No matter how much music you listen to, it seems like there’s always a new genre or a new twist to discover.
If you only listen to Top 40 radio, you’re liable to hear a lot of pop music, R&B, hip hop, and rock.
Even so, there are artists within all of those genres that are innovating and bringing new techniques and styles to bear on the culture. Though we don’t hear much about it anymore, genres like funk and soul are still alive as well, even if they’re somewhat outside the mainstream.
As just one example, take the musicians that we’re talking about today.
Though they’re not a household name as of yet, Vulfpeck is a fantastic American funk group that has been around since 2011.
Since they formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, they’ve released five full-length albums and four EPs. The line-up consists of Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Woody Goss and Joe Dart, all of whom went to the University of Michigan’s music school.
Although they bring their own emphases and modern twists to the music they perform, Vulfpeck is a soulful and funky quartet, through and through.
And to prove it, just take this live performance as the perfect example.
The video in question was originally uploaded to YouTube in December 2018.
As it begins, all the band members are lined up on stage in front of a crowd. Several of the band members are wearing white shirts with black stripes, and the bassist is even wearing sunglasses to complete the look.
After a few moments, he starts plucking out a fast and smooth bassline—and the crowd immediately starts to cheer. A moment later, everyone in the room is clapping along as a couple of guitar lines get added in as well.
Before long, a fairly complex melody is beginning to take shape that’s funkier than ever.
After the big build-up, everyone else drops out to leave the bass isolated.
In this middle portion, the whole crowd claps along to let the bass melody be the thing that leads. Even so, it’s not long before guest mandolinist Chris Thile adds in his own impressive musical flourishes on top of everything.
The whole time he plays, he makes all kinds of hilarious facial contortions—without a doubt, he’s completely into everything he’s playing!
Still, what’s most impressive of all is that all of these musicians are largely improvising what they’re playing.
Even if mandolins aren’t the most common instrument, Thile proves that they’re just as relevant and amazing as ever.
Towards the end, the rest of the band even clears the way for him to have his own mandolin solo as well—and the crowd gives him a huge round of applause for it.
What’s perhaps most impressive of all is that throughout the whole funky show, the audience stays perfectly in time with their clapping as well.
When it’s all over, the whole group gets a huge round of applause.
Since the video was posted, it has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube—though it’s only going up from there.
Needless to say, performances like this one can remind us all why we love music so much in the first place.
Even if we’re not used to hearing funk or mandolin instruments, this performance is definitely a shot in the arm. If you liked this, be sure to check out more of the group’s music on YouTube or on Spotify!
Special thanks to Vulfpeck and Chris Thile for an awesome performance! Watch the full thing in the link below:
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