Watch: Marcus King Band Cover “Ramblin’ Man” for Red Rocks “Trail Mix Session”

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As they continue to wind through a packed spring and summer tour itinerary, the Marcus King Band have sent a postcard from the road with a Red Rocks “Trail Mix Session.” Cut before King’s May 10 staging at Morrison, Colo.’s hallowed natural amphitheater, the blues-rock outfit’s contribution to the Trail Mix series stripped back their boisterous sound for a stirring and intimate statement of their instrumental prowess.

“Every time we come here, it’s a real honor to be a part of it,” King said of the historic venue. “It’s really spiritual when you’re here, so to get up here and kind of dig a little bit deeper and strip  back even more with less production, and be, you know, one with the mountain–it felt really great.”

King and his band chose to set off their small-stage outdoor set with “Honky Tonk Hell,” the roaring barn burner that arrived on May 9 as the bandleader’s first group recording since the 2018 album Carolina Confessions. The quintet continued with “On and On,” a warm and soulful unreleased song that they went on to debut at Wichita, Kansas’ Cotillion Ballroom on the following evening. To wrap up the set, the band dedicated a powerful, focused cover of the Allman Brothers Band classic “Ramblin’ Man” to the late Dickey Betts, properfly honoring the great Southern rock innovator with a tight and hypnotic jam featuring traded licks between King and his longtime guitar counterpart Drew Smithers.

Between the tracks, King reflected on his background as a third-generation torchbearer for the Southern sound and the foundations of his unique musical perspective. “My grandfather played country and Western music, and my dad’s a rock-and-roller,” he shared. “We all played music our whole lives. It’s just kind of the family trait… It’s an honest way of making a living, and it’s also just a really good way to bring peace to your inner self. You know, we grew up playing in church and playing around the house, playing on the porch. It was encouraged from a young age, which is something I always like to preach. It’s good to encourage your kids to be creative.”

King and his tried and true ensemble are still rolling on through an expansive 2025 tour, which continues tomorrow, June 5, with a set at Nashville, Tenn.’s CMA Fest. Highlights down the line include a 15-stop European run and the fourth annual presentation of their beloved musical get-together the Marcus King Band Family Reunion Festival on August 23 and 24 in Charleston, S.C. For tickets and more information, visit marcuskingofficial.com.

Watch the Marcus King Band’s Red Rocks “Trail Mix Session” below.