Larkin Poe

Core members Rebecca and Megan Lovell launched the Southern roots rock outfit Larkin Poe after their previous ensemble, the Lovell Sisters, dissolved. The new project adopted a harder-edged, guitar-driven approach that drew immediate parallels to the Allman Brothers through its prominent electric and slide riffs. Following a series of seasonal EPs issued independently in 2010, the duo reached the summit of the Billboard blues chart with their fourth studio album, Venom & Faith, in 2018, then reclaimed the top spot with Self Made Man in 2020. They maintained their high-volume approach on the sixth full-length, Blood Harmony, which earned a Grammy in 2024.

Atlanta-based Larkin Poe emerged once the Lovell Sisters concluded their run in 2009. The earlier bluegrass/Americana trio, consisting of siblings Rebecca, Megan, and Jessica Lovell, had begun professional performances in 2005 while still teenagers. They issued two self-released albums and maintained a steady presence on the festival circuit until Jessica departed, prompting the group’s disbandment. Rebecca, who handles lead vocals along with electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin, and piano, joined forces with Megan, whose contributions center on harmony vocals, lap steel guitar, and dobro. The sisters selected the name Larkin Poe in honor of their great-great-great-grandfather, a distant relative of author Edgar Allan Poe.

In 2010 the pair put out four independent EPs tied to the seasons—Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter—before releasing the fifth EP, Thick as Thieves, in 2011 and the concert video Live from Stongfjorden in 2012. Two understated collaborative projects appeared the next year: The Sound of the Ocean Sound with Thom Hell on Edvins Records and Killing Time with Blair Dunlop on Rooksmere Records.

Larkin Poe delivered their first full-length album, Kin, in 2014, a year that also featured well-received U.K. appearances at Glastonbury Festival and London’s O2 Arena plus involvement in producer T-Bone Burnett’s Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes. In 2015 the sisters appeared on multiple tracks of Elvis Costello’s Detour: Live at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. Universal Records issued a revised version of Kin titled Reskinned in 2016. The following year the siblings released Peach, an album blending blues covers with original songs that highlighted their Southern musical roots; it reached number 49 on the Billboard independent albums chart. Their fourth studio effort, the Grammy-nominated Venom & Faith (Best Contemporary Blues Album), arrived via Amplified Media Services in 2018, climbing to number 14 on the independent chart while also marking their debut on the Americana/folk and blues charts, where it hit number one.

Two further albums surfaced in 2020: Self Made Man returned them to the top of the blues chart in June, and Kindred Spirits landed at number three in November. The latter paid tribute to influences such as Elvis Presley, Neil Young, and Lenny Kravitz through its selection of covers. That same year Larkin Poe co-headlined the Mahindra Blues Festival in Mumbai, India, and toured the United States on their own. In 2021 they collaborated with the Nu Deco Ensemble on the live album Paint the Roses. Their sixth studio album, Blood Harmony, appeared in November 2022, co-produced by the duo alongside Rebecca’s husband, Texas blues-rocker Tyler Bryant. The record received the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024.