Second Annual Marcus King Band Family Reunion Set To Shake Black Mountain, NC
The hills of Black Mountain, NC, will rock October 5th and 6th when Marcus King returns with a whole lotta friends for the much-anticipated second annual Marcus King Band Family Reunion at Pisgah Brewing Company. The Marcus King Band, who will be playing two sets, will be joined by a roster of stellar acts handpicked by King including: The Revivalists, Chuck Leavell & Friends, Billy Strings, Dumpstaphunk, Devon Allman Project featuring Duane Betts, Nikki Lane, Carl Broemel, Naughty Professor, Dynamo, Geoff Achison, DeRobert & The Half Truths, The Shady Recruits, Steelism, Travers Brothership and April B & The Cool.
October 5, the first day of the two-day festival and benefit, also happens to coincide with the release of The Marcus King Band’s third album, Carolina Confessions, which was recorded at Nashville’s legendary RCA Studio A and produced and mixed by Grammy Award-winner David Cobb. From the few teasers already released, including “Homesick” and “Welcome ‘Round Here,” the full album promises to propel King into the same orbit as Southern soul/rock/blues greats such as Greg Allman and Warren Haynes.
Singer/songwriter/guitarist King and his band, including drummer Jack Ryan, bass player Stephen Campbell, trumpeter/trombonist Justin Johnson, sax player Dean Mitchell, and keyboard player DeShawn Alexander, have toured relentlessly for the past several years. Their burgeoning fan base includes Conan O’Brien, who recently featured them on his show Conan, giving them the national exposure they so richly deserve and have rightfully earned.
The band’s grueling tour schedule means they miss plenty of family gatherings, weddings, birthdays and reunions. To make up for those absences, King decided to organize a get-together at Pisgah Brewing Company, not far from his hometown of Greenville, SC, where family, friends and fans could celebrate music and community. “We decided to come together and have one big family reunion where all of our families could come, and we can all celebrate as one,” King said in a 2017 interview with his hometown newspaper, Greenville Journal.
This year’s lineup brings together a diverse array of musicians that includes some heavy hitters from the new South, including New Orleans’ rising stars The Revivalists, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket, and Chuck Leavall, keyboardist for The Allman Brothers Band and musical director for The Rolling Stones.. Also appearing is a new generation of Allman Brothers Band progeny, guitarists Devon Allman and Duane Betts, whose fathers are Greg Allman and Dickey Betts.
Clearly the lineup reflects King’s divergent musical influences, including acclaimed breakneck guitar picker Billy Strings, who will be doing bluegrass proud, and two of the Crescent City’s finest – funk powerhouse Dumpstaphunk and jazz-funk sextet Naughty Professor. King also reached to the other side of the world to Australia to bring Melbourne-based singer/songwriter guitarist Geoff Achison to share his gift for blues, rock and soul.
Nashville will be heavily represented, too, with country singer/songwriter Nikki Lane; DeRobert & The Half Truths, who are living proof that “Smashville” has soul; funk/rock/jazz fusion band Dynamo, and Steelism, who combine an assortment of sonic flavors to form an instrumental soundtrack that takes its cues from the worlds of surf guitar, jazz and ’60s icons like Booker T. & The M.G.s.
King has also mined the rich vein of talent in nearby Asheville and is bringing back alternative soul and funk ensemble Travers Brothership, who performed at last year’s MKB Family Reunion. Asheville will also be lending the festival April B & The Cool, fronted by Greenville native and multi-instrumentalist April Bennett. The band features a rotating lineup of artists that has included members of MKB and Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, mixing up a soulful brew of jazz, hip hop and R&B.
Right up in the mix and full of surprises is The Shady Recruits, a Greenville-based “super group” led by MKB’s drummer Jack Ryan, who has put together a band of prominent local and regional musicians who delve into a genre of music their Facebook page describes as “tasty tunes.”
VIP passes for the festival are sold out, but general admission tickets are still available. Click on the links below for more information and how to purchase tickets.
