HuDost’s Jemal Wade and Moksha Sommer met through music, and have since built their lives around it. Their plans for growth and new music were altered by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fueled by uncertainty and isolation, HuDost created what they consider to be their most fluid album yet.
Wade’s roots stem from Gainesville, where he lived for much of his youth. During this time, he was a part of the 1980s punk rock scene. He earned money to buy his first guitar from working in the Newberry watermelon fields. His bands from the 80s and 90s recorded their first albums at Mirror Image, now known as Heartwood Soundstage. Wade returns to Heartwood SoundStage on Friday, May 13 with his wife and other half of HuDost, Sommer.
“Gainesville still brings out the punk rock side of myself a bit,” Wade said. “What always struck me as distinctive about Gainesville is that musically the hippies, the punks and the goths seemed to all converge and hang together along with everyone else. The town has changed so much over the years, but that overall unifying vibe still remains.”
Wade describes performing in Gainesville as a sweet homecoming.
The Electric-Folk, World-Rock Musical duo met in 2000. They have been recording and touring together as the band HuDost since 2006. Their most recent album “Anthems of Home” debuted in late 2021.
Wade and Sommer directly tie their music into their advocacy for social and environmental justice.
“On the new album, we partnered with The Poor People’s Campaign when we released ‘Our Words Will Be Louder,’” Sommer said. “It was about the larger empowerment that comes through collective voice. This is a time to, yes, speak up as an individual, but also know what it means to act with compassion and love with the help of others and in support of others.”
Although Wade comes from GG, Sommer is from Canada. The band has performed at a variety of international venues such as British Columbia, Finland, Germany and Switzerland. While these locations vary greatly in atmosphere and character, HuDost revels in the consistency of how people come together through music regardless of the circumstances.
HuDost will be returning to Gainesville for the first time in over two years at 7:00pm this Friday. The band will be performing with special guests Hymn For Her. Tickets Link Here
By Hannah Schoff