Review: Classic rock act still shines bright after more than 50 years

The Marshall Tucker Band rocked The Guild in Menlo Park hard for 90 minutes on Friday night, turning in a 14-song performance that was an absolute testament to both the lasting greatness of this South Carolina troupe and the power of Southern rock.

Following a winning opening set from Sofia Claire — a promising country music vocalist who hails from right up the road in Redwood City — the headliners took the stage and immediately busted into the title track from 1979’s “Running Like the Wind.”

Appropriately enough, Doug Gray — the sole original member still active in the band — was the first to take the microphone, showcasing his soulful, yet weathered vocals that still do justice to the original recordings.

The rest of the band proved to be an absolute powerhouse, with Chris Hicks and Rick Willis trading guitar leads, drummer B.B. Borden and bassist Ryan Ware locking down the Southern rock grooves, and Marcus James Henderson impressing on keyboardists, saxophone and flute.

Of course, it’s the latter — the flute — that provides the signature sound of The Marshall Tucker Band, so delicately and deliberately differentiating the group from its Southern rock contemporaries. Not coincidentally, Henderson’s work on the flute would consistently be a highlight of this show.

Hicks took over on vocals for “Hillbilly Band,” a greasy Southern stomper from the band’s eponymous debut from 1973 — a landmark offering that stands high on the list of the best Southern rock albums ever recorded. Overall, Hicks seemed to get nearly as much time on the mic as Gray during the show, leading the attack on such favorites as the title track to the band’s sophomore effort, 1973’s “A New Life.”

Gray was back at the forefront for “Heard It in a Love Song,” the glossy pop-country number that resulted in the group’s highest-charting single — hitting No. 14 in the U.S. — and briefly crossing The Marshall Tucker Band over into adult contemporary land in 1977.

Yet, they wouldn’t stay in that realm long and were soon back to their rough and rowdy ways — mixing country, psychedelic jam rock, gospel, R&B, soul and folk — and revving back to the first half of the ’70s with “Take the Highway” and “Fire on the Mountain.”

“Take the Highway” was a particularly satisfying number, offering up some great dueling axe action from Hicks and Willis, a lengthy spotlight on drummer Borden and a remarkable flute solo from Henderson (who also sang lead on the song).

The good times kept right on rolling through “I’ll Be Loving You,” “24 Hours at a Time” and “Searchin’ for a Rainbow,” nicely setting the table for what would be the towering emotional and artistic climax of the night with a 10-minute-plus version of the anthem “Can’t You See” from the group’s eponymous debut.

Without leaving the stage, The Marshall Tucker Band then followed up that epic with a de-facto encore of another first album winner — “Ramblin'” — before calling it a night and departing for the next stop on its While I’m Young Tour 2026.

Marshall Tucker Band setlist
1. “Running Like the Wind”
2. “Hillbilly Band”
3. “This Ol’ Cowboy”
4. “Cattle Drive”
5. “A New Life”
6. “Heard It in a Love Song”
7. “Take the Highway”
8. “Fire on the Mountain”
9. “Ab’s Song”
10. “I’ll Be Loving You”
11. “24 Hours at a Time”
12. “Searchin’ for a Rainbow”
13. “Can’t You See”
14. “Ramblin'”