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Marcus King has announced the release of Young Blood, his new solo album, produced by Dan Auerbach and released August 26 on Rick Rubin’s American Records/Republic Records & via Snakefarm Records in the UK. Pre-order available here.
“Marcus has Southern Soul as part of his foundation. If you’re going to play rock ‘n’ roll with Marcus, you have to understand that element. It’s just who he is.” – Dan Auerbach
All hail to Marcus King. The 26-year-old Grammy-nominated innovative songwriter and phenomenal performer. Soon to become rock royalty with the release of Young Blood, a timeless concoction of swaggering rock and supersonic soul, drawing on his most stadium-sized rock influences. He embarks shortly on a world tour with headline dates across the U.S and Europe and festivals including Stagecoach. For more information please visit: https://MK.lnk.to/tour
On first single ‘Hard Working Man,’ King’s red hot guitar playing and soulful singing ignite with four to the floor drums and classic cowbell. The track premiered today with Rolling Stone Magazine, who stated, “The soulful Southern guitarist dives headlong into the Seventies rock of Free and Bad Company on his upcoming album Young Blood. The high-octane track explodes with an FM radio chorus, a chunky guitar riff, and enough cowbell to satisfy Christopher Walken.” Listen here: https://MK.lnk.to/hardworkingman
“We tour almost 200 days of the year, and even when I’m home, I’m doing something,” King said, adding. “Working hard is just the way I was raised. It would make my grandfather proud to know I’m a hard-working man and I’ve worked for everything I have. It’s an anthem for the people. You’ve got folks who work all week and spend their hard-earned money just to come see us. It’s a real blessing.”
Young Blood is an album about looking at tough times in your rearview mirror, although King shares that his anthemic tales of excess and salvation draw on some difficult and personal moments. King stated, “I was going through a lot during the album with addictions, breakups, and addictions because of breakups. I was overindulging in everything.”
King added, “It’s not a big secret to my friends. I was in a real rough place for a while. I was trying to process the death of family members and I was on the wrong medications.”
Despite the challenging personal circumstances, King has made his most accomplished work to date. One of his biggest fans, Dan Auerbach, exclaimed. “Music runs so deep in Marcus’s blood he might not even realise how born to do this he is. He’s the real deal. Marcus has Southern Soul as part of his foundation. If you’re going to play rock ‘n’ roll with Marcus, you have to understand that element. It’s just who he is. These songs are live performances. The whole damn thing is live—the solos and everything. It’s so rare in this day and age.”
King and Auerbach set out to capture the classic power trio sound, which was pioneered in the late 60s and 70s, with a distinct sonic triad of bass, drums, and guitar. The album was recorded at Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville summer 2021, with acclaimed musicians including Chris St. Hilaire on drums and Nick Movshon on bass. Songs were written by King and Auerbach in collaboration with legends such as Desmond Child and Angelo Petraglia, noted for their work with bands from Aerosmith to Kings of Leon.
King has been an outlier from the very beginning. A fourth-generation musician from Greenville, SC, who learned guitar at age 3 from his blues rock musician father Marvin King. He navigated troublesome school years to quickly become known as one of the most promising young artists of our time. He followed his breakout success with The Marcus King Band, with his Auerbach produced 2020 solo album debut, El Dorado. It garnered a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Americana Album” and critical praise from NPR to Rolling Stone.
With unparalleled performance prowess and a dynamic live show, King has sold out historic venues from The Beacon to The Filmore. He has opened for Chris Stapleton, Greta Van Fleet, and Nathaniel Rateliff and graced the bills of Stagecoach, Fuji Rock, Rock Werchter and more. He also recently launched his own signature Orange guitar amplifier, the MK Ultra, which sold out before it even hit the stores.
King will continue to tear up the rulebook with the release Young Blood, redefining the route to modern rock stardom with a timeless sound and a singular voice, equal parts grease and grit, set to soon establish him as one of the most soulful vocalists of his generation.
