Marcus King had a busy year in 2018. The soulful rock guitarist and singer from South Carolina celebrated the release of his third full-length studio album, Carolina Confessions, in addition to making notable festival appearances, celebrating his late-night television debut, touring with As The Crow Flies, and spending nearly the entire calendar year on the road playing headlining shows with his own talented band. One of the stops on that busy performance schedule of his included a private acoustic session at the WGBH Fraser Performance Studio in Boston back on November 19th, where King sat down (literally) to record a brief performance of four new tunes. The filmed session has since been mixed and edited, and finally saw the light of day with its debut on Wednesday.
The professionally-taped acoustic set features King in rare form without that big-billed hat of his, as he opts instead for the more casual Applejack newsies cap for the private session. Even without that trademark hat, King has no problem turning the volume down a notch to allow the fresh material to take new form while being played on his acoustic guitar. The setlist for the 20-minute performance included “8 a.m.”, “Remember”, “Goodbye Carolina”, and “Autumn Rains”. The entire acoustic session, which includes some behind-the-song informational commentary, can be enjoyed in full in the new video seen below.
Marcus King – WGBH Acoustic Session – 11/19/2018
[Video: WGBH Music]
The mark of a truly talented guitarist is how he or she can perform without the help of effects pedals and powerful amplification, and King does not disappoint here. If anything, the young singer and songwriter sounded a bit more comfortable performing his new songs in a quieter setting, where he doesn’t have to project his voice atop a full band. Fans should appreciate the fact that his songs carry just as much meaning and emotional resonance when played quietly as they do with shredding guitar solos while plugged in.
King recently helped fans in New York to celebrate the turnover of the new year with a NYE run featuring both his own band and As The Crow Flies NYE run alongside As The Crow Flies at Port Chester’s The Capitol Theatre late last month. The Marcus King Band will return to the road with a run of winter tour dates scheduled to begin on January 24th in Columbus, Tennessee. Tickets and detailed tour information can be found on King’s website.