Friday Song: “Bad Spell”
Larkin Poe is an up-and-coming band of sisters who bring rock to the blues
Rebecca and Megan Lovell are sisters from Atlanta who began their musical careers in 2005 as teenagers. Known as the Lovell Sisters, they were a trio supplemented by their older sister, Jessica. After self-releasing two albums and touring for four years, with stops at A Prairie Home Companion, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Bonnaroo Music Festival, the trio disbanded. A month later, in early 2010, Rebecca and Megan regrouped as Larkin Poe, using the name of their great-great-great-great-grandfather.
I first heard them because of their cover of Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” for the soundtrack to the AppleTV show, Bad Monkey. It’s fantastic, and a real standout on a soundtrack devoted to covers of Petty’s music. Megan plays a specially designed lap steel guitar on stage, and her solos with this have an incredible sound.
This was not Larkin Poe’s first encounter with Petty. In February 2017, the sisters performed as part of the backing band at the MusiCares tribute to Petty in Los Angeles, accompanying such artists as Jackson Browne and Don Henley.
After multiple successful albums and tours, in 2022 they released their sixth studio album, Blood Harmony. It won the 2024 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
The song below is from that album. They released a new album in 2025 (Bloom), and it’s sensational. Imagine Bonnie Raitt’s daughters at work.
Enjoy!