Like a lot of guitarists and music lovers I first picked up an electric guitar because of artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Hendrix. The blend of rock and blues that calls to you, makes you want to be up on that stage slaying a riff through a Tubescreamer and Fender amp. Flash forward and in an explosion of hollow bodied fury walks Marcus King…
Through the din of overdrive pedals and a vocal strained with the heart and soul of the music, there is a beautiful purity to the songs of Marcus King. He bleeds this music and is evident through his singing and playing.
“The Well” sees this again as King works his guitar lines and words through a landscape of blues and rock n’ roll, cutting its own roads through rocky ground and gravely paths. There is something so rhythmic and melodic about his playing. He is in full control of both the flow and wave of the music and you as the listener, like a snake charmer commanding the attention and undulations of a cobra in a basket, he forces you into the groove and keeps you there long after the final note rings out and falls to darkness. Without a doubt, Marcus King is indeed a king and he sits high on the throne of modern day blues and rock n’ roll music.
Marcus King and his band will be swinging through New England with a show Friday December 20th at Calvin Theatre in Northampton, MA. That show is bookended by shows in Buffalo, NY and NYC. Go see this dude before you can’t afford to anymore and he is selling out places like the Garden.