Wednesday, September 25, 2024

BRANDI & THE ALEXANDERS 

Brandi and the Alexanders are a genre-bending soul-rock band from Brooklyn, NY. The dynamic rock ‘n’ soul quintet — which began as an 11-piece R&B cover band — was founded nearly a decade ago, led by the compelling singer and songwriter Brandi Thompson, a Chicago native who has also been a backing vocalist for Aloe Blacc, Nick Waterhouse, Daptone label artists, and others.

As Brandi and the Alexanders found their own voice, inspired by forebears in blues, rock, soul, and ‘70s-era funk classics, the group segued from their cover-band beginnings and released a debut album of originals, 2018’s How Do You Like It? on Red Parlor Records. Buoyed by her bandmates, Thompson has further seized upon her own lyrical agency and candor. In the aftermath of 2020 Black Lives Matter marches, she wrote “Fire,” perhaps Brandi and the Alexanders’ most formidable song to date, and the spiritual catalyst for their 2022 'Reflection' EP.

New York’s glittering lights and sophisticated grooves serve as Reflection’s beacon. The seven-track EP adroitly blurs genres: there are club gems (“(I Want To) Watch You Dance)”), funked-up, slow-burn soul (“Where You Belong”), and majestic gospel (“Amen”). Over the last few years, Brandi and the Alexanders have opened for Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Southern Avenue, Moonchild, The Holdsteady, Eli “Paperboy” Reed and headlined their own gigs at AmericanaFest, Tryon Blues Festival, Toonerville Music Festival, the WFUV Bash, SXSW and more.

DOORS AT 7 PM 

MUSIC AT 8 PM