Later this month, The Fillmore Philadelphia is hosting the inaugural Funk of Ages, an event focused on the past, present, and future of funk music. With Lettuce as the main ingredient, the June 24th event promises explosive sets from Snarky Puppy, Turkuaz, Ivan Neville, Bokanté, and Funky Dawgz Brass Band. Like an explorative case study of the genre’s most cornerstone sounds, Funk of Ages will undoubtedly satisfy your appetite with a mouth-full of funk (purchase tix here).

In addition to the evening’s festivities inside the venue, event organizers have announced that Funk of Ages will now include a free block party from 1-4pm! Outside of The Fillmore and Punch Line Philly, there will be gourmet food, craft beers, beverages, beer gardens, yard games, and more for guests to enjoy. Music will be provided by the Funky Dawgz Brass Band and others, while the day begins to take shape in a way like never before! Join Philly in showcasing their commitment to one-of-a-kind live music events at the first-ever Fillmore Block Party!

Funk of Ages: Past, Present & Future is going to become quite the musical adventure. Each artist and band on the lineup brings something completely different to funk music, and will offer their own unique vision of just what funk is and can be in its various arrangements.

Take Lettuce, for example….the group clearly has an affinity to that old-school classic form of the late 70’s, while incorporating their love of hip-hop and psychedelia into what has made them one of the most explosive bands to see in the live setting. Nobody is doing what Lettuce is doing these days, and that’s a fact.

Snarky Puppy has become one of the most internationally known and respected jazz/funk/global music acts to come around in the last decade or so. There is a reason this large, ever-rotating ensemble created by Michael League has won multiple Grammy Awards, with a complex composition-heavy style and the ability to veer out of those into the free form at the drop of a hat. There is a reason that your most staunch of jazz heads, as well as jam heads alike, want to congregate at a Puppy show.

Turkuaz….how do you best describe this “PowerFunk” act out of Brooklyn, NY? While Dave Brandwein and company embrace the classics styling of the funk genre, they also bring plenty of pop sensibility, tight arrangements, and choreographed dance moves to the stage, for what is easily one of the most colorful and accessible live shows around. However, to simply call a live set from Turkuaz a “show” is to do a massive disservice to this supremely polished group of funk warriors; what this 9-piece delivers on stage night in and night out is full-on performance of the grandest kind.

Bokanté is the latest project from Snarky Puppy’s Michael League, and is the definition of an international music ensemble. This world music project features Guadaloupe-born vocalist Malika Tirolien singing in Creole, the local tongue she learned growing up on the Caribbean island, along with pedal steel master Roosevelt Collier, fellow Snarky guitarists Chris McQueen and Bob Lanzetti, percussion legend Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon, Sting), and percussionists André Ferrari (Väsen) and Keita Ogawa (Banda Magda, Yo-Yo Ma). Bokanté is Creole for “exchange,” and that is the perfect description of this incredibly talented group’s musical modus operandi. With such an accomplished, talented, and diverse lineup, this is sure to be one of the more compelling groups to take root in 2017.

Ivan Neville descends from a long line of New Orleans musical royalty, and has carved out a legendary status in his own right. The multi-instrumentalist and vocalist has recorded and toured with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards’ X-Pensive Winos, Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, Robbie Robertson, and a laundry list of other rock legends. Neville’s own Dumpstaphunk has become a staple of the once again burgeoning funk genre, that is inherently connected to the greater jam scene. His presence at Funk of Ages is of the utmost importance.  Check out this old-school number, featuring a backing band of David Sanborn (sax), Marcus Miller (bass), Omar Hakim (drums), Hiram Bullock (guitar), and Philippe Saisse (keys):

Nothing screams funk more than a brass band. Tearing a page out of the New Orleans second line handbook, Connecticut’s Funky Dawgz Brass Band knows how to bring the party and create one hell of a vibe. There is a reason why Live For Live Music included them in our list of Brass Bands You Need To Know. When the Funky Dawgz get things going, there ain’t much stopping them.

Live For Live Music Presents Funk of Ages: Past, Present & Future will take place on June 24th at The Fillmore. Tickets will be available here. For additional event info and show updates, join the Facebook Event page.

[cover photo courtesy of Phierce Photography]