may 14, 2025 - toronto, canada

The blues are alive and thriving as fans packed into Toronto’s iconic The Concert Hall late Wednesday night, buzzing with anticipation for Larkin Poe. Made up of sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, Larkin Poe has become known for their gritty blues rock, marked by their Southern roots and gutsy, at times almost gothic, sound.

With a practically cult-like following, the excitement in the room is palpable even before the band steps out on stage, as fans throughout the crowd reminisce and trade stories of seeing them on previous tours. Walking out to an unrelenting chorus of cheers and clapping, the show opens with “Nowhere Fast” into “Summertime Sunset” with fans singing and head banging along.

Larkin Poe is absolutely mesmerizing as the sisters take turns singing verses and ripping guitar solos, with heavy riffs and slide guitar that look effortless as they move across the stage. Their energy is magnetic and the audience inches closer to the stage as the setlist continues into tracks like “Mockingbird” and “Bad Spell”.

Taking some time to slow down during the set, they bring out a “traditional bluegrass set up”, a singular mic in the centre of the stage and the band gathers around it, joking about quieting things down and encouraging the audience to hush to fully appreciate the change in pace. “Southern Comfort” and “God Moves” are played stripped down, before the sisters share a story about their own struggles with mental illness in their family and the importance of reaching out before dedicating “Mad As A Hatter” to their Grandfather. The final song of the bluegrass section is a cover of John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”, as they start to kick the energy back up in the second half of the song, urging the audience to sing, clap, and stomp along.

Ripping back to full force, the band takes a moment after “Deep Stays Down” to celebrate 15 years of Larkin Poe, sharing the wisdom they’ve learned in the past 15 years, that “all we want is a little bit, a little bit of good times, a little bit of money, a little bit of nice things, a little bit of rock and roll” before jumping into “Little Bit”.

The show continues late into the night with songs like “If God is a Woman”, “Pearls”, and “Wanted Woman/ACDC”. Fresh off of the release of their latest record Bloom at the beginning of this year, this is not a show to miss. Larkin Poe is pure rock and roll to their soul, and you can feel it in the music. Catch them now on The Bloom Tour until the end of May in North America before they hit the summer festival circuit and then head to Europe in the fall.