Adam McInnis and Daddy Jack of Sons of Legion chat with Dolce about their lives, inspirations, and the importance of music to la dolce vita.
As I sat across from Adam McInnis and Jack Crenshaw, a.k.a. Daddy Jack, in Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama — hallowed ground in the history of American music — their slick smiles, flair for fashion and rugged voices put me in their music world of rock, soul and warmth for the entire interview. Above all else, the camaraderie of the duo was palpable from the beginning.
“You guys are looking good, looking very sharp!” I said.
They replied with laughter and warmth, “Livin’, Livin’, that’s how we live, man.”
The story of Sons of Legion stretches back more than a decade. A mutual friend introduced them, and soon they were writing together.
The bond deepened years later, unexpectedly, in the Costa Rican jungle. A week of connection and creative exploration planted the seed that would evolve into Sons of Legion. “We knew we had something really cool, but we just didn’t really fully understand where it was going,” says Jack.
By 2023, with songs like “Angels,” the project crystallized into something organic, unforced, and resonant. “They felt a lot more profound, and they just felt like, oh, we’re not writing this for the industry, we’re not writing this for anybody else, we’re just channelling what’s in the room,” Jack adds.
That spirit of authenticity carries into their name so much so that it begs the question: How did the name “Sons of Legion” come about?
It was a striking coincidence that inspired the foundation: both musicians are the seventh-born sons of their fathers.
“The word “legion” popped out at some point, and it just felt larger than life,” says McInnis. As they explain, “Everything we write and everything we do, we always look for it to hit here,” he says, as he pats his chest. “We always look for it to hit in the soul, our soul, direct, non-filtered.”
For Sons of Legion, music is a mission, not a product. “The music industry is very convoluted. And there are a lot of sharks in the business. There are a lot of contracts that don’t make sense. There are things, like, ‘We want to own your name and likeness,’ which is a slave contract,” says McInnis. In response to that, they decided to chart their own course, solely focusing on the people and the music that is true to them.
That focus has resonated. With millions of monthly listeners and performances at legendary venues, they describe surreal moments that confirm their path. Their inspiration comes not only from the legacy of iconic studios like Fame Studios, but also from the listeners who share their stories: “Somebody is listening to music, and it’s helping them get through something in their life, or it’s becoming the soundtrack to a part of their life where they’re using it to feel empowered or to just get through the day,” says Jack.
When asked to define their style, the band resists the constraints of genre. They describe it as an amalgamation of different genres of American music: blues, rock, country, soul, hip hop and gospel. At the heart of their journey is purpose. Their mission is to share their music with as many people on the planet as possible. Both are mindful that for that to happen they must relinquish a certain degree of control so as not to force it. But the mission is firmly cemented in their hearts.
Ultimately, Sons of Legion see their music as a healing force, transcending boundaries and labels. Music has the power to connect with people all around the world, no matter their race religion, ideology or gender. In that purity lies their power — a brotherhood-turned movement, carrying forward a legion built on sound, soul and solidarity.
