The Marcus King Band at the Capitol Theatre -- September 11.
Thursday, September 11, 7 p.m.
Capitol Theatre, 330 West Third Street, Davenport IA
With VICE hailing the blues and Southern-rock musicians' 2018 album Carolina Confessions as "astounding and triumphant, a gut-punch and a nut-kick," the Marcus King Band brings "The Darling Blue Tour (Pt. 1)" to Davenport's Capitol Theatre on September 11, the ensemble's Billboard smash also lauded by AllMusic as "an amazing album front to back."
Marcus King was born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1996. His father, Marvin King, was a well-known blues guitarist in South Carolina who also played with gospel acts, and his grandfather was also a regionally popular musician. Marcus began playing guitar at a very early age, and at age eight, he started playing shows with his father. At 11, King played guitar on one of his father's albums, and he started playing music with his own band in his teens, juggling club gigs at night and school in the morning as he and his bandmates brainstormed with what they called "soul-influenced psychedelic Southern rock."
Deciding to pursue a career in music, King dropped out of high school in his junior year and got his GED. King took an academic approach to music, studying his favorite guitar players, particularly The Allman Brothers Band co-founder Duane Allman, B.B. King, Albert King, Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. King studied jazz theory and jazz performance with Steve Watson at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina, and received some notable early attention in 2014 after a video of him jamming at Norman's Guitars racked up millions of views on YouTube.
King's ensemble includes drummer Jack Ryan, bassist Stephen Campbell, and guitarist Drew Smithers, with touring musicians consisting of saxophonist Chris Spies and keyboard player Mike Runyon. The Marcus King Band released their debut album Soul Insight in 2015, the recording eventually reaching number eight on the Billboard Blues Albums Chart. King is now reuniting with his longtime live band for the first time since 2018's Carolina Confessions on the forthcoming Darling Blue, recorded at the iconic Capricorn Studios alongside Grammy-winning producer/engineer Eddie Spear. The album features Noah Cyrus, Billy Strings, Kaitlin Butts and more, with co-writes from Midland and Lainey Wilson among other notable names. Many of the songs across the album pay homage to King's South Carolina roots and deep appreciation for his home state. Darling Blue is set for release September 26 on American Records/Republic Records.
The Marcus King Band brings their "The Darling Blue Tour (Pt. 1)" to Davenport on September 11, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $45-118, and more information and tickets are available by visiting FirstFleetConcerts.com/first-fleet-venues-capitol-theatre.
