When Gracie Huffman came up with the chorus for Lighthearted’s newly released single, “Borrowed,” she didn’t know if there was anything there. So, she turned to her twin sister and bandmate, Eliza Lemmon, for some advice.
“She sent me a voicemail and was like ‘I don’t know about this, let me know what you think,’” Lemmon said. “And I let it sit for a while, and it just kept getting stuck in my head.”
Huffman writes most of the songs for Lighthearted, the band she started with her twin sister Lemmon. Huffman started exploring themes of loss and permanence as she crafted “Borrowed,” calling upon images of the rising and setting sun or ebbing tide. She wanted to capture the feeling of “always saying goodbye” as she and her sister sang over a melodic guitar track.
Once she began exploring this idea, Huffman said she found that time was not the only thing she feels she borrows in her everyday life. In the song’s bridge, Huffman sings “I even borrowed this song until it came out of my throat.”
She recalls that the song allowed her to realize the power in recovery and healing.
“It's a beautiful thing that pain like that can't be just erased or forgotten about, because it's a reminder that healing is possible, and that is permanent,” Huffman said.
The 24-year-old identical twins are the founding members of the Athens, Georgia, based indie-folk duo Lighthearted, and they released their single “Borrowed” Jan. 3. Although they formed the band in 2019, the two have been playing music together since childhood. The twins’ parents fostered an appreciation for music, prompting them to take up instruments like the acoustic guitars they play together when performing.
Throughout their time working together as musicians, Lighthearted has found their twin dynamic influences their career in various ways. While on tour in 2023 following the release of their debut album “from here on out,” they found bickering is unavoidable. But the connection they share makes their collaboration more meaningful.
“I know she's always going to be there for me, and if I mess up, that's cool,” Huffman said. “But if I do really well, she's also going to champion me.”
Although Huffman is primarily focused on songwriting and Lemmon takes on managerial duties, the sisters are constantly striving to learn from one another. Their upcoming album features a song called “My Sweet Time,” which both sisters co-wrote.
“I think we're both finding ways to meet each other in our strengths and learn from each other,” Lemmon said. “I see Gracie as a great songwriter. I want to meet Gracie where she is, and be a learner of her process.”
When Lighthearted was contacted about performing at Playground Music + Arts Festival on Jan. 18, they looked forward to performing alongside many of the bands they had looked up to, including flipturn and The Brook and The Bluff.
Madeline Jarman — the bassist for flipturn, which has become an indie sensation since the start of their career in Gainesville — helped found Playground. She said the festival seeks new bands every year to expand the indie music community.
“Every year, we're always looking for ways we can improve and make this just an amazing day for everybody,” she said. “I would say the energy and excitement is the same, but every year we try to bring something a little bit different from the year before.”
Lighthearted was the only duo who performed at Playground. The sisters have found the style of stripped-down instrumentals with an emphasis on their vocals allows them to convey the messages of their songs more authentically. They performed their Playground set with one electric guitar and one acoustic, hoping it resonated with audiences.
“Our hope is that people would see our humanness and the way that we struggle with certain things, or really appreciate certain things,” Lemmon said. “And I hope that we can bring some fresh perspective to people who haven't heard of music before.”
Contact Juliana DeFilippo at jdefillipo@alligator.org. Follow her on X @JulianaDeF58101
Juliana DeFilippo is a freshman journalism major and General Assignment reporter for The Avenue. In her free time, she loves to read and work on crossword puzzles.
