The McLovins are taking over the High Country of North Carolina this week, playing Tiger Mountain in Asheville on Wednesday followed by a funk-filled double header on Friday and Saturday night at Murphy’s Pub in Boone.
Hailing from Hartford, Connecticut, the McLovins deliver eclectic improvisation with an infectious songwriting style that has resonated very well with the younger audience of the funk and jamband scene on the East Coast.
The band attributes their musical influence to artists all over the spectrum, including The Meters, The Band, and The Flaming Lips to name a few, and have played with some of the biggest names in funk, such as Buddy Guy, Oteil Burbridge, and George Porter Jr.
“We try and keep our ideas current and fresh while putting them into our songwriting rotation,” said drummer Jake Huffman. “Each of us has many different influences and unique abilities making our songwriting process a very collaborative effort.”
For their most recent album, the self-titled “McLovins”, they enlisted the help of Emmy, Grammy, and Tony award winning producer Bill Sherman from New York City’s East Village. Sherman steered the band towards a fresh start for this project, dialing in a more focused songwriting approach to completely harness the individual musical strengths of each band member, while putting together the most professionally composed songs of the band’s career.
The McLovins are very excited for the challenge of bringing two unique shows to the welcoming arms of Boone’s music lovers, a place that has shown them plenty of love in the past.
“This two-night run will be fun for us, we’ll be able to try some things we normally don’t get to do – extended jams, the return of older material, and high-energy covers.” said lead guitarist Justin Berger.
Coming up next for the McLovins tour will be a Sunday show at The Pour House in Raleigh, then a run down to Georgia and back up the East Coast, highlighted by a big show at Mercury Lounge in New York, and a full weekend at the esteemed Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, Illinois.
Full tour dates can be found here.
Written by Richard Oakley