Tower of Power, one of FunkCity.net’s all time favorite bands, is widely recognized as the best horn band of all time.  They celebrated their 50th anniversary in June this year with a two show blowout in Oakland.  We’re so looking forward to Monday and Tuesday when we’ll be front row at City Winery Atlanta to experience the fantastic all around, polished musicianship of this band. Of course the group is well known for all their “hits” including such gems as “What is Hip?”, “You’re Still A Young Man“, and “So Very Hard To Go” which were all performed during lastContinue Reading

This second installment of the FunkCity.net weekly Spotify playlist compilation including songs from recent and upcoming shows.  It’s comprised of some of our favorite new and old songs and artists and a brief description of the tune and its significance follows – Simple – Phish:  Not your typical phunk, but we got to see our third and fourth Phish shows this week and Simple stands out because we love a saxophone in the band.  Definitely learning to appreciate this group and this tune is as catchy as they come. On the Run – Hedonistas: These young turks are having anContinue Reading

This is a new FunkCity.net feature where we’ll compile and feature a new Spotify playlist every week comprised of some of our favorite new and old songs and artists and a brief description of the tune and its significance. La Fonda – Lagoons:  Lagoons is a local Atlanta band that held its album release party for “Between the Middle” at Aisle 5 on Friday, July 27th.  I had the chance to listen to the album on the way down to the show and then hear much of it live.  The band slayed the crowd with its high energy and wonderfulContinue Reading

Recently, our good friends at Inside Out with Turner & Seth did an excellent job on an insightful and delightful interview with Eddie Roberts, one of the leaders of Matador! Soul Sounds (and co founder of The New Mastersounds).  They covered the origins and progress of the band, some history of NMS, Eddie Roberts’ influences and even the terrific Nick Etwell band The Filthy Six.  Listen to this episode of the podcast below. https://simplecast.com/s/07d10fbf Matador! Soul Sounds is Eddie Roberts new band outside of The New Mastersounds.  FunkCity.net had the good fortune to see one of the very first shows ofContinue Reading

Naughty Professor is one of our favorites – a true, horn-driven funk band out of New Orleans.  This sextet features a three-piece horn section fronting the band and it serves as the “voice” of the group.  They are honest trendsetters when it comes to instrumental groups in today’s age.  We’ll be writing a full review of the show in the coming days but wanted to get this posted as they launch on their first ever European tour.  For our followers over there, and fans of bands like Snarky Puppy, Galactic and Lettuce, make sure you catch them while you can. Continue Reading

Check out The Bamboos​ excellent new album.  They’re like Australia’s answer to Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings​.  They feature classic compositions, excellent musicianship, horn-driven soul and funk and will have you singing along in no time.  Check out the first single off the album here. From their website – ” Initially inspired by the instrumental raw funk of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, they made waves internationally and were quickly labelled as one of the greatest funk and soul bands of our time. But while many would be happy to simply soak up the praise and keep on keepingContinue Reading

You never know what you’re going to get with a Snarky Puppy show other than one of the best live music shows of your life and this Friday night in Philly was no exception.  First it was a unique and special lineup with Marcelo and Larnell, after a U.S. hiatus, on percussion, Bobby and Shaun on keys (boding well for things to come), and Mark on guitar.  The near sell out crowd was the usual mix of of the usual Pupophiles and new fans who are anxious to see their first performance and it was a helluva way to getContinue Reading

Soul Side of Town is a retro funk, instant classic.  Tower of Power‘s newest album is a beautiful addition to the group’s legacy.  While it doesn’t break new sonic ground,  ToP have always been ahead of their time and have had a great influence on many young funk bands of today such as Lettuce and Snarky Puppy.  Soul Side of Town hits all the right notes and covers a broad space.  In fact, it’s the group’s first #1 Billboard album in 50 years! The album is quite polished and has elements that draw upon the full group discography, for exampleContinue Reading

The New Mastersounds electrified the crowd at Terminal West Atlanta last night delivering a full range of their repertoire.  These cats are some of the best musicians in the world and tight as a fist when it comes to delivering the retro funk.  They tantalized us starting with Tantalus and didn’t let up right through the encore finale Funk 49 – One Note Brown.  Truly one of the most memorable nights of music this year from a wonderful team.  Here’s some video of the first hour of the set. Have a look at the setlist some show shots and a realContinue Reading

Night 1 The Disco Biscuits returned to Asheville after 8 years (last show 10/30/2010) for a 2 night stand at the Salvage Station. Salvage Station is an old salvage yard that has been transformed into a beautiful venue overlooking the French Broad River. All week weather forecasts had called for rain but as we arrived the first night the skies had settled for the moment and the band arrived on stage at 6:30 pm. Set one opened with Pink Floyd’s Run Like Hell served up as a great opening jam that got the creative juices flowing before getting to the vocalContinue Reading