Close-up on Marcus King’s Gibson Guitars and His Pedalboard

After performing his song “Hero” on his vintage SG, King told the SRO crowd that both his guitar playing and singing were born out of ways to overcome shyness and interact with the world. “I was too bashful to say anything. I didn't have much interest in speaking to others. I just like hanging out with my dog. I don't know if I'm too dissimilar from that now, but the guitar kind of spoke where I couldn't. So when I started singing, it was kind of the same emotion. I'd rather sing than speak. With the best abilities, you can just be a vessel allow something extraordinary to flow through you. Not saying anything I do is extraordinary per se, but I just have a real respect and reverence for music, for just being able to create and get your emotions out that way instead of harboring them.”

Recalling his early years, King attested, “Gibson was always the go-to. It was the Cadillac of guitars in my household. My grandfather played Big Red, which was his ES-345 that I have now. And my dad played an SG. My uncle played a Les Paul Deluxe, and a Marauder.” Over the course of the session, King performed with an SG, a Les Paul Junior, a Hummingbird acoustic, and his cherished family heirloom, the “Big Red” ES-345, which was refurbished by the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville.