News & Updates — soul!

Our man Ray Lugo has a new solo album out! Ray is one of the talents behind Terrificos (2xLP available now on Peace & Rhythm, order here for vinyl, and here for digital), Kokolo and Boogaloo Destroyers. His brand new release, Now, is available from Little Boat Records. The beautiful "Hold You" is the sixth song on the album. The album is available on ITunes, Amazon, Spotify, Google Play. Check out all of Ray's videos on his YouTube channel. http://raylugo.com/ Check out "Hold You": Related: https://www.peaceandrhythm.com/blogs/news/video-ray-lugo-now And check out our 2014 interview with the man here.

We are excited to be joining the Hartford-based funk band West End Blend for a groovy party at The Root Cellar in Greenfield MA on Friday, March 3. Peace & Rhythm's DJ Andujar and Studebaker Hawk will be spinning funky vinyl before and between band sets. Grab your tickets here. West End Blend are a critically-acclaimed ten-piece group who have toured all over the Eastern US. Fronted by the supremely talented vocalist Erica Bryan, the band's sound is rooted in '70s soul and funk. If you are a fan of groups like Orgone, Diplomats of Solid Sounds, The Dap-Kings and...

The "Jimi Hendrix of the accordion", Steve Jordan in fact claimed to play 35 instruments (he even played guitar in Willie Bobo's band in the mid-'60s!). He was also a good singer and could even play the cello. He was born to migrant farm workers in Texas and learned accordion as a partially-blind kid, becoming professional at a very young age although he didn't record until the late '50s. He recorded some great soul, blues and even doo-wop early on (check out his version of "Ain't No Big Thing" by The Radiants). He took his conjunto's music and fused it...

Ernest Kador, better known as Ernie K-Doe, is a New Orleans legend. Famous for his hits "Mother-In-Law", "Later For Tomorrow" and "Here Come The Girls", he was a singer, wacky performance character, club owner, radio personality and Drum Buddy ally. "Here Come The Girls" became a hit after his death but remains a popular DJ cut and dance groover. A NOLA native and son of a Baptist minister, he started singing in church at seven and sang in gospel groups as a teen. In the early '50s he moved to Chicago and broke into the scene there, singing with the...

Happy birthday to the great Nina Simone!! Pianist, singer, anti-war and civil rights activist, an inspiration to generations. This great talent from North Carolina captivated everyone that came in her path or heard her music. A gifted arranger, she could take any tune, or combination of tunes, and turn them into epic statements. Her music melded gospel, jazz, classical, blues and pop, with the clear purpose of many politicized folk artists of her day. Born Eunice Waymon, she aspired to be a pioneering black concert pianist and only reluctantly became a jazz singer after racist rejection from a prestigious school....