Brainquility Set to Sizzle on the Shores of Tampa Bay
The Brainquility Music Festival will be opening the portal to mind-bending funk, jazz, global fusion, art, and food on April 21 at Safety Harbor, Florida. With Tampa Bay as its backdrop, the one-day festival will offer 12 hours of groove-till-you-drop music featuring Lettuce, Beats Antique, TAUK, Voodoo Visionary, and more.
Headliners Lettuce tears at the fabric of funk and jam with a joyful veracity that shreds conventional norms of improvisation and song structure, turning their shows into freestyle joyrides. The Boston-based band, made up of drummer Adam Deitch, guitarists Adam Smirnoff and Eric Krasno, bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes, keyboardist Neal Evans, saxophonist Ryan Zoidis, and trumpet players Eric Bloom and Rashawn Ross, have been laying down their base-heavy, hip hop- and horn-infused future-funk for the better part of 20 years. Guaranteed to rage at Brainquility, they are festival favorites whose incendiary shows set stages and audiences afire all across the planet.
Beats Antique defies description, performing a mind-bending experimental mix of electro-acoustic, Afrobeat, world fusion and performance art. Hailing from the (other) Bay area, drummer David Satori, percussionist Tommy “Sidecar” Cappel and belly dancer Zoe Jakes have been staging mesmerizing shows that can include any number of dancers and musicians. With a decade of touring under their belts, they have performed and recorded with artists as diverse as The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, “eclectronic” hip hop and R&B artist Lafa Taylor, and Israeli songstress Dana Elle.
TAUKs all-instrumental blend of funk, hip hop, progressive rock and jazz and unbridled live performances have them slaying at festivals around the country. The four-piece outfit from Oyster Bay, New York, includes guitarist Matt Jalbert, bassist Charlie Dolan, keyboardist Alric “A.C.” Carter, and drummer Isaac Teel, who open up new sonic terrains at each and every show and will be set to conquer Brainquility.
Atlanta-based Voodoo Visionary has been funking up audiences everywhere nearly nonstop since its formation over eight year ago. With Dennis Dowd on keys, Jimmy Lynch on bass, Scottie MacDonald on vocals, Mac Schmitz on drums and Mike Wilson on guitar, the quintet’s improvisational grooves give audiences no choice but to get up and dance. This is sure to be the case on April 21.
Looks like there won’t be much sitting going on when Florida DJs and producers MZG, also known as Monozygotic, and SIDE TRAKD open the festival with their electronic vibes and dance music. MZG, who are twin brothers Charles and Zachary Weinert, have been performing at festivals across the Southeast, while SIDE TRAKD, a.k.a. Tyler Stofel, has been making his mark as a DJ at clubs and festivals in Florida.
Brainquility is also promoting a local vibe with a host of area artists displaying their work along with unique food vendors. For more information and tickets please click on the links below.
