Soulfest arrived last year, promoted as ‘Australia’s First Annual Neo Soul, Jazz & Hip Hop Festival’. Some teething problems in its inaugural year left people wondering whether there would be a second Soulfest in 2015.
Most who experienced Soulfest 2014 were hoping the festival would come again. Because despite those initial teething problems, Soulfest had delivered to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane (+ Auckland) one day and night of back-to-back live performances by a super indulgent line-up of some of the worlds greatest living contemporary soul, R&B and hip hop artists.
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- Angie Stone
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- Common
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- D’Angelo
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- Leela James
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- Maxwell
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- Aloe Blacc
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- Jesse Johnson
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- Kendra Foster
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- Pino Palladino
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- Mos Def (Yasiin Bey)
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- Musiq Soulchild
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- Anthony Hamilton
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Soulfest 2014 Got D’Angelo
First and foremost, one of those Soulfest 2014 artists was the (up until recently) reclusive D’Angelo.
D’Angelo live at Melbourne Soulfest 2014
His live Soulfest performances in Australia and New Zealand with The Vanguard were D’Angelo’s first in some time. Those shows also turned out to be D’Angelo’s last ones before the sudden December release of his new album – the divinely soulful, analogue masterpiece Black Messiah.
By now you all probably have Black Messiah in your music collections on vinyl and/or cd yes? Or you’ve at least heard the album? Anybody living under a rock who hasn’t can check out these two [dirty mp3] sample tracks from Black Messiah then get yourself the hard-copy on vinyl or cd.
Black Messiah (2014)
‘Sugah Daddy’ – D’Angelo & The Vanguard – Black Messiah (2014)
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‘Really Love’ – D’Angelo & The Vanguard – Black Messiah (2014)
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D’Angelo & The Vanguard’s October Soulfest shows were also their last live performances before the next one just a couple of weeks ago on Saturday Night Live. Blessed were Australia and New Zealand punters to get the recent experience of D’Angelo & The Vanguard live at Soulfest which D’Angelo fans all over the world now want – some lucky folks in Europe getting it right about now on his ‘Second Coming Tour’ which kicked off in New York last week.
Check out these videos of D’Angelo & The Vanguard’s Soulfest 2014 shows in Melbourne and Brisbane…
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Much More Than D’Angelo
The live experience of D’Angelo & The Vanguard in 2014 was for me the absolute bomb of Soulfest 2014.
But every other leading artist who performed at the festival, and every supporting band member on the main stage with them, were musical gifts of the greatest kind too: Angie Stone, Leela James, Maxwell, Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def), Anthony Hamilton, Common, Musiq Soulchild and Aloe Blacc. So too were the Australian (or New Zealand) based artists who performed on the second Soulfest stage in Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland.
Angie Stone
Angie Stone
Leela James
Leela James
Maxwell
Maxwell
Mos Def (Yasiin Bey)
Mos Def (Yasiin Bey)
Anthony Hamilton
Anthony Hamilton
Common
Common
Musiq Soulchild
Musiq Soulchild
Aloe Blacc
Aloe Blacc
Aotearoa-New Zealand / Papua New Guinea / Australia represented at Brisbane Soulfest…
You can check out a heap of videos and more photos of those artists performing live at Melbourne and Brisbane Soulfest 2014 here: Brisbane Soulfest – Melbourne Soulfest – plus these extra ones below pulled from the Beaver library…
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Soulfest 2015
It would be tough to beat the line-up delivered at Soulfest 2014. But praised be the Music Gods, the news for soul, R&B and hip hop music lovers around the world is that Soulfest say it’s going to try. The festival recently announced that a “bigger and better” Soulfest 2015 is coming – with news of the first round of artists to be delivered soon.
I’m still praying for a super-extra-special miracle that D’Angelo might extend his ‘Second Coming Tour’ to include a return trip to Australia to perform the Black Messiah songs Australia and New Zealand didn’t get at Soulfest last time around; and for the artist I consider to be the living Queen of Soul Music, Erykah Badu to come too. One can only dream 🙂 .
Register on the Soulfest website or keep an eye on its Facebook page to hear up-to-date news about Soulfest 2015.
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