The New Soul Finders welcome special guests to the Little Gem Saloon, Saturday, 1/21

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When guitarist and bandleader Marc Stone got together with two veterans of one of Eddie Bo’s late sixties bands to recreate some of his classic sides with younger musicians, he didn’t expect it to last. Nor did he expect it to continually regenerate itself. Last December, Stone announced the final show for the band, which featured vocalist Marilyn Barbarin and bassist and vocalist Paul Boudreaux.

But now the New Soul Finders are back this Saturday night at the Little Gem Saloon because of further interest from other musicians hooked on the sound of New Orleans funk and soul in the late 20th century.

Stone says his connection with the members of the Radiators (who just celebrated their annual reunion shows this past weekend with Stone as one of the opening acts) helped bring the New Soul Finders back on stage. Bassist Reggie Scanlan has a deep affinity for that era of New Orleans music having played with at least two of the legends—Professor Longhair and James Booker. He told Stone he was interested in playing.

Other musicians are connected to this story due to their love of the music of the period. Guitarist/bandleader Jimbo Mathus of the Squirrel Nut Zippers enters the picture because he was trying to find out who was playing on an old 45 record. He brought the record to Stone, who is an expert on the era, and Stone told him it was poet and local songwriter Ron Cuccia.

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Cuccia wrote the lyrics to one of the all time greatest songs about New Orleans—Little Queenie’s “My Darlin’ New Orleans.” Well, long story short if that’s even possible at this point, Cuccia is still in New Orleans and he expressed interest in appearing. The love for Eddie Bo goes deep in this town.

The band on Saturday night will be the core members of the New Soul Finders—Marc Stone on guitar, Tom Worrell on keys, and Eric Bolivar on drums. The special guests include the aforementioned Scanlan and Cuccia along with sousaphonist Kirk Joseph and guitarist Papa Mali who have both played with the New Soul Finders before.

Of course Marilyn Barbarin is the star of the show. She was still a teenager when she first recorded with Eddie Bo, but her voice is still strong. Boudreaux has bowed out of this incarnation due to a huge amount of other commitments including his 30-plus year tenure with bluesman Willie Lockett. Barbarin will have backing vocal support from Micah McKee and John Paul Carmody.

Stone played with Bo as a young musician and he says Bo never used a set list preferring to let the audience and the atmosphere determine the songs. So this band will be playing from a list of tunes, but they will be picked on the spot. Expect to hear lots of Eddie Bo’s music including his rock ‘n’ roll from the 1950s, R&B and soul from the 1960s, and his great funk stuff from the late ’60s and early ’70s.

Tickets are $10 in advance here. Show time is 8:30 PM.

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