Psychedelic gospel funk from The Relatives. You’ve never heard of them. You’ll never forget them. They open for Mavis Staples @LCOutofDoors tonight at 7 pm. It’s free. Do. Not. Miss. Seriously.
There are so many things about this description of The Relatives (@LCOutofDoors 7/31) that make me laugh. Let’s just say that they are just about the funkiest gospel band you’ll see all year. Breakout hits at the Ponderosa Stomp and SXSW (where the Funk Brothers guitar shredder Dennis Coffey joined on guitar), their show at Out of Doors will be their long-awaited NY debut. When I say don’t miss it, in this case, it’s not just hype.
On July 31st as a part of Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Mavis Staples is joined by psychodelic gospel funk legends The Relatives, making their much-belated New York debut. Always the innovators, here they are rapping before it was a thing in 1974.
Just got the list of @soultrain dances we’ll be teaching; The Bump, The Robot, The Funky Chicken, The Breakdown and the all-important Loose Booty!
And the set list from Pee Wee Ellis & Fred Wesley is beyond funky…some of your altime faves from James Brown, the JB’s and Lyn Collins.
Midsummer Night Swing pays tribute to Soul Train on June 28. Join Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley, and special guest DJ Biz Markie on the line as they celebrate Soul Train’s 40th anniversary in a night of funk and soul.
Our Roots of American Music Festival, part of Lincoln Center Out of Doors, is more than just performances. The afternoon of August 14 features a series of panel discussions at the David Rubenstein Atrium, starting at 2 p.m. with Dixie Fried—The Life & Music of Jim Dickinson. Cody and Luther Dickinson will be talking with Sid Selvidge about their father, the legendary producer and musician.
The second panel that day will be Stax and Motown’s Al Bell in conversation with Sweet Sweetback’s Melvin Van Peebles.
The North Mississippi Allstars Duo play at Damrosch Park Bandshell later that afternoon, on a bill with Steve Cropper’s tribute the 5 Royales (with Bettye Lavette, Muscle Shoals’ David Hood and more), The Bar-Kays and Big Sam’s Funky Nation.
And the day before, on Aug 13, Sid, Luther and Cody play as Sid Selvidge & Sons of Mudboy, on a day that also includes Marty Stuart, a Sun Records tribute with Sunny Burgess, Cowboy Jack Clement, Rudy “Tutti” Grayzell and Hayden Thompson, Dailey & Vincent, and Abigail Washburn.
It’s all absolutely free!
Check out the complete line-up at www.LCoutofDoors.org
Great way to get a sneak peak at Debo Band, who will play at Lincoln Center Out of Doors on August 11, sharing the bill with David Dorfman Dance’s collaboration with The Family Stone: Prophets of Funk: Concert Edition. Yes, that Family Stone. And earlier that night, MarchFourth. And it’s all free. www.LCOutofDoors.org
For our final Resonate! program this Wednesday, we present And Lay Duo, a special collaborative project by two members of the internationally-renowned Ethiopian funk and groove collective Debo Band, who were recently featured at SXSW. The two will premiere traditional Ethiopian folk songs and original compositions. Check out this video of Debo Band as a preview.
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