Friday Night Out: Velvet Kente Winter Clothes Dance Party

Poster used courtesy of Velvet Kente.

After you’ve braved the crowds and the stores, after you’ve eaten the leftovers and watched all the football you can take, shake off your Black Friday Blues at Velvet Kente’s Winter Clothes Dance Party. If you’ve been to any of Velvet Kente’s previous Dance Parties, you already know that this is a show not to be missed.

The band asks that you bring an item of winter clothing to donate. All clothing donated will benefit Our House, a shelter in Little Rock that offers educational programs, daycare, job training, workforce preparedness training, financial assistance programs, emergency shelter, and more for the working homeless.

The setlist is all songs from “the African diaspora,” which, if the previous soul and Afro beat parties are any indication, will be seriously funky.

The show starts at 10 p.m. (with support from DJ Swet and DJ Prophet) at the White Water Tavern. The cover is $10 ($7 with an article of winter clothing).

If you're not convinced, here's a clip from last fall's Afro Soul Dance Party.

 

See more at Velvet Kente's tumblr site.

Velvet Kente "Binti"

Stop what you're doing right now. Press play on the video embedded below. Watch the entire clip, and do not attempt to restrain yourself from singing and dancing. That would be futile.

"Binti" is the song that introduced Joshua and Velvet Kente to the world. The demo that accompanied Korto Momolu's models walk on the runway in the 2008 Project Runway season finale, however, bears little resemblance to the epic jam as performed by the band these days, riffing off an irresistible Fela Kuti hook with horns, percussion, and full audience participation.



Visit Velvet Kente on the web: http://velvetkentemusic.tumblr.com.

"Augustus and Juniper" by Joshua of Velvet Kente

A terrific surprise appeared on my Facebook news feed this afternoon in the form of a video of a new song by Velvet Kente and Amasa Hines frontman Joshua. The video also teases its audience with the first public hints about Good News for Sinners, the long-awaited debut album by Velvet Kente.

The song, "Augustus and Juniper" tells the tale of "lovers. husband and wife. dreamers. parents. slaves. and of their escape from a South Carolina plantation with their twin daughters." It's also a fantastic showcase for Joshua's soulful singing.

 


Joshua's Tumblr blog, http://velvetkentemusic.tumblr.com, is a masterclass in jazz and pop music history. He posts pictures and links to recordings by his musical forbears on almost a daily basis, demonstrating the sense of history, and respect for his elders, that flavors the stew of influences that makes Velvet Kente and Amasa Hines so timely and timeless at the same time.


More details to come as I receive them.