With:
STEVE CROPPER AND FRIENDS: TRIBUTE TO THE 5 ROYALES (New York debut) with BETTYE LAVETTE, ELLIS HOOKS, and DYLAN LEBLANC
THE BAR-KAYS
NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS DUO
BIG SAM’S FUNKY NATION
One of soul music’s prime movers as guitarist for Booker T. & the MGs, songwriter, and talent scout for Stax Records, Steve Cropper pays homage to The 5 Royales, a seminal outfit whose synthesis of gospel, jump blues, and doo-wop pointed the way forward for the international recognition of soul music. Vocalists include fellow pioneer Bettye Lavette and retro stalwarts Ellis Hooks and Dylan LeBlanc, backed by a one-time-only gathering of studio session royalty: David Hood, Leon Pendarvis, Anton Fig, Billy Block, Jon Tiven, and members of the Uptown Horns.
Stax-Volt veterans The Bar-Kays celebrate the legacy of the classic sound of hits “Soul Finger” and “Son of Shaft,” their roots as the backing band for such pioneers as Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes, and a rebirth that freaked the dancefloor with electro-funk anthems.
Steeped in a family legacy of music and culture as rich as the black Mississippi dirt, raised on classic records, all-night juke joint boogie and moonshine-inspired trance blues, the North Mississippi Allstars filter old-field hollers into loud edge, modern primitive, blues-infused rock and roll.
New Orleans–raised trombonist Big Sam Williams, formerly with the Dirty Dozen, has one goal: to get you out on the dance floor. Big Sam’s Funky Nation embraces the party-all-the-time dance-machine ethos and works it until the sweat drips. Get on up!
New York City, NY; NYC