Presley plays keyboards in The Lids, a multigenerational rock band based in New York.
The Story
Presley met John while playing drums in Pierrot. John introduced Presley to Mike and proposed a jam session for the three of them to try out original songs John and Mike had written. John and Mike already had a long collaboration history going back to their student rock band days at UNC. And the rest is history. The Lids were born in 1984.
The original Lids wrote songs that were a blend of angular Brit rock and Southern twang and created a playlist of catchy songs including “MaryAnne” and “Home Movies”, which they still play today.
After raising families in different states, The Lids coalesced in New York in 2024 and started jamming again, this time with two new members to round out the band. John’s nephew, Evan Frierson, and Presley’s daughter, Emily Acuna, came in on the drums and vocals. One holiday reunion gig led to another and now, The Lids are a multigenerational band performing hits old and new with that same signature sound.
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Mike MandinaGuitar, vocals
Founding member. Mike and John have written songs together since their student rock band days at UNC.
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John FriersonBass, vocals
Founding member. John brought Presley and Mike together for the first Lids jam session in 1984.
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Presley AcunaKeyboards
Presley Acuna plays percussion, guitar and keyboards. He is the keyboardist for The Lids today. He played drums in the original Lids. In the years between the original Lids era and the modern Lids, he’s played in multiple combos including Pierrot, a Peter Gabriel aspiring rock band; The Logans, a pop band formed by two brothers out of London; and The Supertones, New York’s original retro surf band. When he’s not doing the music thing, he writes speculative fiction, noodles with film cameras, and is a cloud technologist.
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Evan FriersonDrums
Drummer Evan Frierson specializes in the drum and dance traditions of Senegal and Uruguay. He plays percussion with Brooklyn’s Super Yamba Band, and has also performed in David Byrne’s American Utopia on Broadway. Introduced to the Lids by his uncle, bassist John Frierson, he now gets to try his hands, and feet, at the drum set.
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Emily AcunaVocals
Emily Acuna is one of The Lids’ singers and keyboardist Presley’s daughter. Brooklyn born and raised, Emily’s musical influences include her mom’s penchant for punk, her aunt’s disco CDs, and her childhood stints in musical theater and show choir. She works in the nonprofit world by day and watches housewives by night. Emily is thrilled to make her debut in The Lids!
