YouTube often can help you find artists you have never heard before. I start with a search for a musician I like, and then I start clicking through other artists’ videos on the side. That is how I recently ran across Arlo McKinley & The Lonesome Sound.
The band released its self-titled debut album in 2014. But there is not a lot about them on the Internet. There is no proper Arlo McKinley & The Lonesome Sound website beyond the Bandcamp site.
There is a Facebook page keeping fans updated about their performances (around 2,300 Likes so far). But the band — whose members are from the Cincinnati area — was recently listed as the most popular band in that Ohio city.
Their Arlo McKinley & The Lonesome Sound album is darn good, featuring a great country lead voice from McKinley with great backing vocals and band. It might remind you a bit of Whiskeytown.
Sure enough, Arlo McKinley & The Lonesome Sound list Whiskeytown among the band’s influences, along with Neil Young, The Band, Otis Reading, Circle Jerks, The Ramones, Larry Sparks, Keith Whitley, Chamberlain, Whiskeytown, Gram Parsons, and Misfits, George Jones. There is maybe a little similarity to Tyler Childers, who is the artist I started with on YouTube.
That is a good mix of influences, and Arlo McKineley & The Lonesome Sound delivers. Do not take my word for it. Check out some of their music. One of my favorites is “Just Like the Rest.” McKinley’s voice perfectly conveys the heartache in the heartbreak song. The following performance is from the 2014 Bellwether Live at Buckle Up Music Festival.
Arlo McKinley & The Lonesome Sound is made up of McKinley, Tyler Lockard, Brian Pumphry, Zac Roe, Sylvia Mitchell, and Sarah Davis. Their live performances often concentrate around the Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia area. But with their talent, look for them in your neck of the woods one day, hopefully with a new album.
What is your favorite song by Arlo McKinely & The Lonesome Sound? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)