Photo Credit: Stevo Rood

Last night, Larkin Poe welcomed a pair of very special guests for the encore of their sold-out stop at Los Angeles’ The Fonda Theatre. Joined by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers founding guitarist Mike Campbell and longtime Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone, the award-winning blues-rock quartet led by sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell blitzed through a rendition of the Petty and the Heartbreakers’ classic, “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” The surprise and raucous appearance by the two rock legends capped an otherwise taut 90-minute headlining set from Larkin Poe on their current Blood Harmony tour.

The evening kicked off with a trio of rockers from the siblings, including “Strike Gold” and “Kick the Blues;” the latter proving a harbinger for the many nods and references to the blues throughout the night; a few songs later, Rebecca paid tribute to the late blues pioneer, Son House, prior to a stomping cover of his “Preachin’ Blues.”  The sisters–Rebecca on guitar; Megan on slide guitar–also dotted the setlist with tracks from their latest album, Blood Harmony, even dropping in a not-so-veiled wink to tour sponsor, Southern Comfort, imbibing a sip just before brandishing their track (of course), “Southern Comfort.”

They finished the proper set with a flurry. After arguably the evening’s highlight–a scintillating version of “Might As Well Be Me”–the sisters embraced their inner rock-n-rollers with “Bolt Cutters & the Family Name” before returning for the first of the two-song encore–“Deep Stays Down.” Then came Campbell and Ferrone, with Campbell sharing the lead vocal along with Rebecca on the Petty rocker and delivering a stinging guitar solo to close out the song and the show.

Larkin Poe’s tour continues with 14 additional U.S. dates before the group heads to Australia in April. More information is available at www.larkinpoe.com