Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band

Funk has a new spokes band, and that band is Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band. Known for their raucous live shows and outrageous stage wear, the Booty Band’s sound is a mix of deep funk, high energy rock, plus a little old school rap and soul thrown in for good measure. Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band formed in 2002 and went through a few incarnations before culminating into the dynamic ensemble it is today. Mary Frances “Mama Funk” creates a sultry platform for her keyboard and keytar playing with her powerhouse vocals. Laying down the bottom is Al Al “Sweet Nasty” Ingram on bass and vocals and Derrick “Dr Ock” Johnson on trombone. JP “Smoke Machine” Miller soars on guitar, and Lee “Insta Funk” Allen drives it all forward on drums. The five-piece funk rock outfit fuels their high-energy show with original compositions, triumphant horns, laid-back grooves and heavy backbeats. In 2007, Booty Band released Now You Know, named album of the year by Home Grown Music Network, which also crowned the band its Band of the Year. The down and dirty album Doin’ It Hard came out in 2012 and was designated a top regional album by WNCW-FM, an influential Triple A radio station broadcasted across three states. Doin’ It Hard was followed by the totally funked-up remix Re-Doin’ It Hard. On October 22nd, 2013, the Booty Band released their edgiest album yet. Onward! was recorded in the band’s hometown of Asheville, NC at Echo Mountain Recording Studio and engineered by Julian Dreyer (The Avett Brothers, Smashing Pumpkins). The album features eight tracks of intergalactic funk goodness with guest percussion by Mike Dillon (Les Claypool, Galactic, Garage A Trois). “Trunk Fallin’ Off”, the first single from the release, is a hard hitting tribute to classic rap and hip-hop. Al Al and JP spit lyrics over synthesized beats while Mary Frances holds down the hook. With a tip of the hat to old school hip-hop, the band pairs “Trunk Fallin’ Off” with an official video filmed at Atlanta, GA’s famed Clermont Lounge. Other standout tracks include “Let Me In,” where silky horn lines build into a driving psychedelic jam that give way to JP’s dirty guitar solo. “The Den” which splashes ambient jam themes with instrumental funk, and “Ante Up” which features the band’s resident Mama Funk on vocals. The sexy groove driven track will lure you onto the dance floor to bump up with someone special. Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band has rubbed elbows on stage with classic purveyors of the funk like Parliament Funkadelic, Galactic, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Maceo Parker and Bootsy Collins and have ventured into new territory with modern funksters The New Mastersounds and Orgone. Never abandoning the call of duty, Booty Band is spreading the gospel of funk throughout the country by playing an average of 150 shows per year. They have proven themselves to be a staple in the live music festival circuit by whipping fans into dancing frenzies at Wakarusa, Bear Creek, Jam Cruise, Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, Aura Fest, Floyd Fest, DeLuna Festival, Jazz Aspen, Center of the Universe Festival, Purple Hatters Ball, Camp Barefoot, Trinumeral and more. For years the Booty Band has been a mainstay at their hometown’s Bele Chere Festival, the largest free outdoor festival in the Southeast that’s historically drawn over 350,000 attendees.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong

Funk, Rock, Electric ENERGY: These four Pigeons bring it every night. Based out of Baltimore, MD, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong has an undeniably unique and versatile live sound that ascends peaks of musical ecstasy. Their evolving arrangement of original compositions, psychedelic improvisational jams, and contagious smiles have ‘The Flock’– their self-identifying fanbase that stretches from coast-to-coast– coming back for more. One of the fastest growing emerging artists in the jam and festival scene these days, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong is here to bring the party with their danceable electro-funk grooves and infectious ability to bring positive energy to any environment. Having launched their East Coast buzz from very successful weekly residencies at The 8×10 in Baltimore, high profile festival spots including Catskill Chill, The Werk Out, Camp Barefoot, Wormtown Music Festival and others have put the memorable band name on the lips of music lovers and groove nuts. As a result, the grass roots response to the more than 200 shows the band played in 2013 was remarkable, with significant audiences showing up for first time plays in new markets from Colorado to Florida. As Pigeons continue to expand their touring they continue to grow their Flock and expand people’s minds (musically…). Whether it be at a major festival or your local rock club, Pigeons will show you a good time. Get ready for some fun…