Over the weekend, Mike “McDuck” Olson announced his departure from Lake Street Dive after playing guitar and trumpet for 16 years in the band he helped found. The amicable split came as a shock to fans of the Boston-bred R&B, indie-pop group, which issued its own statement on Wednesday.
In its own message, Lake Street Dive delivered a loving tribute to its founding member, calling him a “friend, leader, listener, dreamer, thinker, schemer, supporter, agitator, composer of both silly and heart searing songs, performer of tasty guitar parts and blistering trumpet solos, arranger of background vocals, cutter of steaks and all time number one all star of waxing philosophically for hours on end to get us through late night drives in the van.”
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The message from LSD—delivered on the band’s Facebook page—reinforced the notion that there are no hard feelings in the split. The well-crafted statement was nearly as introspective as the band’s music itself, noting that “If we resisted this change, we’d be resisting the very fabric of our being— much in the way the paradox of time travel would alter the cause and effect relationships that make up the structure of space-time…For Lake Street Dive to continue in any authentic way, we’re called to support each and every member in whatever way they need, even if it means a member needs to move on.”
Mike “McDuck” Olson is not completely out of Lake Street Dive yet, and still has five more shows left with the band. Next month, the group will perform as a whole on June 4th–6th at Beak & Skiff Orchards in LaFayette, NY, and June 10th and 11th at Westville Music Bowl in New Haven, CT. The LaFayette shows are sold out, but tickets for Westville are still available as of this publication. The band has announced that it will livestream the concerts on the 5th, 6th, 10th, and 11th.
For tickets and more information head to the band’s website. Scroll down to read the full statements from Mike “McDuck” Olson as well as Lake Street Dive regarding his departure from the group.
A heartfelt message from McDuck pic.twitter.com/jMagfUrm5s
— Lake Street Dive (@lakestreetdive) May 10, 2021