We once lauded the all-inclusive Equifunk Festival as “a model of how a festival should be run.” The event’s promoters will once again bring Equifunk back to the cozy confines of summer camps Equinunk and Blue Ridge in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains on August 16 – 18. Today, HT faves Soulive along with The Shady Horns and the legendary Maceo Parker.
Soulive will join a number of previously announced acts including The New Mastersounds, Anders Osborne, Boombox, Marco Benevento, The Nigel Hall Band, The Main Squeeze and I’ll Be John Brown.
Soulive closed out their fourth annual Bowlive residency at NYC’s Brooklyn Bowl last night with what was the band’s 40th show at the Williamsburg venue. The trio welcomed a number of guests for the Bowlive finale, all of which have been regulars over the past week, and each guest received a t-shirt commemorating the event with the “Bowlive” logo on the front and “40″ on the back.
[All Photos by Andrew Blackstein]
Considering the impressive list of guests, both expected and unexpected, who performed with Soulive over the course of the eight-show run, there were high hopes for a surprise artist or two to share the stage with the trio besides announced guests The Shady Horns and funk legend George Porter Jr. Though the surprises were limited to saxophonist Cochemea Gastelum and The London Souls, the true highlight of the night was the otherworldly interplay displayed by Neal and Alan Evans and Eric Krasno as they stretched everything out in the first set and expertly backed Porter during the rest of the show.
Soulive’s annual Bowlive Run at Brooklyn Bowl continued last night in Williamsburg. Special guests included keyboardist Marco Benevento, Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo, The Shady Horns and opening act The London Souls. For the encore, Soulive welcomed their guests up, with the exception of the horns, for a 20-plus-minute tribute to Neil Young.
Soulive, Benevento, Hidalgo and The London Souls kicked off the encore with the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young protest song Ohio sung by Tash Neal. The CSNY cover morphed into Neil Young’s Down By The River on which Tash shared vocals with Alan Evans. Once Tash, Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno and Hidalgo were finished taking turns soloing, the Los Lobos guitarist stepped to the mic to deliver a verse of Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth.
Our pal MKDevo captured the entire encore for our viewing pleasure…
Bowlive IV continues tonight with special guests Bill Evans and John Medeski.
We’ve got some exciting news from our friends at SiriusXM’s Jam_ON channel as they’ve just revealed that they will air live broadcasts of two concerts this weekend.
On Saturday night starting at 10PM ET, Jam_ON will simulcast the Bowlive IV finale live from Brooklyn Bowl. For this show, Soulive will be joined by Alecia Chakour, George Porter Jr. and The Shady Horns. Plus, you never know who will turn up. Hidden Track editor-in-chief Scott Bernstein will be a guest on Jam_ON’s broadcast.
Then, on Sunday, starting at 11PM ET, Jam_ON will simulcast Yonder Mountain String Band’s show live from The Belly Up in Aspen, Colorado. SiriusXM subscribers can listen to Jam_ON on Channel 29.
When the guests and themes for Soulive’s fourth annual Bowlive run at Brooklyn Bowl were announced, many fans circled last night’s date on the calendar as the trio were set to present a tribute to the famed Stax label with the help of The Shady Horns and iconic keyboardist Booker T. Jones. On paper it looked to be an impressive bill and in person it lived up to expectations.
[All Photos by Andrew Blackstein]
Afrobeat act The Electric Sound of Johnny Arrow featuring saxophonist Cochemea Gastelum (Dap-Kings, Fela!) opened the evening with a quick and potent set of percussion and horn-heavy tracks. The talented ensemble showed off their range by mixing uptempo songs such as Dark City and Impala ’73 with the more tender You’re So Good To Me and No Goodbyes. Soulive took the stage just after 9:45PM and wound up treating attendees to one long 12-song set and an encore by the time the night came to a close.
Soulive kicked off their eight-show Bowlive IV residency at Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday. For the first show, Soulive brought out a slew of guests including John Popper of Blues Traveler and North Mississippi Allstars Luther and Cody Dickinson. There was even the debut of “The Bowlive Dancers.”
