McLovins, the musical masters of improvisation and deception will bring their always-evolving musical circus to Lexington this week for a Thursday night get-down at The Burl.

 

The group was founded in 2008 and soon thereafter their stock was propelled by a Youtube performance of jam band icon Phish’s “You Enjoy Myself” gone viral. The group released their debut album “Conundrum” soon thereafter in 2009 and haven’t looked back, despite shifts in the band’s lineup that saw founding member and guitarist Jeff Howard depart and Atticus Kelly join the fold on keys.

 

According the Kelly, the transition of getting on the same musical wavelength as the rest of the band was rather brief after coming aboard, in part due to his extensive time performing with drummer Jake Huffman at the performing arts high school they both attended in Hartford, Connecticut.

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Kelly added that the two performed together almost as much as Huffman did with McLovins at the time prior to Kelly joining the group, saying they performed together “four days a week for three straight years.”

“I used to make fun of him because we went to a jazz school but were total snobs and always got made fun of for being in a jam band,” Kelly said. “Now it’s come full circle and I’m in the band too, so it’s not as funny.”

While McLovins still get down and improvise constantly during their live shows, for their most recent record, a self-titled project out in 2015, the group teamed up with Grammy and Tony award-winning composer Bill Sherman for a much more clean-cut record bursting at the seams with pop, soul and jam influences. Kelly speaks highly of Sherman, touting all of his work as being th industry standard. The group plans to work with Sherman in the future, and has even brought him into the fold as part of their management team.

According to Kelly, the group has a hidden liking for pop music, saying that the band has been jamming out to “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” by Mike Posner, “Lush Life” by Zara Larsson, and The Chainsmokers’ “All We Know” while traversing the country packed in their tour van recently.

“(The record) is very concise, there’s no wasted space,” Kelly said. “Total economy and focus on melody and songwriting. We maintain the jam aesthetic in our live shows but we thought for this record it might be better to put something out with a better sense of songwriting and flow, something more inclusive.”

In terms of songwriting Kelly says one member will occasionally bring a near-completed song forward to the group, but oftentimes someone brings an idea forth and the group turns it “upside-down and inside-out” to establish a form and write to that. For example, on their latest record Huffman took on much more of a role as a vocalist and not just a drummer.

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The McLovins show this Thursday at The Burl will be their first in Lexington since playing at the now old Cosmic location nestled along Woodland Avenue. The gig was initially scheduled to be at the new Cosmic venue but the space isn’t up to snuff yet, according to Mark Evans, one of the venue’s owners.

Supporting McLovins for their show are Albany, New York’s Mister F, who last performed in Lexington at Cosmic Charlie’s this past February along with Broccoli Samurai and Aqueous, the later of which also joined McLovins for their aforementioned recent trip thru town.

“(Music) has taught me to get out of myself, which I think is a struggle for anyone who lives and breathes,” Kelly said. “It teaches you about accountability, because if your individual performance isn’t up to par you’re letting everyone else down. Sometimes I’ll be on stage and hear a mistake and think ‘Who was that’ and it was me.”

IF YOU GO

What: McLovins and Mister F

When: Thursday, Nov. 3 at 9 p.m.

Where: The Burl – 375 Thompson Rd.

Tickets: $8 advance, $10 at the door, 21+