Illinois Drifter Podcast: Comparing two Marcus King shows a few cities apart

Illinois Drifter East Coast correspondent Jim Hennessy returns to compare notes after we both attended Marcus King shows on the same tour — Jim in Washington, D.C., and me near St. Louis.

We discussed how King’s live show has evolved, the band’s current lineup, the heavy emphasis on Darling Blue and No Room for Blue, and how the same tour can produce very different moments from city to city.

They also talk about opener Penelope Road, Marcus’ growing confidence as a songwriter and performer, and speculate about where his music may head next.

We ended by talking about the upcoming State of Amorica meetup at the Black Crowes’ show near Indianapolis, and Jim’s plans to see the Steepwater Band.

⏱ Episode Timeline

Marcus King – Comparing Two Shows with Jim Hennessy

00:19 – Intro: Jim Hennessy returns to the podcast
00:42 – Why compare two Marcus King shows from the same tour?
01:20 – Jim’s history with Marcus King and discovering his music
02:24 – Justin’s Marcus King journey and previous shows
03:36 – Washington, D.C.’s Anthem venue and Marcus’ draw there
06:07 – Comparing The Anthem and The Factory in St. Louis
09:54 – Opener Penelope Road: first impressions
12:09 – Marcus King’s evolving live band and changing sound
15:09 – How the new Darling Blue / No Room for Blue songs translate live
18:17 – Covers: Bob Seger in St. Louis vs. Chuck Brown in Washington
24:31 – Why Marcus is leaning heavily on new material
26:55 – Marcus’ storytelling between songs
27:38 – Songs they hoped to hear but didn’t
29:57 – What’s next for Marcus King?
32:26 – State of Amorica / Indianapolis Black Crowes meetup preview
34:56 – Jim plans to catch Steepwater Band
35:59 – Outro

🎵 Music Credit

Thank you to Nomad Planets for use of their song “We Can Settle This at Sunrise” as the show theme.

You can purchase their album Outside Abiquiu here: