PREVIEW: The Mallett Brothers Return to the Capital Region
10/24 @ Lark Hall, Albany
Photos by David Conlogue
“...we feel pretty lucky because it’s not easy to find a group of people you can spend more time with in a tiny little space than you spend with your own family.”
Relationships between brothers are often anything but simple. The bonds formed from such a familial connection can be incredibly passionate, ranging from volatility to harmony. For Will and Luke of The Mallett Brothers, the relationship is far closer to the latter. Since 2009, the two brothers have been making their mark on the industry with their unique blend of psychedelia, jam-band and folk.
On October 24, The Mallett Brothers will be doing a split-bill show with Capital Region’s Driftwood at Lark Hall in Albany. The show is part of The Mallett Brothers’ seemingly never-ending tour cycle. Frequent performers in this region, this time around they’re supporting their latest record, Higher Up in the Hills.
“We’re one of those bands,” Luke said. “This is the living that we make playing shows, and on the road … Ultimately, this is where our business lives, so we go really hard all year long.”
Through the course of our interview, Luke articulated just what going “really hard” used to look like for the band. During their formative years, The Mallett Brothers would perform around 250 shows every year. Some shows were pit stops along the way, as the band strove to make an impact on as many regions as possible.
Now, they’re able to be a lot more selective with their shows, as their recognition in the scene has steadily grown over 17 years. And, while Luke is appreciative of the better opportunities available to him and the band, he was sure to make note of his feelings toward downtime.
“I’ve watched bands go a little bit too hard and tour a little bit too hard and it ends up wearing them out,” he said. “But for me personally, I don’t like downtime. I like to go, go, go. I get a little cabin fever … The big part of this whole job, for me, is being in the van and going from place to place.”
Music is woven into the brothers’ DNA. Their dad, David Mallett, was a well-known folk artist in the Maine area and beyond. In our interview, Luke mentioned that while living in Nashville during his younger years was an eye-opening experience, it was also ‘insane.’ Artists like Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle had just come through the area, while artists like Garth Brooks and Billy Ray Cyrus were starting to dominate the airwaves. In this way, David, as Luke said, felt like he ‘missed the boat’ on the singer-songwriter phase in Nashville.
It wasn’t until the Malletts relocated to their family farm in Maine that things really settled down. There, David was able to foster a fulfilling career, though he gave energy to more than just his music. Supportive of their band from the beginning, David helped to lift up Luke and Will whenever he could. In fact, The Mallett Brothers’ first two shows were opening for their dad.
“One of those shows wasn’t even official,” Luke said. “We showed up and he hadn’t told anyone we were opening for him … He was good like that.”
Luke and Will didn’t begin their musical journey in a band together. Throughout their childhood and early adulthood, they were in separate bands. It wasn’t until they were in their late 20s that the idea of forming a band together came up. By this point, each brother had established their individual identities and styles. According to Luke, being in a band with each other has never felt forced.
“The timing was everything,” Luke said. “I do feel lucky ‘cause I know how quickly stuff can fall apart … All of the guys that are in this band, we feel pretty lucky because it’s not easy to find a group of people you can spend more time with in a tiny little space than you spend with your own family.”
A meaningful moment in Luke’s musical journey was when he realized that his dad was no longer singing his own songs around the house; he was singing songs that Will and Luke had written. Through it all, no matter where they play, Luke credits his father’s strong musical reputation in Maine and beyond as being the jumpstart the band needed to get going.
While David passed away in 2024, his career and character continue to serve as a guiding light to Luke and his brother. One of the many projects the band is working on now is making an album of songs that David wrote. They will be using their own take on the tunes in a style that Luke admits is much louder and faster than their dad’s. In this way, it will be very interesting to see the fruits of their labor, as the band continues to honor the legacy David built.
To purchase tickets to and learn more about the Lark Hall show, please click here.
