Marcus King Melts Faces During Surprise Guitar Solo With Mt. Joy

Marcus King might be the best guitar player on planet earth right now. To see him perform alongside Mt. Joy was a moment I will not soon forget.

They joined on ‘Astrovan’ at the BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach, California on Sunday, May 5, 2025. It was one of the best single performances I have ever witnessed and I say that without hyperbole as someone who goes to a lot of concerts.

King, for those who are not familiar, hails from South Carolina. His music most commonly falls under the undefined label of ‘Americana’ but it combines elements of country, southern rock, blues, soul bluegrass and even gospel. There is also an element of psychedelic jam band to his performances.

Although the 29-year-old has great vocals, it is his guitar playing that really steals the show.

King played a killer 70-minute set during the third slot at BeachLife Festival on Sunday, right before The Beach Boys with John Stamos. Mt. Joy served as the other bookend to Mike Love and Uncle Jesse.

I had yet to see Marcus King in concert prior to BeachLife but he was on my bucket list for years. It just never worked out when he was in town. I had extremely high expectations for one of my favorite artists and they were met, if not exceeded, during his solo set.

However, the highlight of the day took place approximately two and a half hours later when Mt. Joy invited King to join them on stage for ‘Astrovan.’ He melted my face with a guitar solo. I have yet to fully recover.

I’ll be honest. I thought I was witnessing a first-of-its-kind collaboration, but upon further review, they actually teamed up for the same song around this time last year. It was just as insane.