Exclusive Video | Soul Rebels Collaborate With Umphreys McGee
By Andy Kahn Apr 21, 2015 • 10:25 am PDT
This past weekend New Orleans brass band The Soul Rebels opened for Umphrey’s McGee during a run of shows through Texas. On Friday night The Soul Rebels hopped on a cover of Bob Marley’s “Kinky Reggae” at the House Of Blues in Houston. On Saturday night the two bands linked up to open Umphrey’s second set at Stubb’s in Austin for a cover of Snoop Dogg’s “Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None).” Below is exclusive video of the Snoop cover shot from the stage by The Soul Rebels’ tour manager.
“We loved playing with Umphrey’s McGee this past weekend,” said The Soul Rebels’ saxophonist Erion Williams. “When they sent us the Snoop Dogg song earlier in the week to jam on, we were totally down and thought it would be cool to do since they’ve done it before. We just made up the horn lines in sound check and the magic just happened naturally. It was a pleasure rocking with Umphrey’s and I hope we continue to work together.”
“This past weekend we had the pleasure of sharing the stage and performing with our friends in Umphrey’s McGee in Dallas, Houston and in Austin,” added The Sould Rebels founder and snare drummer Lumar LeBlanc. “It was an honor to collaborate with such a wonderful group of warm musicians and we really felt a great connection musically and personally. We played a Snoop Dogg song with Umphrey’s which turned out to be real funky. Umphrey’s had performed some Snoop music before so when they suggested it to us, we were of course down and excited. The grooves were smooth, and the people could not stop moving their feet.”
Next The Soul Rebels head home for several appearances during New Orleans Jazz Fest. With eight gigs scheduled in The Big Easy including shows with Gov’t Mule, Soulive and Lettuce, more collaborations like the pairing with UM are always a possibility with The Rebels.
“This year The Soul Rebels have an epic New Orleans Jazz Fest schedule,” said LeBlanc. “We have shows with Gov’t Mule, Lettuce and Soulive among others at Blue Nile, DBA and more. I’m so hyped for our Jazz Fest set as we have a few truly special surprises to give to the fans.”
“For Jazz Fest, I’m looking forward to all of the great shows in the city for two weeks, especially our shows with Lettuce and Soulive,” added Williams.
“We loved playing with Umphrey’s McGee this past weekend,” said The Soul Rebels’ saxophonist Erion Williams. “When they sent us the Snoop Dogg song earlier in the week to jam on, we were totally down and thought it would be cool to do since they’ve done it before. We just made up the horn lines in sound check and the magic just happened naturally. It was a pleasure rocking with Umphrey’s and I hope we continue to work together.”
“This past weekend we had the pleasure of sharing the stage and performing with our friends in Umphrey’s McGee in Dallas, Houston and in Austin,” added The Sould Rebels founder and snare drummer Lumar LeBlanc. “It was an honor to collaborate with such a wonderful group of warm musicians and we really felt a great connection musically and personally. We played a Snoop Dogg song with Umphrey’s which turned out to be real funky. Umphrey’s had performed some Snoop music before so when they suggested it to us, we were of course down and excited. The grooves were smooth, and the people could not stop moving their feet.”
Next The Soul Rebels head home for several appearances during New Orleans Jazz Fest. With eight gigs scheduled in The Big Easy including shows with Gov’t Mule, Soulive and Lettuce, more collaborations like the pairing with UM are always a possibility with The Rebels.
“This year The Soul Rebels have an epic New Orleans Jazz Fest schedule,” said LeBlanc. “We have shows with Gov’t Mule, Lettuce and Soulive among others at Blue Nile, DBA and more. I’m so hyped for our Jazz Fest set as we have a few truly special surprises to give to the fans.”
“For Jazz Fest, I’m looking forward to all of the great shows in the city for two weeks, especially our shows with Lettuce and Soulive,” added Williams.
