Lapidus & Myles are Enjoying the Spotlight
The pair produces “music for people of conscience.”
The Atlanta musical duo Lapidus & Myles is having a moment. Fresh from a sold-out performance at Eddie’s Attic, a well-known Decatur music venue where they shared the bill with Atlanta singer Ariela Freedman, the self-described “Black Christian guy and white Jewish rabbi” are starting to see a shift to a more secular audience.
Rabbi Micah Lapidus, also known for his roles as rabbi and educator at The Davis Academy and composer-in-residence at The Temple, is also a prolific songwriter, composer and guitarist. Melvin Myles, a talented gospel singer who turns those lyrics into heartfelt ballads, is a vocalist at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., where he travels each week from Atlanta. He also still performs at the famed Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he sang full-time for more than a decade.
The music they make together, which they call “music for people of conscience,” is powerful. It can still a room and also bring people to their feet. Myles’ precise instrument of a voice gives poignancy to Lapidus’ soulful lyrics. And whether heard with a full chorus and band backup or with just Myles singing and Lapidus on guitar, their songs resonate not just in the ears but in the soul.
Both are religious people, but their music is for everyone. “Our music is interested in many of the things that good religion is interested in,” says Lapidus. “Truth, beauty, purpose, human dignity, ethics, morality, respect,” which is something both secular and non-secular crowds alike can relate to. Their goal, he adds, “is to reach as many people as possible. We’re trying to make room for everyone.”
Myles agrees. “We have different lives, different lifestyles, we come from different cultures, but we come together for a common cause. That’s something that the world could use.” Their music, he says, is “coming from a good place, a wholesome place and … I think it could change hearts and minds. And that’s the mission for me.”
Whether performing together or just in each other’s company, their optimism and joy in each other and the music they make is contagious. And it is obvious there is true admiration, friendship and love between them.
“Coming into relationship with Micah has been a gift and a learning experience for me,” Myles says. “I knew nothing about the Jewish culture, Jewish life … and so, getting to know Micah and his family … everybody is just so welcoming and I’m a part of the family and they’re part of my family.”
“People can tell that we enjoy being together, that we trust one another and that we support one another and that we have deep and abiding respect for one another,” adds Lapidus.
While they are a popular act in Atlanta’s Jewish community, Lapidus and Myles also tour all over the country. They’ve played shows from coast to coast, at the invitation of many temples, Jewish and interfaith communities and non-religious organizations as well.
We have different lives, different lifestyles, we come from different cultures, but we come together for a common cause.
They first met in 2015 at The Temple’s annual Martin Luther King Shabbat, a joint service featuring clergy and chorus members from Ebenezer Baptist Church. Myles was tasked with singing one of Lapidus’ original songs, “Praying With Our Feet,” an homage to the civil rights movement.
“When I heard Melvin sing, I was very, very inspired and excited to get to know him better as a person. I just felt that he really had such a deep understanding of music and just made the song so meaningful,” says Lapidus. The two spent time together at rehearsals and, a few years later, a partnership was born.
Now, after launching two new singles, “I Am,” and “To This Darkness” (both of which can be found on Spotify), with a repertoire of around 80 songs and new songs being written all the time, they are ready for whatever comes next.
“Music has its own agenda, so we are really at its mercy. We’re along for the ride,” says Lapidus, adding, “the best is yet to come and … whatever it is, we are ready.”
To find out where Lapidus & Myles are performing next, follow them on Facebook at Lapidus&Myles or on Instagram @lapidusmyles.
comments