Our pal Marcus King is back with a new album, Mood Swings, produced by Rick Rubin and due out April 5th via American Recordings. King is a GRAMMY® nominated fourth generation musician from Greenville, SC, who started playing guitar at 8 years old following in the footsteps of his guitarist father and grandpa. Logging thousands of miles on the road as “The Marcus King Band,” he established himself with unparalleled performance prowess and a dynamic live show. During 2020, he linked up with Dan Auerbach and cut his solo debut El Dorado, garnering a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Americana Album.” In between packing venues on his own, he performed alongside Chris Stapleton, Greta Van Fleet, and Nathaniel Rateliff in addition to gracing the bills of Stagecoach and more with one seismic show after the next. He has been open about his mental health in his songs and has launched various mental health initiatives as well, most recently a guitar auction collaboration with MusiCares (he is scheduled to perform at the MusiCares person of the year event during the GRAMMY® awards week.) In fact, during a North American tour, Marcus had designs to drink himself to death. He admits, “I had an escape route already decided for myself and a backup if that didn’t work.”
Nevertheless, fate stepped in. Rubin saw a performance at the Ryman and decided to cold-call Marcus and they quickly agreed to work together on Marcus’ next project. During the promotion of his critically acclaimed album Young Blood, Marcus and Rubin covertly holed up for sessions in Italy and Malibu. Instead of crumbling under the weight of his anxiety, Rubin inspired him to shift his perspective. Drawing on dark moments where King was plagued by suicidal thoughts, dealing with addiction and in mental health crisis, Mood Swings also shares a message of hope. Rubin helped King find a new personal and sonic approach to the turbulent period in his life that also inspired songs on his previous album. “He helped me view mental health as a writing partner in a way,” recalls Marcus. “I’ve learned it can give me that creative spark.”
Help us celebrate Marcus ‘ Mood Swings, with a release day signing in the record store! Marcus is going to be hanging out with us on release day, Friday, April 5th, starting at 12:00 PM noon, when he’ll be signing copies of the new album for attendees. Preorder your copy of Mood Swings on limited edition neon orange colored vinyl (available exclusively at indie record shops) and CD in the record store or on our site here while supplies last and you’ll receive a wristband for King’s album signing. Wristbands are required to participate in our signing event and will be distributed with preorder pickup starting on Friday, 4/5. (Please note, those 12 & under who attend the Marcus King signing with a wristband holding adult may also have their copies of Mood Swings signed.)
IMPORTANT PARKING INFORMATION!
Our parking lot is shared with other rad businesses and it is a finite space, so parking is limited. Another parking option is the pay lot behind Elegy Coffee and Mickey's off Gallatin Road, two blocks down the street. Please use EXTREME CAUTION if parking on the narrow neighborhood streets. Too many cars make these roads impassable and result in angry neighbors, police calls, and towing. An officer who lives in the neighborhood across the street was blocked in by event attendees 3 times last year. We don’t want to anger or disrespect any of our neighbors, especially not that one. If you block driveways or park illegally, you will be towed.
Please consider carpooling, ride-sharing, walking, biking, scooting, roller skating, or taking the bus to attend this Grimey’s event.
