Late John Garfield Blues

About

Ohio singer-songwriter Arlo McKinley’s earliest musical memory is singing in the choir at his family’s Baptist church. A rearing steeped in the sounds of Hank Williams, George Jones, Bob Dylan, and Otis Redding only furthered his songwriting spirit. Now on his fourth record, Untitled, McKinley has leaned into these sonic traditions, emboldening those roots with his storied musical journey.

McKinley began writing his own songs in his twenties, gravitating toward rootsy country and soul sounds while mixing in his rock influences. A troubled period involving drugs waylaid his music career, leading him away from music for several years. During that time, he drove a truck delivering tuxedos between Cincinnati and Detroit. His love of songwriting eventually pulled him back to music, resulting in his 2014 debut album, Arlo McKinley & the Lonesome Sound.

As he hit the road alongside roots luminaries like Tyler Childers, John Moreland, Jason Isbell, and Justin Townes Earle, McKinley’s introspective songwriting gained wider attention. In 2020, he earned further recognition with his first record on John Prine’s Oh Boy Records, Die Midwestern, followed by This Mess We’re In.

Untitled is his most grounded record yet, featuring original tracks and covers of classic Americana songs by Prine, Gram Parsons, Jason Molina, and more.

“When looking at the greats of Americana music or songwriting in general, I always put Gram, John, Blaze and Jason at the top of that list,” shares McKinley of Untitled. “My Mount Rushmore, if you will. Upon discovering each of these artists, I didn’t just want to hear everything I could find by them; I felt I needed to hear everything by them. As if their songs were offering much more to the world than others were. Each giving their own take on the human condition through their own life experiences that somehow felt like my own.”

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