On October 26, 2025, musicians Lucy Dacus and Rufus Wainwright took to the stage for a discussion with New Yorker Staff writer Amanda Petrusich at the 26th annual New Yorker Festival, a weekend filled with conversations, screenings, performances and more. The festival, which became the hallmark of the magazine, was held in New York and brought together leading representatives of literature, cinema, comedy, television, politics and medicine.
Lucy Dacus singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. She began her musical journey in Richmond, Virginia and has released four studio albums, including No Burden, Historian and Home Video, exploring the worlds of childhood and adolescence. In addition to her solo work, Dacus joined forces with Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker to form the group boygenius. Their album, The Record, released in 2023, received widespread acclaim and earned the trio three Grammy Awards. Dacus' latest solo album, Forever Is a Feeling, explores love, desire and unlikely romance. It was released in March and debuted at the top as Billboard Rock Album Charts and Billboard Folk/Americana Album Charts.
Rufus Wainwright singer, songwriter and composer known for New York Time calls it “true originality.” He has released eleven studio albums, including the Grammy-nominated Unfollow the Rules and Folkocracy; three DVDs; and six live albums, including “Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall,” also nominated for a Grammy Award. He has written two operas and numerous songs for films and television shows. His first musical, an adaptation of John Cassavetes' Opening Night, co-created with Ivo van Hove, premiered in 2024. In the same year, his “Requiem of a Dream” premiered with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France. The recording was released by Warner Classics in 2025, followed by its US premiere in Los Angeles.
Amanda Petrusich is a staff writer at New Yorker and author of three books. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship for her non-fiction writing and has also been nominated for a Grammy Award. Her criticism and articles appeared in a New York newspaper. Time, Oxford American, Spin, Pitchfork, GQ, Esquire, The Atlantic, And Virginia Quarterly Review. Her book “Don't sell for any money” explores obsessive 78 rpm record collectors. She is a writer-in-residence at New York University's Gallatin School.
