October 09, 2014

 

By Kenneth D. Miller

Assistant Managing Editor

  

The 9th Annual Taste of Soul Family Festival on Saturday October 18 will feature two of their dynamic radio partners, 94.7 The Wave and Radio Free 102.3 KJLH, at opposite ends of Crenshaw Blvd. displaying musical giants on their respective stages.

 

 

 

Both stations present musical performers frequently reflect favorites of their listeners, and while the Taste of Soul KJLH Stage will be headlined by Grammy nominated Tyrese, the native of Watts who as climbed to both R&B and motion picture fame, the Taste of Soul Wave Stage has a special surprise guest performer that will grace its stage on that eventual Saturday.

 

 

 

Presented by Bakewell Media, the annual Taste of Soul Family Festival attracted more than 300,000 in 2013 to eclipse the one million milestone since it began eight years ago.

 

 

 

Other Taste of Soul KJLH Stage performers confirmed artist includes Tank, Raheem DeVaughn, Dave Hollister, Syleena Johnson, Ann Nesby and Angie Fisher.

 

 

 

The Taste of Soul Wave Stage will be located at Crenshaw Blvd. and Stocker.  Trading hosting duties are 94.7 The Wave on-air personalities: Pat Prescott, Talaya Trigeros, Frankie Ross and Greg Mack, along with KCBS news anchor and Taste of Soul Co-Chair Pat Harvey.  Their line-up includes Chosen Recovery, Kitrell, On Tour, R&B, soul and jazz music group DW3, singer Dominique Toney whose debut album "A Love Like Ours" is out now. Youth bands Aknu and Troop will be making waves for the ladies. Legendary percussionist Pete Escovedo will also grace the stage.  Rounding out the roster is singer and former leader of the 1980’s group Shalamar, Howard Hewitt who will hit the stage, belting out classics for old school and new school music gores. More performers will be announced at a later date.

 

94.7 The Wave Stage Artists

 

Aknu

 

AKNU (pronounced A-New). It stands for “A Kind Never Understood” and is comprised of three brothers from Los Angeles, California. They are a phenomenal high-energy trio of brothers with astonishing moves and incredible vocal talent performing original material and popular hits. With performances that showcase their extraordinary vocals and mesmerizing dance moves, AKNU brings their spectacular live performances to audiences of all ages around the globe. AKNU has been featured on MTV and in Vogue Italia, Ebony, and Vanity Fair, among many others. A recent performance on The X Factor earned accolades from all three judges, including the notoriously critical Simon Cowell. Look out for AKNU's EP on iTunes.

 

Dominique Toney

 

Dominique Toney is a Los Angeles native born to a musically accomplished father Kevin Toney, an award-winning Pianist, Recording Artist and Composer, and a mother Phyllis Toney who is renowned as a highly respected Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor for rock-n-soul royalty such as Sir Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Sting and Aerosmith. Together, they laid the foundation for Dominique’s thorough understanding of the performing arts in the spotlight and behind the scenes.

 

Dominique Toney is a Los Angeles native born to a musically accomplished father Kevin Toney, an award-winning Pianist, Recording Artist and Composer, and a mother Phyllis Toney who is renowned as a highly respected Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor for rock-n-soul royalty such as Sir Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Sting and Aerosmith. Together, they laid the foundation for Dominique’s thorough understanding of the performing arts in the spotlight and behind the scenes.

 

DW3

 

If you were a music buff from way, way, way back in the day, then you would definitely remember the Latin/R&B band Tierra from the 70′s. You might even recall their biggest 1980′s hit “Together” which reached #18 on the U.S. Pop charts and #9 on the R&B Chart. Passing great talent down to a new generation, the relatives of the members of the group Tierra is now a catchy name. DW3 is one of the most enthusiastic, smooth, new sounding bands in the Los Angeles area. Eric, William and Damon are the three harmonious voices that bring this high energy R&B Jazz and Latin Soul band to life. DW3 is comprised of outstanding musicians, which consist of Keyboards, Percussions, Drums, Bass and Guitar.

 

Howard Hewett

 

Among the great pure vocalists of the urban contemporary era, Howard Hewett has seldom found material worthy of his tremendous skills. He grew up in Akron, Ohio and relocated to Los Angeles. Hewett danced on Soul Train, and became one-third of Shalamar with Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley in 1979. They had several big hits before Hewett departed for a solo career in 1985. He signed with Elektra, and his second single, "I'm for Real," was a number two R&B hit in 1986. The follow-up single, "Stay," also made the Top Ten, while "I Commit to Love" in 1987 reached number 12. Hewitt remained on Elektra through the '80s and into the '90s, earning another hit with "Strange Relationship" in 1988 and cutting duets with Dionne Warwick and Anita Baker. He also became busy as a writer, producer, and session vocalist. Hewett co-wrote and produced "Frustration" for LaToya Jackson in 1984, and sang on her LP Heart Don't Lie. He did lead vocals on LPs by Stanley Clarke and George Duke in 1984 and 1986, a duet with Stacy Lattisaw on "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," and sang with Firefox in 1986, as well as doing backgrounds on a Donna Summer release. An eponymous 1990 album by Hewett included the number two R&B hit “Show Me,” and the singer followed up with 1992’s Allegiance and 1994’s It’s Time before going on hiatus as a solo artist and concentrating on his work as a background vocalist on albums by a variety of jazz musicians, including Duke and Joe Sample. Hewett returned with the 2001 gospel album The Journey, and the single “Enough” (also featuring Duke) arrived in 2006, followed by the holiday effort Howard Hewett Christmas in 2008.

 

Troop

 

Troop is an R&B group from Pasadena, California. Troop has had four number one singles and ten top ten singles on the Billboard R&B Charts. They have also completed five albums, which include three certified gold and one certified platinum album.

 

The group began in the late ’80s after they won a televised talent contest that later drew interest from record labels. Troop, consisting of childhood friends Steve Russell, Allen McNeil, John Harreld, Rodney Benford, and Reggie Warren, signed to Atlantic Records and released their debut single Mamacita from their self titled album in 1988. “Mamacita” reached #2 on the Billboard’s R&B Charts.

 

After the release of their debut album, Troop released Attitude, which included songs such as Spread My Wings and All I Do Is Think Of You (a Jackson 5 cover), which were both #1 on the Billboard R&B charts and remained in the top 10 on the charts for several weeks. Attitude was certified platinum in 1990, afterward, Troop released their third album Deepa in 1992 from which the single Sweet November made #1 on the Billboard’s R&B charts. The group followed up with two more albums A Lil’ Sumpin’ Sumpin’ (1994) and Mayday (1998), both of which were re-released in 2005.

 

Go to www.lasentinel.net and tasteofsoula.org for information and for the music line-up. Or, download the Taste of Soul mobile app for daily entertainment updates, directions, vendors, stage locations and free give-a-ways.

 

Shonassee Shaver contributed to this story

 

Category: Cover Stories