The Marcus King Band rolled into New York City on Friday night, where the rock band from South Carolina delivered an electrifying performance in front of a sold-out crowd at Irving Plaza. The band’s young frontman and lead guitarist, Marcus King, appeared to be more than ready to take the stage for another loud night of southern rock as part of their ongoing North American tour in promotion of their 2018 studio album, Carolina Confessions.
The night began with a quieter performance from the tour’s support act, Ida Mae. The duo comprised of singer Stephanie Jean and guitarist/singer Chris Turpin provided early attendees with their more romantic styles of British folk-rock, an impressive feat considering that most in the audience were there to turn up the volume and let loose after a cold and snowy work week. Marcus King and his band took the stage shortly after 9:15 pm, and would go on to provide the sold-out Manhattan venue with a fun and soulful performance over the next two hours.
King was quick to begin playing around with that distortion-driven guitar of his, as he began furiously adventuring his way up and down the fretboard from the moment the lights went out. The band started the show with a quick jam and some swirling swells courtesy of King before grooving right into “Virginia”, “Where I’m Headed”, and “Ain’t Nothing Wrong”. The majority of the night’s performance was framed around the new material off of Carolina Confessions, as the band made sure to include new tracks including “8 a.m.”, “Side Door” and “Homesick” in the first half of the set. The middle of the performance was also anchored down with a rocking medley of “Always” and The Meters‘ “He Bite Me” before a thunderous drum solo courtesy of Jack Ryan sent the entire two-floor room into a frenzy of excitement.
Like most New York City concerts within the jam/rock scene, Friday night’s performance included its fair share of special guests. On this night it was Snarky Puppy saxophonist Chris Bullock who joined the band’s horn section on stage for a few songs towards the latter half of the set. The show was also highlighted by the surprise appearance from frequent MKB collaborator Eric Krasno, who came out to join in for during the show’s encore.
Below, you can check out a selection of video clips from the performance in addition to a gallery of beautiful photos from the show courtesy of photographer Kevin Cole.
The Marcus King Band – Encore ft. Eric Krasno
[Video: The Marcus King Band]
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The @marcuskingband just crushed it last night to a very sold out Irving Plaza. Go get it young man!
The Carolina Confessions Tour continues with a scheduled performance at the Pearl Street Nightclub in Northampton, Massachusetts on Saturday evening, November 17th. For a full list of The Marcus King Band’s upcoming tour dates, head to the band website here.
