On Saturday the 27th of April, 9 piece fusion band Necktr will be headlining Soul Rebel Sessions event at The Wardrobe in Leeds, collated by DJ Lubi. The night, which has been running for over seven years, will also feature performances from neo-soul infused group B-Ahwe, future-soul band The Space Antics as well as the regular Soul Rebels Sessions DJs Lubi and Chris.
Necktr are following in the footsteps of the likes of revered pianists Ashley Henry and Bill Laurance, afrobeat-soul collective Nubiyan Twist, electronic producer Rusko and jazz saxophonist Pete Wareham, all of whom studied at the prestigious music conservatoire Leeds College of Music. The group started life at the institute over 3 years ago and quickly established a local following with their gigs around Leeds.
The 9 piece (Esme Bridie, Poppy Williams-Daniels, Max Purcell-Burrows, Seb Knee-Wright, Christian Veitch, Nix Ward, Tricky Hand, Greg Burns, Tim Cook) bring together their love of soul, jazz, afrobeat, Latin rhythms, hip-hop, electronic beats and folk under one roof, as shown on their recent debut EP release Something’s Happening. The EP was released on London’s Wormfood Records at the back end of 2018, a year which also saw the group complete their first UK tour and being picked up by Earth Agency, helping propel themselves from from being a local Leeds based band into a national group and festival regulars.
2019 is a busy time for the group, as their diary is filled with festivals and new material being released in the summer. The performance at The Wardrobe is a rare hometown gig - the first in 7 months - and will be the last time that their original lead singer Esme Bridie performs with the band. Although the group will be sad to see Esme depart, their future remains bright. They are certainly a group to keep your ears and eyes out for.
Necktr 2019 Tour Dates:
Saturday 11th May - The Great Escape Festival
Friday 21st June - The Pumphouse, Aldeburgh Festival fringe series
Saturday 22nd June - Mirth, Marvel & Maud, London
Sunday 23rd June - The Scoop, London
Saturday 13th July - Mostly Funk & Soul Festival
Friday 26th July - Kendall Calling
Saturday 27th July - Ealing Jazz Festival
Friday 9th August - Boomtown Fair
Keep up to date with the group here:
Esme Bridie - Vocals Seb Knee-Wright - Guitar Christian Veitch - Guitar Nix Ward - Keys Patrick Hand - Bass Tim Cook - Drums/Percussion Greg Burns - Drums/Percussion/BVs Max Purcell-Burrows - Trombone Poppy William-Daniels - Trumpet