Singer-songwriter Arlo McKinley continued his fall tour on Tuesday with a stop in Brooklyn at Baby’s All Right. The New York City concert came as the Oh Boy Records artist continues to push his new album, This Mess We’re In, released back in July.
A handpicked disciple of the late John Prine—the last artist the Singing Mailman signed to Oh Boy prior to his death in 2020—McKinley’s songwriting is similarly rooted in their shared Midwestern DNA. Growing up in Cincinnati, OH, McKinley bore witness to the same slow demise of the American working class and skyrocketing addiction rates that informed the songwriting of Tyler Childers, who grew up on the other side of the Ohio River in Lawrence County, KY.
Related: Watch John Prine Tell The Story Behind “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” [Video]
On This Mess We’re In, McKinley takes the traumas and tragedies that have befallen him since his acclaimed 2020 sophomore LP, Die Midwestern, and turns them into his most introspective work yet. The death of his mother, best friend, and others still haunt him as he navigates through struggles with addiction, only to emerge on the other side facing a bright future as one of the alt-country movement’s most promising young songwriters.
Check out a gallery of images from Arlo McKinley at Baby’s All Right courtesy of photographer Ken Spielman. McKinley recently announced a string of dates supporting fellow Prine disciple Todd Snider in Winterville, GA (11/25); Winston-Salem, NC (11/26); and Walhalla, SC (11/27). For tickets and a full list of tour dates, visit McKinley’s website.
