photo by Geoff Wilbur

Corey McLane

Lost Shoe Brewing Company, Marlborough, MA

February 6, 2026

Last night, I caught Corey McLane’s first set of the evening at the Lost Shoe Brewing Company. Now, it had been several years since I last heard Corey sing live (way too long, but at least a couple of those years don’t count ‘causa the pandemic, right?), and I had never been to an evening performance at Lost Shoe, though I’ve enjoyed coffee and bagels there several mornings in recent years. During all those visits, though, I had never wandered over into the other room, where this evening’s performance was. Gotta say, it’s a very cool space.

Of course, one of the reasons I enjoy Corey’s acoustic solo gigs is because the dude’s a rock singer, and he sounds every bit of it. I still haven’t seen Corey perform electric with his band Exhale, which is something I’d like to remedy one day, but the band’s album Audio Dreams is a great introduction to Corey’s electric voice with is electric band.

photo by Geoff Wilbur

The songs Corey performs at his solo gigs are songs you rarely hear in an acoustic cover setting, and yet most of the songs he performs would be easily recognized by just about anyone with any exposure to music, life, or mainstream culture (not necessarily even rock music culture). His playlist spans a few decades of rock ‘n roll, though, and is an endless list of “hey, I know that song!” with a smattering of huge hits and more obscure tracks thrown in for good measure. Plus, Corey has mastered the ability to sound rockin’ and vocally powerful while singing “in his indoor voice,” ideal for the sorts of settings that tend to book acoustic music. There’s a reason Corey’s in demand.

I was running a little late last night – hey, it was a 6:00 start time, and I work ’til 5:30! – but I don’t think I missed more than one song. I walked in during Marcy Playground’s “Sex and Candy,” and Corey put a rock n roll growl on this acoustic guitar cover. He followed with Eagle-Eye Cherry’s “Save Tonight,” carrying the gruff acoustic rockingness forward, and the Steve Miller Band “The Joker,” delivering a little classic rock vocal finesse and different guitar style.

Collective Soul’s “December” required another little change to the guitar picking and strumming. Still heavy af, especially for an acoustic number, but it offered some more musical variety. Then Corey utilized a nice anguished vocal approach on Guns N’ Roses’ “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” In particular, he took this one really slowly, emphasizing all the vocals creaks and breaks, kind of raw yet smooth, ’cause he’s got a really good voice. Coming next was Train’s “Meet Virginia,” delivered with rockin’ vox, even as Corey held back, knowing that in this setting he was trying not to overpower the conversations, providing some of the kickassingest background music you’re likely to hear in a low-volume, acoustic venue setting.

photo by Geoff Wilbur

I sat back and enjoyed the rest of the evening, noting songs like Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life,” Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” the timeless R&B/soul/blues-rock classic that fits into any set, any style, Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Corey threw in Nirvana’s “The Man Who Sold the World,” Rob Thomas’ “Lonely No More,” Santana’s “Smooth,” Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” the Gin Blossoms’ “Hey Jealousy,” Blind Melon’s “No Rain” (“oh, oh, oh, oh”), Bad Company’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” Sublime’s “What I Got,” and a couple more songs I missed because I was enjoying myself and forgot to take notes.

At this point, I had reach the hour I had planned to stick around, but I couldn’t pry myself away, so I stuck around. The next song, Pearl Jam’s “Black,” like so many grunge songs, when done slowly and acoustically, some of the groans and howls make you wonder if the singer’s going into labor… if he’s doing a good job, anyway. But alas, when Corey reached to the “do do do do do do do” lyrics at the end, I was pretty sure he wasn’t.

He followed that with a great rendition “Turn the Page.” Glad I stuck around for that; as a Michigander, I love me some Bob Seger, especially when done well. I’m almost embarrassed to say that it took me to this point in the step to realize another thing I like about Corey’s sets – he just goes from one song to the next. No chatter, just music. I’m there to hear music. I don’t need the between-song chatter.

Corey closed the first set with strong, sonically varied renditions of the Cranberries’ “Zombie” and Van Morrison’s “Wild Night,” wrapping up a set full of rock and roll for all ages, but one that Gen X and Millennials, in particular, would know backwards, forward, and inside-out.

I’ve meant to get out to my second Corey McLane performance several times in the last few years. It’s hard to believe it took me this long; I hope to catch one of his sets again much sooner next time. Now, if you haven’t seen him sing, you’re missing out. And like I said, he doesn’t overpower you, so you can probably get some friends who don’t usually go out to hear live music to join you; I’m guessing they’ll be pleased, as well. Corey regularly posts his upcoming calendar to his Instagram and Facebook accounts, so follow him on social media to keep track of where you can catch a performance.