YOUNG BLOOD TRACKLISTING
It’s Too Late
Lie Lie Lie
Rescue Me
Pain
Good and Gone
Blood On The Tracks
Hard Working Man
Aim High
Dark Cloud
Whisper
Blues Worse Than I Ever Had
TOUR DATES
APR 27 WED – Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay – San Diego, CA, United States
APR 29 FRI – Stagecoach 2022 – Indio, CA, United States
APR 30 SAT – Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ, United States
MAY 1 SUN – Orpheum Theater – Flagstaff, AZ, United States
MAY 3 TUE – Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM, United States
MAY 6 FRI – Avalon Theatre – Grand Junction, CO, United States
MAY 7 SAT – Belly Up – Aspen, CO, United States – SOLD OUT
MAY 8 SUN – Aggie Theatre – Fort Collins, CO, United States – SOLD OUT
MAY 10 TUE – Pub Station – Billings, MT, United States
MAY 11 WED – Wilma Theatre – Missoula, MT, United States
MAY 13 FRI – The Palace Theatre – Calgary, AB, Canada
MAY 14 SAT – Midway Music • Arcade • Kitchen – Edmonton, AB, Canada
MAY 16 MON – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC, Canada
MAY 18 WED – Knitting Factory Concert House – Spokane, WA, United States
MAY 20 FRI – Knitting Factory Concert House – Boise, ID, United States
MAY 21 SAT – Border House at Crystal Bay – Crystal Bay, NV, United States
MAY 23 MON – Arcata Theatre Lounge – Arcata, CA, United States
MAY 24 TUE – Felton Music Hall – Felton, CA, United States SOLD OUT
MAY 27 FRI – BottleRock Napa Valley 2022 – Napa County, CA, United States
JUN 17 FRI – Azkena Rock Festival 2022 – Gasteiz / Vitoria, Spain
JUN 23 THU – Fairview Park – Dublin, Ireland*
JUN 25 SAT – Alexandra Palace – London, United Kingdom*
JUN 26 SUN – The Globe – Cardiff, United Kingdom
JUN 28 TUE – O2 Apollo Manchester – Manchester, United Kingdom*
JUN 29 WED – O2 Apollo Manchester – Manchester, United Kingdom*
JUN 30 THU – Rock City – Nottingham, United Kingdom
JUL 3 SUN – Rockhal – Esch-sur-alzette, Luxembourg
JUL 5 TUE – Oosterpoort – Groningen, Netherlands
JUL 6 WED – Cognac Blues Passions 2022 – Cognac, France
JUL 7 THU – Doornroosje – Nijmegen, Netherlands
JUL 8 FRI – North Sea Jazz Festival 2022 – Rotterdam, Netherlands
JUL 16 SAT – Wild Hare Music Festival 2022 – Canby, OR, United States
JUL 27 WED – FloydFest 22- Heartbeat 2022 – Floyd, VA, United States
SEP 15 THU – Bourbon & Beyond 2022 – Louisville, KY, United States
*with Greta Van Fleet
More about Marcus King:
GRAMMY® Award-nominated artist, performer, and songwriter Marcus King was downright destined to play music. By eight-years-old, the fourth generation Greenville, SC native performed alongside pops, grandpa, and his uncles for the first time. Logging thousands of miles on the road as The Marcus King Band, he established himself with unparalleled performance prowess and a dynamic live show.
During 2020, he linked up with Dan Auerbach [The Black Keys] and cut his solo debut El Dorado, garnering a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Americana Album.” Beyond praise from NPR, American Songwriter, and more, Rolling Stone christened it “excellent,” and Associated Press went as far as to claim, “El Dorado already stands out as a definite high point of 2020.” In between packing venues on his own, he performed alongside Chris Stapleton, Greta Van Fleet, and Nathanial Rateliff in addition to gracing the bills of Stagecoach and more with one seismic show after the next. Along the way, he caught the attention of Rick Rubin and signed to American Recordings.
Plugged into his old man’s dusty amp with a ’59 Les Paul in hand, Marcus set out to make a rock ‘n’ roll record in 2022. He didn’t disguise his ambitions at all. He didn’t hold back. He didn’t think about anything but writing from the gut, shooting from the hip, and playing straight from the heart. Joined by Auerbach, he made the kind of rock ‘n’ roll record that makes arenas and asses shake, and it’s called Young Blood.
PRAISE FOR MARCUS KING
“Gifted youngster realises aim to make a classic Americana record… the 23-year-old Carolinian brings innate soulfulness to his performances”
Uncut
“This 23-year-old [Rod] Stewart alike guitar-slinger won’t ever let you down… never a dull moment”
Mojo
“King is the complete package. Retro-styled yet forward facing, he plays searing blues guitar, delicate acoustic country and sings like an angel with buckets of soul”
The Sun
“His music reveals an old soul” – The New York Times
Photo credit: Danny Clinch
