Music

Larkin Poe’s Love Song to the South

Listen to an exclusive premiere from the Georgia-bred, Nashville-based sisters’ forthcoming album, Self Made Man

Photo: Bree Marie Fish

Southern music traditions loom large in the story of Larkin Poe, a rock band fronted by Calhoun, Georgia-bred sisters Megan and Rebecca Lovell. The duo got their start as two-thirds of the family bluegrass group the Lovell Sisters, cutting their teeth at festivals such as Bonnaroo and playing such storied venues as Nashville’s Mother Church, the Ryman. The Lovell Sisters disbanded in 2009, but Rebecca and Megan re-emerged with a new moniker, borrowed from their great-great-great-grandfather (you might have heard of his cousin, Edgar Allan), and a Southern rock edge. In the decade-plus since, Larkin Poe has released four albums, nabbed a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album, and performed with artists including Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, and Keith Urban along the way.

The sisters are set to return with their fifth studio album, Self Made Man, recorded in Nashville, where they currently reside. Today, G&G is proud to premiere “Back Down South,” a song the pair describe as “a love song for all things Southern.” The hard-rocking single touches on Carolina hot peppers, Georgia red clay, and closes out with a nod to the Allman Brothers—whose legendary sound heavily inspires Larkin Poe’s own. 


Way down in Macon, put your ear to the ground
Where the brothers are sleeping and you can still hear the sound
Of a band that was singing about a sky that was blue 
They sang it for me, and now I’ll sing it to you. 


Hear “Back Down South” below. Self Made Man will be released on June 12 and is available for preorder now


Dacey Orr Sivewright is a writer and editor based in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. An Atlanta native, she was Garden & Gun’s digital editor from 2016 to 2021 and has spent the last decade and a half covering music, food, and culture for Billboard, The Village Voice, Stereogum, Apartment Therapy, and other outlets. When not writing, she’s probably making a mess in her kitchen or spending time outside with her husband and daughter.