[All Photos by Andrew Blackstein]
We reviewed the show back on Friday, but wanted to share more of Andrew Blackstein’s stunning photos of both Soulive and opener Kung Fu as well as three videos shot by our pal Lazy Lightning55.
Photographer Dino Perrucci was on hand to capture Derek and Warren in action at both spots.
Here’s more shots from Dino plus a vid of Soulive with Trucks, Haynes, Robert Randolph and the horns on a cover of Band of Changes by Band of Gypsies taped by our pal LazyLightning55…
As we reported earlier, Allman Brothers Band guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks motored down to Brooklyn after last night’s ABB show at the Beacon to sit in with Soulive on an unannounced third set of the second Bowlive IV performance. Our pal Marc Millman was on hand at Brooklyn Bowl and captured this amazing video of Derek and Warren performing Thrill Is Gone with Soulive…
While the Allman Brothers Band have been keeping a March musical tradition going since 1989 with their Beacon Theatre runs, Soulive has given life to a musical tradition all their own in Brooklyn. In 2010 Soulive played a 10-night, guest-laden residency at the Brooklyn Bowl titled “Bowlive.” Now in its fourth year, Soulive continues to top themselves with each successive Bowlive. From last night’s Bowlive IV opening show, the trio has laid the groundwork for raising the bar once again.
[All Photos by Andrew Blackstein]
Fusion-jammers Kung Fu kicked off the evening with a short but sweet set filled with potent improvisation. The Connecticut-based band is now in the midst of their fourth year together and continue to expertly mesh the sounds of the groups that spawned Kung Fu: The Breakfast, RAQ and Deep Banana Blackout. Guitarist Tim Palmieri and keyboardist Todd Stoops each have a unique style that’s so different from anybody else in the scene as it mixes speed and accuracy with an ear towards melody. I wasn’t the only one who wished there set went on longer.
When Soulive took the stage for their first set of Bowlive IV they were unaccompanied. Guitarist Eric Krasno, keyboardist Neal Evans and drummer Alan Evans showed off ther jazz-funk-groove hybrid sound on a run of four originals that kicked off the run with a bang. From the minute they started from 2007′s No Place Like Soul, it was clear Soulive would need no warm up. They hit it hard from the get go. Hat Trick, off 2009′s Up Here, shined the light on Kraz’s tasteful, soul-laden shredding. He’s got a sound and approach similar to John Scofield with a dirtier edge to it. Next, Soulive dipped towards the early days of the band by performing Shaheed from 2001′s Doin’ Something and Tuesday’s Night’s Squad.
Soulive’s highly anticipated Bowlive IV residency at Brooklyn Bowl in NYC kicks off tomorrow night. Luther and Cody Dickinson were announced as special guests with the band leaving the door open for more artists to jam with them that night. This afternoon, we’ve found out one of these extra guests – none other than John Popper of Blues Traveler.
Popper’s @blues_traveler feed has been paying dividends today, as he already broke the news that he’ll be performing with the Allman Brothers Band this evening. Now, the harmonica master has revealed that he’ll jam with Eric Krasno and Soulive tomorrow. John was supposed to have played with Kraz last week at the first night of Bill Evans’ Soulgrass’s residency at the Blue Note, but had to bail as he was recovering from surgery. He considers tomorrow night “a cool makeup exam for me.”
Last week when Souliveannounced the guests for their upcoming Bowlive IV residency at Brooklyn Bowl, there was one “TBA” listed that caught our attention. On March 12th the trio will pay tribute to the legendary Stax record label. Today, the band revealed that keyboardist Booker T. Jones will join them at the Bowl on the 12th.
Booker T. is the front man for Booker T. and the M.G.s, a group that released nearly all of their legendary recordings on Stax. Jones also played on a number of Stax sessions. The Shady Horns will also guest on the 12th, with Cochemea Gastelum’s Johnny Arrow project set to open that night.
Soulive will bring Bowlive back to Brooklyn Bowl in New York City next month with eight performances scheduled between March 7th and March 16th. This afternoon the Brooklyn Bowl website has been updated to reveal a number of special guests and opening acts for Bowlive IV.
