Marcus King Band confirms their new album, Darling Blue, is set for release on September 26 via American Records/Republic Records. Pre-order/pre-save HERE.
Darling Blue finds Grammy-nominated Marcus King reuniting with his longtime live band for their first recorded album together since 2018’s Carolina Confessions. Inspired heavily by his home state of South Carolina, the new album incorporates elements of country, folk, psychedelic rock, and Motown-era R&B, and continues the conversation on King’s experience with addiction and depression.
“It truly felt like home,” King details. “Like my band and I were just working out songs to perform live but ended up creating a piece of recorded music for our fans to hear. Our goal is always to be a vessel and allow the music to flow through us and tap into something that’s already there in the room. But more than anything I’ve done before, this album felt like a real concerted effort to make music for myself, and for ourselves as a band—creating for the love of creating and being as honest as we possibly can. We put everything we had into making something that we love, and we have faith that the audience will feel that and love it too.”
In celebration, the band shares two new songs from the album—“Here Today,” featuring Jamey Johnson and Kaitlin Butts, of which King says, “The song came together in that organic way that happens when you’re just hanging out with friends instead of being on the clock.” They also share “Carry Me Home,” which King describes as “the first song that poured out of me” for the album. The track reflects on his deep love for the Blue Ridge landscape and the place he calls home.
Leading up to today’s announcement, they’ve shared “Honky Tonk Hell”—which became the fastest single in King’s career to hit one million streams—as well as “Carolina Honey,” released on the heels of King’s electric Bonnaroo performance to a crowd of 40,000. Watch a performance of “Honky Tonk Hell” at Bonnaroo HERE.
King just collaborated with Gibson for the release of his second signature guitar, the Gibson Marcus King ES-345. Learn more: PEOPLE, Guitar World, Premier Guitar.
The beloved Marcus King Band Family Reunion music festival will return for its fourth installment this summer, taking place in Charleston, SC, for the first time ever. Over the course of two days—August 23 and 24—the festival will see performances by the Marcus King Band, Jamey Johnson, Stephen Wilson Jr., Molly Tuttle, Hiss Golden Messenger, and more. Tickets and more information are HERE.
This year finds King hitting the road with Chris Stapleton, Cody Johnson, Eric Church, and Dwight Yoakam. Find a complete list of dates below. In addition to King’s performance at Bonnaroo, he recently took the stage at CMA Fest in Nashville, performing at Nissan Stadium alongside Brooks & Dunn. He also played Spotify House before joining forces with Jordan Davis for a special performance of their unreleased track, “Louisiana Stick.” Additionally, King surprised fans with a pop-up set at Chief’s for SiriusXM and sat in with Lukas Nelson for his set as well.
Greenville, South Carolina–born, Nashville-based Marcus King started performing alongside his blues-guitarist father when he was just eight years old. He made his solo debut with El Dorado (2020), produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. The album was met with widespread acclaim, with the Associated Press calling it “a definite high point of 2020.” It went on to earn King his landmark Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
He followed up the success of El Dorado with Young Blood (2022), also produced by Auerbach. His sophomore album debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart; the magazine described it as a “staggeringly confident work.” Last year King returned with his third album, Mood Swings, produced by Rick Rubin, of which Rolling Stone said, “he…goes for something much more daring, vulnerable, and openhearted.”
MARCUS KING BAND—DARLING BLUE
On & On
Here Today ft. Jamey Johnson & Kaitlin Butts
Honky Tonk Hell
Heartlands
Die Alone
Somebody Else ft. Jesse Welles
Levi’s & Goodbyes
Carolina Honey
No Room for Blue
Blue Ridge Mountain Moon
Dirt (Nashville version) ft. Billy Strings
The Shadows ft. Noah Cyrus
Pretty Petty
Carry Me Home
TOUR DATES
July 11—Dortmund, DE—FZW
July 12—Differdange, LU—Blues Express
July 13—Weert, NL—Bospop Festival
July 16—San Sebastian, ES—Victoria Eugenia Antzokia
July 17—Madrid, ES—Noches Del Botánico
July 18—Vila Nova De Gaia, PT—Meo Mares Vivas
July 20—Santa Domingo De La Calzada, ES—Rockland Art Festival
July 27—Boise, ID—Knitting Factory*
July 29—Monterey, CA—Golden State Theatre*
July 30—Santa Rosa, CA—Luther Burbank Theater*
August 1—Mammoth Lakes, CA—Mammoth Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza
August 2—Sacramento, CA—Channel 24*
August 14—Park City, UT—Park City Song Summit
August 15—West Valley City, UT—Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre†
August 16—West Valley City, UT—Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre†
August 17—Jackson, WY—Snow King Mountain
August 23—Charleston, SC—Marcus King Band Family Reunion Festival
August 24—Charleston, SC—Marcus King Band Family Reunion Festival
August 31—Aspen, CO—Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival
September 5—Madison, IN—Unbroken Circle Festival at Bicentennial Park
September 12—Lincoln, NE—Pinnacle Bank Arena‡
September 15–21—Seattle, WA—Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Alaska
September 25—Green Bay, WI—Resch Center§
September 26—Milwaukee, WI—Fiserv Forum§
September 27—Des Moines, IA—Casey’s Center§
September 28—St. Louis, MO—Evolution Festival
October 2—Detroit, MI—Little Caesars Arena§
October 3—Lexington, KY—Rupp Arena§
October 9—Indianapolis, IN—Gainbridge Fieldhouse§
October 10—Grand Rapids, MI—Van Andel Arena§
October 11—Cleveland, OH—Rocket Arena§
October 16—Sugar Land, TX—Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land**
October 18—Austin, TX—Moody Center**
October 25—Birmingham, AL—Legacy Arena at the BJCC‡
November 1—Gonzales, LA—Boots on the Bayou
November 11–16—Los Angeles, CA—Blue Note LA
May 29—Panama City Beach, FL—Gulf Coast Jam
*with Angel White
†with Chris Stapleton
‡with Cody Johnson
§with Eric Church
**with Dwight Yoakam
