Charles Bradley

Tonight’s Concert Picks: XPN welcomes Charles Bradley to Union Transfer, Morning River Band at MilkBoy, XPN welcomes Mary Chapin Carpenter to the Keswick Theatre, MAD Dragon Anniversary Concert at The Trocadero

XPN welcomes Charles Bradley to Union Transfer tonight. The “Screaming Eagle of Soul” entertained the crowd during a recent Free at Noon performance with his exuberant showmanship and knock-out funk / R&B songs. Following up his 2011 full-length debut, the 64-year-old crooner released Victim of Love earlier this year. Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Paul & the Tall Trees can be found here. Watch the former James Brown impersonator perform “Why Is It So Hard?” live on the Public Radio Rocks stage at SXSW below.

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Charles Bradley, Cheers Elephant, John Train, MAD Dragon Records, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Matt Duke, Milkboy, Morning River Band, Paul & the Tall Trees, Shawn Colvin, The Keswick Theatre, The Miners, The Trocadero, Union Transfer, Wild Rompit

April 3, 2013 | 8:20 AM | By Bruce Warren

My Morning Download: “Strictly Reserved For You” by Charles Bradley (WXPN Welcomes Bradley to Union Transfer on Friday, May 17)

Photo by John Vettese

The “Screaming Eagle of Soul” Charles Bradley just released his new album, Victim Of Love. The long time James Brown impersonator (Bradley performed under the name of “Black Velvet”), began recording his own music in 2002, after the co-founder of Daptone Records saw him perform and encouraged him to record his own material. Bradley, who is 64, released his debut full length album in 2011. As excellent as his debut album was, Bradley’s new record is even better. Bradley clearly has the Godfather of Funk in his blood, but he’s developed his own unique voice as a soul and R&B singer. XPN Welcomes Bradley to Union Transfer on Friday, May 17th. Go here to buy tickets and for more information. Below, download “Something To Believe In,” from Bradley’s new album, via Boing Boing.

Bradley and his band performed at WXPN’s Public Radio Rocks the SXSW Day Stage broadcast. Go here to watch videos and listen to his entire set from the broadcast.

Stream the full album here.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Downloads, Events, Recordings, Charles Bradley, My Morning Download

March 28, 2013 | 5:05 PM | By John Vettese

Stream Charles Bradley’s Strictly Reserved For You; prepare for him to cover you in kisses at Union Transfer in May

Bradley Easily the most memorable spectacle of all the spectacles I saw at SXSW this year was when Charles Bradley, the Screaming Eagle of Soul, closed his Public Radio Rocks set by taking a flying leap offstage to hug and kiss virtually everybody in arm’s reach as his band vamped on. What a showman, what an emotional connection to make with the audience – and what a scene, watching folks push their way to the front to embrace the man who’d just spent a set rocking them. Will he do this at Union Transfer on May 17th? I sure hope so. And even if he doesn’t, Bradley and His Extraordinaires put on a dynamite live show you won’t want to miss. Get pumped by streaming his album Strictly Reserved For You below via Rolling Stone; watch and listen to his South by Southwest performance here.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Charles Bradley, Union Transfer

March 21, 2013 | 6:00 PM | By John Vettese

VIDEO

Watch more videos of Charles Bradley, Vampire Weekend and Pickwick from WFUV’s coverage of the Public Radio Rocks SXSW showcase

Charles Bradley | Photo by John Vettese

Our friends at WFUV in New York just released another batch of videos from our collaborative Public Radio Rocks showcase at SXSW last week. Below, watch videos of Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires playing “Confusion” (they’re headlining Union Transfer on 5/17), Vampire Weekend doing “A-Punk” (playing Firefly Festival in June) and Pickwick performing “Halls of Columbia” (XPN Welcomes them to MilkBoy on April 26th).

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Photos + Videos, Events, Recordings, Charles Bradley, Pickwick, sxsw 2013, Vampire Weekend

March 19, 2013 | 2:01 PM | By Bruce Warren

10 bands we loved at SXSW

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | Photo by John Vettese

Last week at the SXSW Music Conference in Austin, Texas, The Key editor, John Vettese, and I saw a collective 58 bands in 3 days. Here are ten that stood out:

Sir Sly – This five piece from Los Angeles have a confident and charismatic front man, grooves and hooks galore.

Little Green Cars – Dublin’s Little Green Cars charmed us with their gorgeous harmonies and finely honed control of rock and roll dynamics. Lead singers Stevie Appleby and Faye O’Rourke are like the Buckingham/Nicks of Ireland.

PAWS – This three piece from Glasgow play very catchy, garagey, fuzzy, guitar driven pop-rock. Just the way we like it.

Nick Cave kicked off NPR Music’s SXSW shows on Wednesday night at Stubb’s with full force. He plays tonight at the Keswick. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Artists, Recordings, Scene, Autre Ne Veut, Charles Bradley, Lantern, Little Green Cars, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, PAWS, Rhye, Sir Sly, Small Black, sxsw 2013, The Specials

March 18, 2013 | 3:30 PM | By John Vettese

VIDEO

SXSW Recap: Watch Charles Bradley perform “Why Is It So Hard?” at the Public Radio Rocks showcase and listen to his entire set

Charles Bradley | Photo by Dane Walters | KXT

One of the most electrifying performers in all of SXSW this year was hands down Charles Bradley, the “Screaming Eagle of Soul” and an all-star of the Daptone Records label. Bradley played an outstanding set during our Public Radio Rocks showcase at the SXSW day stage – see him and his band do “Why Is It So Hard” in the video produced by WFUV below, and listen his performance in its entirety here (via the WXPN media player).

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Photos + Videos, Events, Recordings, Charles Bradley, sxsw 2013

March 16, 2013 | 2:08 PM | By John Vettese

SLIDESHOW

The Public Radio Rocks! showcase kicked off with gritty rockers Divine Fits; went into introspective mode in a collaborative set by Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, and a solo performance by Iron & Wine‘s Sam Beam; spotlighted classic soul showmanship care of Daptone Records all-star Charles Bradley; introduced the crowd to new soul-rock outfit Pickwick, from Seattle; brought perennial favorites Dawes out to regale the room with tunes from their new record; and wrapped up with Vampire Weekend playing to a massively packed house.

Check out scenes from the day in the photo gallery above, and watch videos of Vampire Weekend playing “A Punk” and Iron & Wine playing “Woman King” below.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Photos + Videos, Events, Charles Bradley, Dawes, Divine Fits, Emmylou Harris, Iron And Wine, KUT, KXT, Pickwick, Rodney Crowell, Sam Beam, sxsw 2013, The Current, Vampire Weekend, WFUV, WXPN