For opening night, March 7th, Soulive will be joined by Luther and Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars with more guests expected to be announced soon. Robert Randolph and Lee Fields will be Soulive’s guest on March 8th. Nigel Hall and DJ Logic will be the guests on the 9th. The 12th will be a special Tribute To Stax Records with a special guest to be revealed soon. Lettuce’s Shady Horns will make multiple appearances with their label mates as they are listed as guests on the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th. In addition, Marco Benevento and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos will sit in with Soulive on March 13th, while Meters bassist George Porter Jr. will lend a hand on March 15th and 16th. Porter’s Original Meters band mate, guitarist Leo Nocentelli will also guest on the 15th.
Here’s a look at what’s been announced so far…
3/7: Luther and Cody Dickinson + More To Be Announced + Kung Fu To Open
3/8: Robert Randolph and Lee Fields
3/9: Nigel Hall & DJ Logic + Alecia Chakour Band as opener
3/12: A Tribute To Stax feat. Special Guest TBA + The Shady Horns
3/13: Marco Benevento, The Shady Horns, David Hidalgo + London Souls as opener
3/14: The Shady Horns + More TBA
3/15: George Porter Jr. + Leo Nocentelli + The Shady Horns
3/16: The Shady Horns + George Porter Jr. + Alecia Chakour Band as opener
Tickets for all Bowlive IV shows are on sale now. Stay tuned for more special guest announcements.
As a music fan in the New York City area there are two things you can essentially count on each March. One is Allman Brothers’ Beacon Theatre run, while the other is a much newer tradition – Bowlive: Soulive’s multi-night residency at Brooklyn Bowl. For the fourth year in a row the jazz-funk trio will set up shop at the multipurpose venue for eight nights, which will run from March 7-9 and then pick up again from the 12-16. As in years past the band will be joined by an array of special guests over the course of the run, which last year featured the likes of Derek Trucks, John Scofield, Luther Dickinson (NMAS), Billy Martin and ?uestlove. Tickets are currently on-sale for the entire run, as well as a special eight-night pass that will run you $120.
In what has become fall tradition in New York City, the Royal Family Ball will once again return to the cavernous Terminal 5 on October 20 for an all-star night of funk and soul. Hosted by Soulive and Lettuce, this year’s stellar line up will feature Maceo Parker, Robert Randolph, Nigel Hall, Ledisi and Alecia Chakour. Tickets will go on sale this Friday, August 24, at 12:00PM EDT, with two tiers of tickets being offered – General Admission & VIP Rage, which includes: Rager tour laminate, a meet and greet with the band following sound check, access to a VIP viewing area, a signed poster and a download code containing recordings of the show.
Finally, on October 9th, The Beatles’ 1967 movie Magical Mystery Tour will be reissued for the first time on Blu-Ray by Apple Films. The film, which was directed by the Fab Four, follows the band on a unscripted psychedelic-infused bus tour throughout the United Kingdom. The re-release is set to feature ” new interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and other cast and crew members, a director’s commentary track by McCartney himself, a 19-minute documentary, deleted scenes, new edits of past performances, and a BBC promotional video.” The film will also receive its first-ever limited theatrical release across North America, beginning on September 27th.
Whenever I tackle a song by The Beatles for Cover Wars, I like to head on over to see what Alan Pollack has to say on the song’s topic and the in-depth musical analysis he provides on his website, a must-bookmark site for any Beatles fan or musician. The absolute basics: Released on The White Album, written by George Harrison and Eric Clapton guests on lead guitar.
This Cover Wars has been a long-time coming as I have started compiling it at least once in the past but did not complete it as there is such a large number of exceptional covers of the tune. But today, I present to you these 14 covers of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
The Contestants:
Artist: Jake Shimabukuro Album: Gently Weeps The Skinny: Leading off this week is ukelele extraordinaire Jake Shimabukuro who consistently wows audiences everywhere he plays. Shimabukuro’s cover is well known and is the inspiration for his 2006 album Gently Weeps.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
There are no shortages of live performances from Shimabukuro of this song on YouTube with multiple clips having 1,000,000+ YouTube views. This one is the most popular, shot in New York City’s Central Park:
