Members of New Mastersounds, Soulive & More To Debut New Band ‘Matador! Soul Sounds’ At Brooklyn Comes Alive

Brooklyn Comes Alive recently announced its massive artist lineup, with over 100 artists slated to perform 35+ sets across two days in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This year, the event is expanding to two days, September 23rd and 24th, and will take over three of Brooklyn’s premier venues, all within a 10-minute walking radius. Fans’ imaginations have been running wild dreaming up what band lineups may be formed from the extensive roster of musicians. The guessing game is always one of the most fun parts of the Brooklyn Comes Alive experience, but today, we’re ready to roll out some more surprises.

Following the previous announcements of The Road Goes On Forever: Celebrating The Music Of The Allman Brothers Band, A Tribute To Jamiroquai, Eric Krasno & Friends, moe.queous, a tribute to Green Day’s Dookie, and Rooster Conspiracy, Brooklyn Comes Alive has announced that The New Mastersounds’ Eddie Roberts and Soulive’s Alan Evans will debut their new band, Matador! Soul Sounds, at this year’s event in the fall.

As the bandleader and guitarist for The New Mastersounds, Eddie Roberts has built a worldwide brand for himself and his band and is now considered one of the standout modern jazz and funk guitarists of today. This latest band, Matador! Soul Sounds, first came about when Roberts tapped the renowned funk and soul drummer, Alan Evans—best known as the drummer, producer, and bandleader of Soulive—for a New Mastersounds gig in early 2016. The two hit it off immediately, with both of them recognizing the rarity and depth of their shared musical connection.

After Evans’ stint with The New Mastersounds, the drummer and guitarist devised a plan to continue to play together. The culmination of this plan is Matador! Soul Sounds—a band loosely based on the concept of Spanish bullfighting. A common misconception in America is that bullfighting is a feat of one man versus one bull—in reality, bullfighting is largely a team effort by a matador and his cuadrilla (“entourage”), which is composed of picadores (“lancers on horseback”), a mozo de espadas (“sword page”), and banderilleros, who along with the matadors are collectively known as toreros (“bullfighters”).

In Matador! Soul Sounds, the duo of Roberts and Evans assume the role of matadors, and they have carefully chosen the rest of their fierce cuadrilla. Each known for their skill and their grit, keyboardist Chris Spies and bassist Kevin Scott have been chosen to take on the role of the matadors’ right-hand men as the band’s “banderilleros.” Adding a feminine energy to the band are Ms. Adryon de León (Orgone) and Kimberly Dawson (Pimps of Joytime), who have been chosen to round out the line-up on vocals.

Evans notes, “We can’t wait to get out there and play with this band. It’s a dream team really.” Eddie Roberts riffs off this idea, saying, “Matador is going to make a whole lot of new friends quick, the band is as tight as any I’ve ever been around. The one two punch of Kim and Adryon on vocals is just gonna knock folks out.”

The band makes their official world debut at Live For Live Music’s Brooklyn Comes Alive this fall. Make sure to catch them at the festival, and keep an eye out for their debut single, “Get Ready,” which is due out on the same day via all streaming services and a limited edition A side/B side 7-inch pressing.