OKLAHOMA CITY – Once the haunts and horrors of the Halloween holiday are out of the way, the autumn season sets its sights on lifting spirits and bringing people together, often with some serious feasting.
But why should our bellies be our only parts reaping all the benefits on the season when our eyes, ears, and spirits can be filling up on some soul food of their own?
And by “soul food,” I mean soul music, of course.
Okay, so it’s not a perfect metaphor, but when the music is as smooth, soulful, sensual, or shocking as this, who wants metaphors anyway?
From buttery smooth throwback R&B to atmosphere-and-attitude-filled neo-soul and even to the wildest, raunchiest outer space funk, soul music is looming large across OKC stages this season with city locals, Okie neighbors, and hard-living legends all throwing it down in November.
Mood CTRL w/ Nia Moné – Blue Note – Saturday, November 1st
Billed as the showcase “where R&B meets the alternative,” Blue Note’s Mood CTRL is hosted and held down by the towering neo-soul talent that is OKC’s Nia Moné.
Moné has risen to become one of the scene’s most fully-realized power players in recent years, not only harnessing her multi-octave vocal prowess, palpable sensuality, and royally confident stage presence to propel her band The Moonrays into the stratosphere, but also elevating other young artists through showcases like this one.
Joining the night for this third installment of Mood CTRL is a trio of genre-crossing, soul-stirring women, including beat-bumping soul-pop songstress Bella Burns, Puerto Rican R&B minimalist maestro Alondra Marie, and experimental harpist/heart-wrenching singer-songwriter Moriah Bailey.
I can’t imagine finding more raw, expressive talent packed into a single night.
Plus, they’ll be keeping the Halloween spirit going with a costume contest and Dia de los Muertos vibes, so don’t go throwing out all your spooky attire just because October is over.
For times, tickets, and more, visit okcbluenote.com.
Parliament-Funkadelic feat. George Clinton – Tower Theatre – Wednesday, November 26th
Why is the immortal king of interplanetary funk playing the comparatively small Tower instead of headlining the Paycom Center or performing on top of the Devon Tower or just hanging suspended in a beam of pure rainbow-colored light where he belongs?
I guess the times have just changed and P-Funk no longer commands the army of hard-driving, heavy-hitting weirdos that they once did.
Still, there’s no act on this planet or any other that brings the unbridled joy and power of pure funk like the originators themselves, and no matter what size stage they’re on, you can bet they’ll bring it just the same.
True, at 84 years old, the unstoppable funk freight train that is George Clinton has slowed significantly, and yes, he spends a lot of the current shows just hanging in one place and singing a bit when he can or sitting for a rest and helping to hype up the crowd. But come on, after building a multi-generational empire of groove, hasn’t he earned the right to sit back and simply enjoy what he wrought.
With a still-sprawling band full of P-Funk vets and more than a few youngsters, they’re proving how much raw energy, blasting intensity, filthy physicality, and yes, genuinely heartfelt soul there still is in their timeless music and singalong party anthems.
And with Kidd Funkadelic himself, Michael Hampton, still handling lead guitar duties after more than 50 years, you can bet that there’ll be a mind-melting rendition of guitar solo classic “Maggot Brain” to tear the roof of the Tower.
For times, tickets, and more, visit towertheatreokc.com.
Calvin Loron – Resonant Head – Saturday, November 29th
But what if you’re not looking for a wild, genre-crossing take on neo-soul music or a grimy, gritty gathering of interstellar funk-soul superheroes?
What if you’re looking for that good, classic kind of horn-hoisted, foot-stomping, velvety voiced crooning soul music?
Well, if that’s more your speed, then the act you’re undoubtedly looking for is here, and believe it not, he comes from Okmulgee, of all places.
Newcomer Calvin Loron has been raking in the plays and follows since bursting onto the scene with a decidedly throwback style built on the kind of hand-clapping backbeats and ear-worming horn sections that you’re more likely to hear in the R&B classics of the 50s and 60s.
Loron’s songs are as joyfully listenable and invitingly romantic as early Sam Cooke or Al Green, and fans of that kind of foot-stomping, head-bopping sound should take note and take heart that the kids do, in fact, got soul.
Now based out of Tulsa (and coming off a recent run around NYC,) Loron will be bringing that same infectious soul energy to the Resonant Head stage on the 29th.
And that’s only two days after Thanksgiving, so maybe even bring your family along and prove once and for all that the one thing that can really bring us all together is the unequivocal, undeniable power of good, simple soul music.
For times, tickets, and more, visit resonanthead.com.
You can find out about local music and performance happenings in the OKC metro weekly in this music column by Brett Fieldcamp. | Brought to you by True Sky Credit Union.
Brett Fieldcamp is our Arts and Entertainment Editor. He has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for 15+ years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
