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In: BLOG POSTS, Snarky Puppy

Masterclass in Modern Guitar Virtuosity Get ready to witness Matteo Mancuso, one of the young lions of the modern electric guitar at GroundUp Music Festival Alberobello June 26-28, 2026. In the process of researching and writing my full GUMF Italy Preview, Matteo was one that I hadn’t previously known, but got me pumped up for the annual festival put on by Snarky Puppy. The Sicilian phenomenon has really sprung up on global music scene the last few years by playing with a very unique technique that combining mind-bending speed with stunning melodic sensitivity. In this spotlight, I go deeper intoContinue Reading

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Snarky Puppy’s Somni tour kicked off Wednesday, April 8th, at The Eastern in Atlanta! It was a full circle moment for me, starting with the Somni recording sessions in Utrecht, Netherlands, in January 2025; the release of the album in November 2025; and me naming it my Album of the Year for 2025 (link to review)! Now, they’re in the midst of the U.S. tour—I attended the first four in Atlanta, Charleston, Durham, and Charlotte and will be at 7 of the first 14, with Red Bank, Philly, and Nashville coming up later this month.  Here are my overall observationsContinue Reading

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In: BANDS, FESTIVALS, GroundUP Music Festival, Snarky Puppy

GroundUP Music Festival 2026 just announced its exceptionally strong lineup. This year will be the 10th annual, and the organizers Michael League and Paul Lehr pulled out all the stops, bringing in Flying Lotus, Patrice Rushen, Rickie Lee Jones, Bilal, and Isaiah Sharkey, among others. Let’s start with the connection to the recently departed and heavily revered D’Angelo. In a recent YouTube interview, Michael League stated, “I don’t know that you can play music in 2025 without being influenced by D’Angelo even if you never heard D’Angelo. Whenever you go somewhere and you hear someone playing drums in this way,Continue Reading

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In: Album of the Week, BLOG POSTS, Snarky Puppy

Snarky Puppy released Somni on November 21, and it’s one of the best albums you’ve ever heard and will ever hear. It’s already on my deserted island list and a certain (multi) Grammy winner. I’m confident that once people hear it, they will be astounded based on its sonic impact, novel approach to melodies and rhythms, range of emotions stirred, musicality, and technical achievements. Now that the superlatives are out there, I’ll offer up the rationale for the buildup. Somni was recorded with the Metropole Orkest under the direction of Jules Buckley over the course of three days (two sessionsContinue Reading

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In: ALBUMS, FunkCity.net Presents..., Snarky Puppy

Chimera is the second (and final!?) single from Snarky Puppy’s upcoming album “Somni,” and audio was recently released on streaming platforms with the video on YouTube. The full album is scheduled to be released November 21st. Here’s my review of this breathtaking track and the accompanying video. I was in the room for all the recording sessions in Utrecht back in January 2025. You can read about that experience here – Somni: A Dreamlike Experience. Chimera is the most unique cut on an album of ‘dreams’ as the standalone ‘nightmare.’ It was/is the third track on the album and here’sContinue Reading

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In: ALBUMS, FunkCity.net Presents..., Snarky Puppy

Waves Upon Waves, the first single from Snarky Puppy’s upcoming album “Somni,” was just released on streaming platforms, and the video on YouTube. The full album is scheduled to be released November 21st. Breaking with my usual approach, I’m going to review each track as they’re released and then the full album. I’m coming from the perspective of having been in the room for all the recording sessions in Utrecht back in January 2025. You can read about that experience here – Somni: A Dreamlike Experience. I will say that watching and listening to an individual track cannot capture theContinue Reading

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In: BLOG POSTS, FESTIVALS, GroundUP Music Festival, Snarky Puppy

We’re just seven weeks away from the inaugural edition of GroundUP Music Festival Alberobello (GUMF-A), which is sure to be an incredibly memorable musical and cultural event. GUMF-A follows in the mode of the well-established, perennially exciting GroundUP Music Festival Miami Beach that has taken place nine times since the inaugural 2017 edition. “Each night, it will see a set from 5-time Grammy Award-winning Snarky Puppy with special guest appearances by some of Italy’s most innovative and expressive instrumentalists,” according to the festival website. This is a recasting of the preview article to now include the daily lineups! There willContinue Reading

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In: BLOG POSTS, FESTIVALS, GroundUP Music Festival, Snarky Puppy

We’re just two months away from the inaugural edition of GroundUP Music Festival Alberobello (GUMF-A), which is sure to be an incredibly memorable musical and cultural event. GUMF-A follows in the mode of the well-established, perennially exciting GroundUP Music Festival Miami Beach that has taken place nine times since the inaugural 2017 edition. “Each night, it will see a set from 5-time Grammy Award-winning Snarky Puppy with special guest appearances by some of Italy’s most innovative and expressive instrumentalists,” according to the festival website. I’ll plan to elaborate a bit more once the daily schedule is released. https://videos.files.wordpress.com/zwmrwFK4/bass_culture_groundup_eng_feed.mp4 On topContinue Reading

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In: Album of the Week, ALBUMS, BLOG POSTS, Snarky Puppy

The recording sessions for “Somni” the new album from Snarky Puppy with the Metropole Orkest was the time of a lifetime. I was fortunate to be able to attend all 6 recording sessions, 2 per night for 3 nights, and it was an experience beyond my wildest dreams. And yes, ‘Somni’  from Catalan translates to ‘Dream’  in English so totally appropriate. First, some background before jumping into the actual recording session experience. So Snarky Puppy is 20 years old in 2025 (first album recorded in 2005 and published in 2006). Starting with their fourth album, “Tell Your Friends” in 2010,Continue Reading

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In: FESTIVALS, GroundUP Music Festival, Snarky Puppy

GroundUP Music Festival is back at the Miami Beach Bandshell in 2025 in a different but packed and stacked, star-studded lineup.  The Bandshell facility has been undergoing construction required a new, more intimate festival setting. The main stage area will also include a stage at the back of the bandshell for the bands so there will be minimal walking and maximum continuous music. If you’re reading this, you probably already know about the 5-time Grammy winning host band, Snarky Puppy. This will be the eighth GUMF event and I’m so excited for this 2-day program. In fact, we’ll get moreContinue Reading