This story is featured in CityBeat’s Nov. 15 print edition.
A jumping, heart-pumping funk party is what you’ll find at MOTR Pub on Saturday, Nov. 25. With an ensemble of keys, horns, drums, guitars and vocals, The New Royals deliver a show that rips you out of your seat and drops you into a soul-funk world that will keep you on your feet.
The New Royals began their musical journey in 2015 with their debut show at Northside Tavern and since then has become Cincinnati’s top band for late ‘60s and early ‘70s funk and soul music. Performing shows around Cincinnati, at venues such as Ghost Baby in Over-the-Rhine, The Lounge in Northside and many others, The New Royals have honed the soul-funk experience to perfection, delivering the complexities of this musical genre with virtuosic confidence and effortless musicality.
The powerful nine-piece group consists of Alexa Michelle on vocals; Justin Haley on rhythm guitar and backing vocals; Brandon Vitruls on drums; Will Pope on lead guitar; Michael Van Horn on bass; Jackson Steiger on keys; Chapman Sowash on trombone; Alex “Moussa” Nahas on saxophone; and Charlie Merk on trumpet. In each show, The New Royals pay homage to artists like Sharon Jones, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and The Meters, but with a sound of their own that they’ve developed through their countless performances.
Primarily focusing on their local presence, The New Royals have plans to continue spreading their “Funk Party” throughout Cincinnati, with shows planned in December and on into 2024 and beyond. When asked what to expect from a New Royals show, Vitruls tells CityBeat, “If we get it right, our show should feel like you’re in an old episode of Soul Train.”
The New Royals play MOTR Pub on Nov. 25 at 10 p.m. Info: motrpub.com.
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This article appears in Nov 1-14, 2023.
