Back in November 13, 2022, Gary Rossington took to the stage for what would be before he . For the occasion, Rossington was joined at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium by an all-star array of guest stars, which included the likes of John Osborne, Jelly Roll, Donnie Van Zant and Brent Smith. hero Marcus King had also been invited to attend the star-studded show, and joined in to perform – a track that had hugely influenced King as a guitar player.
In a new interview with , King reflects on the experience of playing at Gary Rossington’s last-ever live show – and what it was like playing a track that had been so profoundly important to him in front of the man who originally performed it. “They'd [Lynyrd Skynyrd] done a PBS thing and had a bunch of friends sit in," King recalls. “They asked me what song I wanted to do, and I said, ‘We gotta do !' “Gary [Rossington] wasn't feeling too good at the time, but he was at rehearsal, and I played Gary's solo because that's the solo I grew up with and learned.
I saw a twinkle in his eye when I played that.” “When we played it for the show, he came over and played it with me, and 12-year-old me was just floating on a cloud,” King continues. “He and I connected in this real spiritual way, and through divine intervention – it was like our souls were tangled in the astral realm.
He left that night; that was his last gig, he passed away shortly thereafter.” Playing with Rossington was no doubt a special experience for Ki.