The Marcus King Band-Oxford Art Factory
Oxford Art Factory 15 April 2019
Night 2 of being in this venue and Marcus King has some big shoes to fill after Fantastic Negrito melted some minds in Sydney on Sunday night.
Tonight it is all about Southern Rock and the guitar and voice of this young man from South Carolina. At 23 years old King is going to carry on this classic music developed below the Mason-Dixon Line. King can sing, write songs, lead a band and play some sweet-sounding guitar. He is the real deal and a human with a bucket of talent.
All five members of the band—drummer Jack Ryan, bass player Stephen Campbell, trumpeter/trombonist Justin Johnson, sax player Dean Mitchell and keyboard player DeShawn Alexander—delivered a solid backing performance.
“Goodbye Carolina” was delivered and shows the solid skills of this young artist as a songwriter. Blistering guitar solos throughout the night were ably backed with solos by everyone in his band.
Was it the hangover from Negrito that made this gig great but not mind-blowing? No, I do believe King and band delivered at the top of their game, but the top of King’s game at 23 may just need a little more cooking. Having already jammed with his mentors Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes and others his growth and heart and soul will continue to blossom.
There is no doubt he will be back again. File Marcus King right next to Gov’t Mule and let’s see what magic he weaves into his take on this jam. He has some followers to sell out his first Sydney gig bodes well for this young gun.
