Drawing as much inspiration from local lore and hometown guitar legends as they do from the traditional folk revival of 1970s UK, Gold Dust emerges with a sound that is distinctly of New England. Started as a solo project of Stephen Pierce (Ampere, Kindling) in 2020, it now functions as a full band, with Sean Greene, Madden Aleia, and Joey Barthelette. 

Guests on In the Shade of the Living Light include J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Anthony Saffery (Cornershop), Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me, Winged Wheel), Gretchen Williams (Kindling), Drew Gardner (Elkhorn), Josh Robbins (Late Bloomer), and Meghan Minior (Ampere, Corrode).