Soulive Brings Kamasi Washington, Doyle Bramhall II, & Ron Artis II To Bowlive [Videos]

The seventh annual Bowlive is currently taking over New York City. Thursday night was the second of nine performances over the next two weeks, with special guests Doyle Bramhall II and Ron Artis II scheduled to collaborate. The first set served as a reincarnation of Rubber Soul, The Beatles‘ sixth studio album. Playing through all the hits like, “Eleanor Rigby,” “I Want You (She’s So Heavy), “In My Life” and “Come Together,” the sensational trio that is Eric Krasno, Neal Evans, and Alan Evans demanded the audience’s full attention from the get-go.

The first guest of the evening was Ron Artis II from Hawaii, who sang a beautiful rendition of “Something” toward the end of the first set. His impressive guitar and vocal skills were especially prevalent in the set-closing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” The young player stuck around to perform a few originals during set break, before returning with the band for a second set. Ron Artis II led Soulive through an original blues-rocker, “The Truth,” which again put his fast guitar work on full display.

The next guests of the evening were Doyle Bramhall II and Adam Minkoff who performed a series of Doyle originals, “Keep You Dreamin’,” “The Veil,” “Mama Can’t Help You,” and a cover of Stevie Wonder‘s “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever).” Doyle’s vocals brought Krasno to the microphone too, as the added guitarist and bassist amplified Soulive’s impressive musicianship throughout the room.

For the encore, Kamasi Washington surprised fans with a guest appearance – as he had just finished up a show down the road at McCarren Park. The saxophonist performed a cover of Freddie Hubbard‘s “Povo,” then leaving the band on their own to close the show with Jimi Hendrix‘s “Stone Free.”

Thanks to Jon Hammer, you can watch Kamasi Washington perform “Povo” with Soulive below:

Thanks to Bob R, you can watch video highlights from last night below: