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Back in late 2019, I discovered a few Snarky Puppy concert videos on YouTube from our very own Jake Funkmayor.  This was one of the first 2019 shows that I heard, and it is a very unique and entertaining show! As far as I know, “Big Ugly” was only performed once during the Immigrance tour…and it happened at the NODA Brewing Company in Charlotte, North Carolina! Chris Bullock’s “Bling Bling” also makes its second-ever live appearance.  Longtime trumpeter Mike “Maz” Maher was unavailable, so Jay Jennings played trumpet and flugelhorn with the Pups for about two weeks.  Three keyboardists wereContinue Reading

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This show in Montreal is one of my absolute favorites. Firstly, the mix is extremely clear and balanced. Secondly, the setlist is magnificent.  This show consists of some of my favorites from Immigrance like Even Us, While We’re Young and Xavi as well as my favorite old tune, Flood, which was a lovely surprise considering they played it the previous night. This show also features Montreal’s own Malika Tirolien from Bokanté killing it on Xavi with a vocal solo and playing in unison with an extremely challenging horn melody. Very cool. Track-By-Track Even Us – McQueen starts this one off likeContinue Reading

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This is the early show at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada – aka Larnell Lewis’s hometown! The first thing that caught my attention was that three Snarky Puppy stalwarts are not in the lineup for this show.  In addition to the absence of Mike “Maz” Maher (who would join the tour two weeks later), Bobby Sparks and Justin Stanton are absent even though they had performed in Montreal the night before.  The void is filled with violinist Zach Brock, trumpeter Jay Jennings, and Bob “The Savior of Toronto” Lanzetti on guitar.  But more on that later…  Track-By-TrackContinue Reading

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Doug and I are ready to start reviewing shows once again! We plan on covering every show on LiveSnarky.com  from this show on the 5th of September until the Nuremberg show on the 30th of November. This was the second show of the second half of the US tour as the first show in Philly on September 4 was not recorded on audio. However, here’s a partial video from Philly on our YouTube Channel. This New Haven show took place at ‘Toad’s Place”,’ a nightclub with a more casual atmosphere and a particularly rowdy crowd. The pup’s played a variedContinue Reading

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The second show of the night. A completely different setlist, a different atmosphere and some more incredible playing. Both of the Toronto shows are really interesting listens due to hearing how the band manages without having the usual 3 or 2 keyboardists. It’s also a lot of fun hearing how Bob and McQueen divide up their parts to not step on each other’s toes so to speak. It’s also great to have Jay Jennings in the lineup again as he often doesn’t manage to make Snarky’s busy touring schedule. Compared to Maz or Justin, Jay often brings a more bopContinue Reading

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Candler Park’s Music and Food Festival has been going on for thirteen years and has evolved from a small Atlanta neighborhood affair to a full blown regional music blowout with nationally famous touring acts. The fest traditionally held in late May-early June has been pushed back due to Covid-19 and this will be the first held since 2019.  Each day is packed with some great acts and here’s the rundown that we’re looking forward to. Friday Highlights Galactic is one of my favorite all-time New Orleans funk bands, on the scene for nearly 25 years.  Their mix of skill andContinue Reading

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Brass Lightning are a New Orleans-based, soul-brass quintet. At FunkCity.net, we’re all about the horns and love bands that are heavy on that end especially those that make the horns the ‘lead’ centerpiece.  In that respect, Brass Lightning belongs in a tight group including Naughty Professor, Moon Hooch, and too Many Zooz.  The group released their Debut Album “Consonance” on July 5th 2021. The 10-track album sways from bombastic and horn-heavy to carefree and lush, and features Mike Dillon (Mike Dillon Band, Garage A Trois) on vibraphone and Percussion, as well as Nick Ellman (Naughty Professor) on baritone saxophone. “Consonance,” paysContinue Reading

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Electric Kif are a Miami-based power quartet that explore the boundaries between rock, jazz fusion and electronic drum & bass. I first got introduced to them at the at the first GroundUP Music Festival hosted in Miami Beach by Snarky Puppy in 2017.  Since then they’ve become a staple of the festival hosting pre-shows each year and have welcomed an array of guests from the Snarky Puppy camp among others.  The band formed as an outlet for the musicians to stretch out and be themselves between recording sessions and touring with other artists.  They started played monthly at a tiny placeContinue Reading

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I first caught Nathan-Paul & The Admirables opening for Moon Hooch at Terminal West in Atlanta in June, 2019. It was one of those wonderful musical moments when catching the opening act leads to discovering some terrific vibes, which I decided to capture in a short video (end of post) which features Do It and Day 6 from this album. Flash forward a couple of years and Nathan-Paul and I have kept in touch so I was excited to get an early listen to their fine new album Funk Me, released on July 9th. This is the band’s first albumContinue Reading

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This show in Paris was very special. This was less of a Snarky Puppy show and more of a Karim Ziad and Maalem Hamid El Kasri show. The Gnaouas musicians from Morocco joined the Pup’s a year after their first encounter in June 2018 and played a total of four drastically reworked songs together from the S.P catalogue as well as some favorites from Culcha Vulcha and Immigrance without the Gnaouas musicians. The energy throughout this show was just next level. I haven’t heard a crowd giving so much energy to the band before. This really helps loosen the nervesContinue Reading