LOVE POLICE PRESENT – ARLO MCKINLEY & EARLY JAMES

ARLO McKINLEY, who is coming to Australia on the back of his acclaimed third albumThis Mess We’re In, was something of a late starter, releasing his first album, the DIY Arlo McKinley & The Lonesome Sound in 2014 at the age of 35. In 2019, at a show in Nashville, a fan came up and introduced himself. That fan was John Prine, and Arlo’s life was soon changed forever, as he became the last artist signed by the late songwriting legend to his pioneering Oh Boy label. Growing up in a music-loving family in Cincinnati, Arlo spent his early adulthood working in a record store and playing in a duo called The Great Depression before a job delivering tuxedos gave him time enough behind the wheel to develop his songwriting.  This Mess We’re In, like his first Oh Boy release Die Midwestern – which Rolling Stone praised for its “songs of heartbreak, restlessness and hard-won experience” – was recorded at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis with an ace band that includes drummer Ken Coomer (Wilco), guitarist Will Sexton and keyboardist Rick Steff (Lucero, Cat Power).  Producer Matt Ross-Spang, who’s worked with Jason Isbell and Margo Price, is back as well, and for the first time McKinley incorporated strings into some of songs, reflecting his love of artists like Nick Drake and Nick Cave. This Mess We’re In has been well received in Australia and featured in many writers’ Best of 2022 in Rhythms magazine. 

  Alabama man, EARLY JAMES, will be coming to Australia following a recent second album, Strange Time to Be Alive. The 29-year-old was discovered by Dan Auerbach working in Birmingham, Alabama; impressed by what he heard, the Black Keys man signed him to his Easy Eye Sound label. Early’s first album Singing For My Supper received huge acclaim (it was as a “luminous debut” according to Mojo) for its cosmic and singular amalgamation Southern blues, country, folk, pop, and jazz; the new one features a guest appearance from Sierra Ferrell and a more electrified sound. Early James has been compared to Tom Waits and while there is something of the surreal and old industrial of late period Waits in his music – the new album’s title is suggestive of that, and more – he sings of life as a progressive Southern man in a world increasingly at odds with progressive notions.

What BT from Love Police said about this tour still stands, even though Arlo has replaced Ian: “These boys have the goods. We don’t tour people who don’t. This Americana, country, roots, whatever sound it is, is all about honesty and life experiences, and some hopeful good times too. These fellas have it spades.”

The pairing of ARLO McKINLEY and EARLY JAMES presents a rare opportunity for Australian audiences to experience together two relatively young and fresh American artists who are both rewriting the rules in Americana and associated fields by making music that is honest and idiosyncratic, and committed to finding genuine home truths.  Discover new heroes and get deep with Arlo and Early this March.

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Please note, doors to the Basement open at 6.30pm, with Early James at 7:30pm, and Arlo Mckinley from 8:45pm.
Get in early on the night to secure your spot, as it is first in best dressed.

Ticket sales have been turned off online, however a select few tickets will be available at the door!