IF GUITAR GOD IS A WOMAN

With renewed confidence and a slew of new guitar-forward songs, Larkin Poe's Rebecca and Megan Lovell are upping the ante of their blues-rock sound once again on seventh album Bloom

- ROBBY KLEIN

FOURTEEN YEARS INTO their career making bluesy roots rock as Larkin Poe, sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell had their biggest 12 months yet in 2024. Coming off an album cycle that saw their sixth full-length studio release, 2022's Blood Harmony, earn their first Grammy and third Number 1 on Billboard's Blues Albums chart, the Lovells walked away with confidence and swagger to spare.

“It does give you a little bit of a confidence boost to say, ‘Okay, my opinions are valid,’ so then the next time you go in the studio, you hold that in your head a little bit,” Megan says.

For Rebecca, the takeaway from those experiences—plus a world tour, a plum spot on Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival and winning the Americana Music Award for Duo/Group of the Year—was that the confidence was there all along. “You realize the stuff that actually makes you feel fulfilled as an artist has been there the whole time,” she says.

All the while, the old-time and bluegrass music scene the Lovells left behind to form Larkin Poe in 2010 has officially gone mainstream. Bluegrass revivalist and picker Billy Strings regularly sells out multiple nights at hockey arenas and amphitheaters. Molly Tuttle has reached top billing at festivals across the U.S., and not just those associated with Americana music. Rootsy singer-songwriter Zach Bryan even sells out stadiums. So, during their downtime, Rebecca and Megan reacquainted themselves with the bluegrass scene.

Rebecca, who won a MerleFest mandolin contest at 15, set aside her Strat and dusted off her old instrument for their run of dates with T Bone Burnett. Megan dipped back to her Dobro-slide days for their work on Ringo Starr’s new country album, Look Up, which also happens to feature Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle.