When New Orleans band Tank & the Bangas invited their friends and family to help them cover Hal David and Burt Bacharach’s pop classic “What the World Needs Now Is Love” in January, they embraced the song’s earnest call for kindness, sprinkled in spoken word urging people to come together in peace, and wrapped up […]
Tag: neosoul
Posted inMusic
Chicago soul man Nate Barksdale makes smooth sounds to get us through the city’s coldest months
On the eve of the first day of fall, prolific Chicago soul man Nate Barksdale self-released Summer Was Over Before It Started. The pandemic eliminated so much of what Chicagoans cherish about the city’s warmest months, but Barksdale’s supple blend of neosoul melody and hip-hop percussion, wrapped up in R&B smoothness, captures the wistfulness that […]
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Fantastic Negrito merges rootsy sounds on his new Have You Lost Your Mind?
Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Xavier Dphrepaulezz, better known as Fantastic Negrito, takes us on a trip through his consciousness on his latest album, Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? (Cooking Vinyl/Blackball Universe). He confronts heavy issues such as mental illness, addiction, and gun violence, and filters them all through the lens of his own life […]
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Rosebud Allday showcases its sunny sound on its first label compilation, Buds Volume 1
On its first compilation, Buds Volume 1, Chicago label Rosebud Allday showcases the talent of its roster and its friends from the local scene. Founded in 2018 by Bill Ocean and producer Jayson “Jsun” Rose, Rosebud Allday specializes in the overlap of pop, hip-hop, and R&B; its sunny sounds recall Chicago neosoul groups such as […]
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Black Pumas create the music of true soul mates
Update: To help slow the spread of COVID-19, these shows have been postponed until August 27 and 28. Tickets already purchased will be honored at that time. Contact point of purchase for refund or exchange information. Black Pumas are an electrifying six-piece neosoul band led by Adrian Quesada and Eric Burton—a musical partnership made in […]
Posted inMusic
Avery Sunshine brings in the new year with her bright neosoul
Some neosoul artists focus on torch songs and heartbreak, but as her name suggests, pianist and singer Avery Sunshine (aka Denise Nicole White) sticks to the brighter side of the genre. Working with guitarist and arranger Dana Johnson (who’s also her husband), Sunshine mixes old-school R&B grooves, gentle funk, and jazzy gospel vocals on flirtatiously […]
Posted inBlogs
Reader’s Agenda Tue 3/25: James Adomian, the Internet, and “Just Yell”
What’s on the Reader‘s Agenda for Tuesday, March 25
Posted inBlogs
The “Soul” of Mayer Hawthorne
Hip-hop kid Mayer Hawthorne re-creates the sound of Motown but forgets the soul.
Posted inBlogs
A pair of big voices on Friday
Young English soul singer Alice Russell and New Jersey blues belter Shemekia Copeland are both playing concerts in Chicago on Friday night, Russell at Schubas and Copeland at the Old Town School.