Larkin Poe on Audiotree Live (Full Session)

Southern Grit in a Chicago Studio

Recorded in Chicago on August 28, 2017, Larkin Poe’s Audiotree Live session captures the Lovell sisters at a pivotal moment, steeped in Southern roots while unafraid to push their sound into heavier territory. Rebecca and Megan Lovell, who formed Larkin Poe in 2010 after the conclusion of their Americana and bluegrass project The Lovell Sisters, arrive with the electric spark of a band that knows exactly who they are. The performance distills their identity into a set of tightly focused songs and muscular arrangements, driven by slide guitar fire, lap steel nuance, and harmonies that never stray far from the music’s blues-drenched core.

From Bluegrass Roots to Blues-Rock Ferocity

Larkin Poe’s journey from acoustic trios to electrified duo has always foregrounded two elements: precision and presence. The early years honed their vocal blend and string discipline, which today fuels their leaner, meaner incarnation. Rebecca’s electric guitar work plants a flag in modern blues-rock, with riffs that recall garage crunch and Southern boogie, while Megan’s lap steel offers the counterpoint, hovering and stinging with a melodic clarity rooted in old-school Americana. It is music that wears its lineage openly, yet it lands with urgency rather than nostalgia.

The sisters’ pedigree as collaborators with Elvis Costello, Conor Oberst, and T Bone Burnett is no footnote. Those experiences sharpened their instincts for arrangement and dynamics, and taught them to trust negative space as much as outright power. On Audiotree Live, that trust is audible in the way verses breathe before choruses surge, and in how a single slide phrase can command attention as effectively as a full-band blowout.

Inside the Performance

Audiotree’s in-studio format suits Larkin Poe’s approach. The session is intimate and direct, the kind of environment where tone choices and touch matter. You hear the growl of an overdriven amp, the bite of a bottleneck cutting across the strings, the subtle shift from palm-muted tension to open-chord release. Rebecca’s rhythm-and-lead interplay is efficient and expressive, while Megan’s lap steel lines arc overhead, sometimes keening like a siren, sometimes stitching together a chorus with sinewy melodic threads.

The pacing moves from taut, riff-heavy workouts to moments of restraint. The duo understands contrast, and they use it to heighten impact: a clipped, syncopated groove will give way to a snarling guitar break, or a hushed verse will explode into a shout-along refrain. The transitions are clean and purposeful, evidence of a road-tested ensemble that prizes momentum without rushing the pocket.

Tone, Texture, and Technique

What stands out across the session is the duo’s attention to sonic character. Rebecca favors saturated mids and a firm low-end thump, sculpting a riff-forward sound that anchors the songs even at their most feverish. Short, gritty leads push through the mix, supported by a straightforward approach to effects that emphasizes attack and sustain over ornament. When she digs in for a solo, it is about phrasing and feel rather than flash.

Megan’s lap steel is the session’s singing voice. Her touch alternates between glassy sustain and serrated growl, often achieved with precise vibrato and microtonal bends that nod to Delta and hill country blues. She has a knack for answering vocal lines with little hooks of her own, a call-and-response sensibility that ties Larkin Poe to a longer tradition of American roots performance. The result is a dialogue between guitar and lap steel that never feels crowded, even in the session’s most propulsive moments.

Vocal Presence and Lyrical Currents

Rebecca’s lead vocals carry a gritty immediacy, while Megan’s harmonies add a sheen that tempers the music’s rough edges with a familial blend. The pair avoid over-arranged stacks in favor of harmonies that punch where needed and leave space when the instruments do the talking. It is a live-room strategy that amplifies intensity while keeping every syllable intelligible.

Lyrically, the songs draw on classic roots-rock themes: resilience, reckoning, wandering hearts, and the enduring pull of home. There is a strain of Southern storytelling throughout, where characters and landscapes feel tactile and haunted by memory. Even when the words gesture toward archetype, the delivery makes them personal. The tone is direct rather than grandiose, grounded in everyday struggles and small victories.

Rhythm, Drive, and Dynamics

Much of the session’s power rests in its pulse. The grooves land with a confident backbeat and a no-frills approach that prioritizes feel over finesse. Tempos are brisk without being hurried, supportive of hooks that lean on repetition and release. Dropped into this framework, the guitars have room to lock into syncopations, clip into staccato figures, or lay back during a vocal line. The tension-and-release arcs give the performance a livewire energy that mirrors a club stage more than a studio floor.

Context and Significance

By the time of this recording, Larkin Poe had fully asserted their voice within the modern roots landscape. Their Audiotree outing underlines why. They connect the heat of barroom blues and the rough charm of garage rock to a contemporary songwriting sensibility, choosing concision over indulgence and grit over gloss. The set sits at a crossroads where tradition informs attitude, and where slide guitar heroics serve the song rather than overshadow it.

It also captures the essence of the duo’s stagecraft. They perform with the calm authority of artists who have logged the miles and know how to translate intensity into clarity. Every cue feels tight, every crescendo earned. There is polish here, but it never dulls the edges. The sisters’ rapport remains the music’s guiding force, affirming that familial chemistry can be a creative engine as potent as any studio trick.

Session Highlights

Slide Guitar Fireworks: Megan’s lap steel phrasing threads expressive bends and quick melodic turns into the heart of each arrangement.
Riff-Driven Hooks: Rebecca’s guitar anchors the songs with memorable figures that balance weight and movement.
Harmonic Blend: Vocals lock together with the easy precision of siblings, adding lift without crowding the mix.
Dynamic Flow: Subtle shifts in intensity give the set a narrative arc, from simmering verses to cathartic choruses.
Rooted yet Modern: Traditional blues and Southern rock vocabulary delivered with a contemporary punch.

Why This Session Endures

Larkin Poe’s Audiotree Live appearance is a clear snapshot of a band in command of its strengths. It presents their Southern roots-rock ethos in high definition, revealing the craft behind the heat and the discipline behind the swagger. For listeners tracing the ongoing evolution of blues-based rock, this session offers a compelling case study in how to honor the past while sounding unmistakably present.