loved.
Can you tell us about your experience meeting and partnering with each other at the Rumi Festival?
Absolutely! When I was really young my dad introduced me to the work of Rumi. I fell in love with his poetry and it was a deep inspiration to me. When my friend told me about a Rumi Festival that was happening I decided to attend on a whim. I thought it was going to be an academic forum. Little did I know! Instead, it was put on by an amazing and wild group of Turkish Sufis. When I arrived I stumbled into a big hall where everyone was chanting, singling, drumming, and locked eyes with the man that is now my music partner and husband! We fell in love like troublesome hippies should.