· Khruangbin announced on January 29th via their socials two tours in 2024 in support of their latest release, A La Sala, in Europe and North America. Some months later, on June 18th Khruangbin announced three special dates in Atlanta, GA. for this tour: September 26th & 27th at the Fox Theatre and September 28th at The Eastern. Tickets for the last show announced at The Eastern sold out fast and that was expected based on their previous two-night tour stop at the same venue back in 2021. Like the great poet Andre 3000 once said, “You can plan a pretty picnic, but you can’t predict the weather.” Unfortunately, Hurricane Helene decided to ramp up in the southern region right before this tour stop, and with the path of the tropical storm headed straight towards Atlanta. Khruangbin chose to cancel the first night of their two-night stand at the Fox Theatre for Thursday evening with immediate refunds available to the ticket holders. But Khruangbin did announce over the weekend that they would be adding a Sunday show (09/29/2024) at The Eastern to make up for the canceled Thursday show. Khruangbin fans rejoiced after hearing this wonderful news from the band. A lot of people in the area needed this break from the chaos that was happening around Georgia at the time. If you want to help those who have suffered loss during this dynamic situation, please take the time to donate via the American Red Cross/ All Hands and Hearts/ Americares.

Khruangbin

For those who do not know, Khruangbin is a psychedelic rock/surf rock/funk/instrumental rock/dub/rock band from Houston, Texas that has been making music since 2010. This trio has released five (5) LPs, five (5) EPs, one (1) compilation album, three (3) remix albums, eight (8) live recordings, and several singles over their impressive and talented career. Khruangbin’s most recent release, A La Sala (April 5, 2024), released by Dead Oceans Records has received some amazing reviews since its debut. Pitchfork wrote that “the band thrives when it sheds all of the frills and creates a small world where anything is possible.” A La Sala (which translates as “to the room” in Spanish) is a call back to their humble beginnings as a band with a more stripped-down product that relies heavily on funk and 70s psych rock intertwined with catchy global ambiances. It is also worth noting, that A La Sala is the first full-length, release by Khruangbin without any additional musical collaborators. I was excited to hear some of the new tracks of A La Sala like “Pon Pon”, “Juegos y Nubes”, and “A Love International” played live on this tour for the first time in Georgia.

For the Atlanta portion of the A La Sala 2024 tour, Shabaka was announced on September 3rd as their opening support for all three dates. Shabaka Akua Lumumba Kamau Iyapo Hutchings is a jazz/Avant Garde jazz/ jazz fusion/afrobeat/world music/spiritual jazz musician/bandleader/composer from London, England who has been credited as performing since 2013. Shabaka has released multiple albums under his namesake, as a leader in bands, or as a co-leader:

· Released as Shabaka – two (2) LPs

· Sons of Kemet – four (4) LPs

· Melt Yourself Down – two (2) LPs

· The Comet is Coming – four (4) LPs

· Shabaka & the Ancestors – two (2) LPs

· Supporting others or as a sideman – ten (10) LPs

· As a featured artist – eight (8) LPs

Shabaka Hutchings

I was fortunate to catch Sons of Kemet at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (2022) with my best friend Markus based on his recommendation. Since he had never steered me wrong before, I went with him to their set and was very happy that I made that decision. Fast forward a few years, and I am now taking photos of Shabaka’s spirited and vibrant opening performance at The Eastern as opening support for Khruangbin. From start to finish, Shabaka and his band set a jazzy vibe that was very relaxing but continuously upbeat with some funky breakdowns. As an opener for this tour, Khruangbin knew what they were doing when they asked Shabaka to come out on tour. A big thank you to Khruangbin for bringing such talent and beauty with them on the A La Sala 2024 Tour.

You can check out Shabaka’s setlist from this evening at The Eastern below:

· Drum/flute solo

· “As the Planets and the Stars Collapse”

· 5-7

· “I’ll Do Whatever You Want”

· Flute solo

· “Forest in the Dream”

· “Living”

· “Step Lightly”

You can stream some of Shabaka’s musical projects and follow Shabaka Hutchings on Bandcamp today! Or head over to the Verve Records website and pick out some Shabaka merchandise, CDs, and records.

It was time for Khruangbin to grace the stage, and you could tell each exuberant fan in attendance was ready for what was coming! The first night at The Eastern, Khruangbin brought out the fire with “Como Me Quieres” and “The Recital That Never Happened” as the first two songs of the night. That set the tempo for the evening, and you could tell the band was in the zone. Something about Khruangbin that I love and admire is how they continue to move, groove, and dance around the stage while entranced in the music that they are performing. And when you gaze into the crowd, the fans are doing the same thing around the venue upstairs and downstairs. What is not to love about that? A constant dance party by one of your favorite bands live. I tell you what, this is just what the doctor ordered for the state of Georgia. A few nights out of the week for the people of Georgia and some out of towners, to get together and forget about all of the troubles of the day. Focus on personal healing and try to make tomorrow a better day despite the clouds of Helene hovering above us.