Larkin Poe

Southern roots rockers Larkin Poe were formed around core members Rebecca and Megan Lovell, formerly the Lovell Sisters. A bit edgier and rockier than the Lovell Sisters, Larkin Poe’s electric and slide guitar riffs quickly earned them comparisons to the Allman Brothers. After introducing their sound on a set of seasonal EPs in 2010, they topped the Billboard blues chart with their fourth long-player, 2018′s Venom & Faith, returning to number one with 2020′s Self Made Man. They kept the amps cranked up for their sixth studio full-length, 2022′s Blood Harmony.
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Larkin Poe took shape after the Lovell Sisters called it a day in 2009. The sisters, a bluegrass/Americana trio comprised of siblings Rebecca, Megan, and Jessica Lovell, had started performing professionally in 2005 when all three were still in their teens. The group released two independent albums and toured the festival circuit regularly before Jessica stepped away and the group disbanded. Rebecca (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, piano) and Megan (harmony vocals, lap steel guitar, dobro) went forward as Larkin Poe, named after the sisters’ great-great-great-grandfather, who was a distant cousin of writer Edgar Allan Poe.
In 2010, the group independently released a quartet of EPs corresponding to each of the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. A fifth EP, Thick as Thieves, followed in 2011, and the concert video Live from Stongfjorden appeared in 2012. The sisters followed that with a pair of low-key collaborative records: The Sound of the Ocean Sound with Thom Hell was issued by Edvins Records, and Killing Time with Blair Dunlop arrived on Rooksmere Records, both in 2013.
Larkin Poe made their full-length debut with Kin in 2014. It would prove to be a banner year for the group, with acclaimed U.K. performances at the Glastonbury Festival and London’s O2 Arena as well as participation in producer T-Bone Burnett’s project Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes. In 2015, the sisters were featured on several tracks of Elvis Costello’s Detour: Live at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. A revamped edition of Kin titled Reskinned was released by Universal Records in 2016. The following year, the siblings issued Peach, a mix of blues covers and original material that showed off their Southern musical heritage. It made its way onto the Billboard independent albums chart, peaking at 49. Their fourth studio album, the Grammy-nominated Venom & Faith (Best Contemporary Blues Album), was released by Amplified Media Services in 2018. It reached number 14 on the same chart as well as becoming their first album to appear on the Americana/folk chart and the blues chart, where it went all the way to number one.
They came back with two albums in 2020: June’s Self Made Man returned them to the top of the blues chart, and November’s Kindred Spirits reached number three. The latter was a covers album paying tribute to influences including Elvis Presley, Neil Young, and Lenny Kravitz. That year, they were one of the headliners at the Mahindra Blues Festival in Mumbai, India in addition to headlining their own U.S. tour. Larkin Poe next teamed up with the Nu Deco Ensemble for the 2021 live album Paint the Roses. Their sixth studio album, Blood Harmony, followed in November of 2022. It was co-produced by Larkin Poe and Rebecca’s husband, Texas blues-rocker Tyler Bryant. ~ Steve Leggett & Marcy Donelson