October 06, 2022
By Kimberly Shelby
Contributing Writer
Bakewell Media’s Chevy-sponsored music stage, “Music for the Soul,” will be alight with the sheen of stars and the sounds of R&B, hip-hop and dance music at Taste of Soul on October 15th.
Attendees may not be able to park their cars on Crenshaw Boulevard’s dance floor, but it will be impossible for them not to move their feet when legendary groups like Midnight Star, Troop and Lakeside featuring Mark Wood hit the stage.
Midnight Star’s hit “No Parking (on the Dance Floor)” scored on the R&B and dance charts as well as the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983.
Three years earlier, Lakeside took the world on a “Fantastic Voyage,” reaching number one on the R&B charts, and Troop enjoyed a string of hits in the late eighties and early nineties with successful R&B and Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles, including “Spread My Wings,” “Sweet November,” and “All I Do is Think of You.”
“The Bakewell Media Sound Stage is and will continue to be an integral part of Taste of Soul,” stated Danny J. Bakewell, Sr., Chairman of Bakewell Media and Founder/Creator of Taste of Soul.
“As we have all worked diligently to return to a certain level of normalcy following the COVID 19 pandemic, Taste of Soul just wouldn’t be Taste of Soul without our music stages anchoring both ends of Crenshaw Blvd. So with the assistance of our friends at 94.7 The WAVE, Bakewell Media is proud to bring Midnight Starr, Lakeside featuring Mark Wood and Troop to this year’s Taste of Soul.”
Music for the Soul’s producer Andrew Escobar of 94.7 The WAVE has a long history with Taste of Soul.
“I began producing The WAVE Stage in 2009, as I worked there as the Promotions Manager,” Escobar recalls.
“I continued to produce the stage even after leaving The WAVE in 2017 up to now in 2022! This year I am also producing the Brenda Marsh Mitchell Gospel Stage, which is an honor.”
Escobar and his team look for acts that will be sure to entertain and connect with the Taste of Soul crowd, whether those acts are local, up and coming, or already established.
“We hope, when the audience hears their music, they start singing and dancing and walk away talking about their experience for another week,” Escobar said.
And events are sure to transpire just as he envisions them.
Other highlights at Music for the Soul include newer local acts that have been developing strong followings.
These include Soul Play, Chanel Maryland & The Wylde Bunch Shakespeare, and R&B group and party band DW3.
Beyond his work as a producer for Taste of Soul, Escobar, feels a personal connection to the festival.
“Growing up in Watts and now living a couple of miles from where we produce Taste of Soul, I truly appreciate seeing the community come together to enjoy music, great food with each other,” said Escobar.
“Whether they know the person next to them or not, everyone seems happy to be at the TASTE OF SOUL! Producing Taste of Soul has been one of the highlights of my career.”
More than a decade after his start with Taste of Soul, Escobar is as excited as ever to celebrate and cultivate community at the festival with “Old School” and R&B entertainment, and he is looking forward to seeing everyone ready to sing and dance in front of the stage.
Learn more at audacy.com, tasteofsoulla.com, facebook.com/tasteofsoulla, twitter.com/@tasteofsoulla, instagram.com/tos_streetfestla.