The Marcus King Band

Fronting the Marcus King Band on guitar and lead vocals, Marcus King delivers soul, blues, rock, and jazz with a maturity and intensity well beyond his years. Born March 11, 1996, in Greenville, South Carolina, he is the son of Marvin King, a respected South Carolina blues guitarist who also performed with gospel groups, and the grandson of another regionally established musician. King first touched a guitar while still a toddler and began sharing stages with his father at age eight. During his teenage years he formed his own band, balancing nighttime club dates with daytime classes while the group circulated its signature “soul-influenced psychedelic Southern rock.”

In 2015 the Marcus King Band—comprising King on guitar and lead vocals, Alex Abercrombie on keyboards and backing vocals, Anthony House on bass, and Jack Ryan on drums—issued its debut album, Soul Insight. Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule discovered the group, booked it as an opening act, and re-released Soul Insight on his Evil Teen Records imprint. The association broadened the band’s audience and secured a contract with Fantasy Records.

Subsequent personnel shifts saw Abercrombie and House depart; Stephen Campbell joined on bass, Matt Jennings on keyboards, Dean Mitchell on saxophone, and Justin Johnson on trumpet and trombone, while King and Ryan remained. The revised lineup tracked its second album, largely live, at Carriage House Studios in Stamford, Connecticut, under Haynes’s production. Fantasy issued The Marcus King Band in October 2016, after which the group maintained a rigorous touring schedule. Its third album, Carolina Confessions, appeared in 2018 and reached number two on the blues chart.