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In: Album of the Week, ALBUMS, BLOG POSTS, Terminal West

High Fade is an Edinburgh-based independent funk-rock trio founded by guitarist/vocalist Harry Valentino in 2018. The band has made inroads on the U.S. jam band scene, having recently played Suwannee Hulaween in October 2025. For comparative bands, you might think of other power trios like Lespecial, SunSquabi or Consider the Source but more on the vocal and rock side of the biz. On May 8, they released their second full album, “Twice as Nice,” and it’s a scorcher. It’s not straight-up funk—more like a hard-edged crossover in a high-octane cocktail. The powerful lyrics are sung and shouted with energy and darknessContinue Reading

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In: Aisle 5, BLOG POSTS, City Winery, GroundUP Music Festival, Lettuce, Smith's Olde Bar, Suwannee Hulaween, Terminal West, The New Mastersounds, Variety Playhouse, Whippersnap Music and Arts Festival

This year was epic for my live music journey having seen well over 200 sets of music and recorded over 80 live performances. The first half of the year had an incredible run of live shows starting with the recording sessions for Snarky Puppy’s album with the Metropole Orkest, “Somni” in Utrecht, Netherlands. That one was recorded professionally by a dozen or so cameras and the videos are being released one by one. After that, I had an mammoth string of music starting with the GroundUP Music Festival in Miami Beach, rolling right into my first Jam Cruise and thenContinue Reading

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In: Aisle 5, BLOG POSTS, City Winery, GroundUP Music Festival, Lettuce, Smith's Olde Bar, Suwannee Hulaween, Terminal West, The New Mastersounds, Variety Playhouse, Whippersnap Music and Arts Festival

Here’s my 1st ever annual video recap of 29 live sets that I recorded this year. This is a sampling of the more than 80 videos I posted on YouTube this year, which is a subset of the videos that I recorded (some are not public), which is yet a further subset of the sets that I’ve actually seen or heard this year (since I don’t record every set). The videos are notable in one way or another, perhaps based on the quality of the recording, the circumstances of the recording or the uniqueness of the set. I’ll give aContinue Reading

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In: Aisle 5, BLOG POSTS, Lettuce, Snarky Puppy, Terminal West, The Motet, Variety Playhouse, VENUES

Coming off of a great year for FunkCity.net in 2019, this year was starting out looking even better with a bunch of great shows lined up in the Winter and the fantastic festival kicking off in April.  There was no waiting as I rolled up to Greenville on January 2 to see Lettuce and I was off to the races. The first two months were fantastic and then it all came crashing to a halt at the end of February.  I had been anticipating writing this article somewhat in jest as the pandemic drew on, but ultimately realized that inContinue Reading

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In: Aisle 5, BANDS, BLOG POSTS, Lettuce, Lotus, Snarky Puppy, Terminal West, The Budos Band, The New Mastersounds, Variety Playhouse, VENUES, Voodoo Visionary

For FunkCity.net, 2019 was a remarkable year that is recapped here.  I apologize in advance for the self-serving nature but it was definitely a year like no other in my experience based on a combination of personal music achievements and fantastic music events.  It was a huge year for four of my favorite groups, Snarky Puppy, Lettuce, The New Mastersounds and The Budos Band! Here’s the nineteen top happenings in 2019 – Snarky Puppy 17 Compilation: The year started with my proudest musical moment – Snarky Puppy came out with a limited edition, 4-vinyl recap of their 2017 world tour. Continue Reading

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In: BLOG POSTS, Terminal West

Eric Gales is a unique talent and he brought his band to a packed house at Terminal West, Atlanta last week. Gales truly is a bluesman as he unabashedly tells his story during his live sets – in and out of prison, drug addiction and hard times. He’s singing and preaching and playing from the heart, all the while talking of being blessed by God with his talent. The audience clearly agrees as the crowd is enraptured by his stories and songs. Gales plays a right-handed guitar upside-down and that contributes to his unique sound. I was fortunate to beContinue Reading

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In: Aisle 5, BLOG POSTS, Terminal West

It’s that time of year just before the new years runs where we sit back and reflect on the year. This year to keep it interesting I am only going to choose one show per band so that my choices are not so much of only one band or another. 2018 marked one of my most heavy years of seeing live music and it has been a real pleasure looking back and reliving these amazing shows! 1. Spafford Jacksonville, FL 2/3/2018- The show that didn’t get a Nugs.net release. Sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time.Continue Reading

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In: BLOG POSTS, Terminal West, Variety Playhouse

What kind of mix is this? It’s some great new releases from Bokanté, Jungle, and Rubblebucket, some great shows we’ve been to including Moon Hooch, Dumpstaphunk and Bumpin’ the Mango, and some cool classics. 1. Jungle – Beat 54 (All Good Now) – For Ever Jungle is kind of an under the radar band that released their first eponymous album in 2014 and was a global club sensation for the next couple of years. We had the good fortune to see them twice during that initial release.  For Ever, the second album, just released is just as cool, characterized byContinue Reading

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In: BLOG POSTS, Smith's Olde Bar, Terminal West

Some great stuff this week featuring Spafford following their dynamite show at Terminal West’s Big Bang Block Party, Turkuaz from their new album Life in the City released last week, and Mark Lettieri (guitarist for Snarky Puppy and The Fearless Flyers) from his Spark & Echo solo album. In the Eyes of Thieves (Live) – Spafford – A Taste of Fall 2017 (Live) Spafford headlined the 4th annual Big Bang Block Party, a one of a kind event put on by Terminal West in Atlanta.  This extended set is available on FunkCity.net YouTube.  Everyone needs to get a taste of Spafford.Continue Reading

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In: BLOG POSTS, Smith's Olde Bar, Terminal West, Variety Playhouse

This week’s playlist is a feast of eclectic mix, past & present, past shows and upcoming shows. It spans straight up funk and downright spacey jams. It features tunes from Papadosio coming into town for two nights this week as well as their opener, Higher Learning.  Also highlights local favorites Funk You and Grut. Rebirth Brass Band – I Feel Like Funkin’ It Up – Extended Mix – Do Watcha Wanna Thirty five years and these dudes still throw down the funk.  This past Saturday they brought it to two sold out shows at Smith’s Olde Bar.  You can catchContinue Reading