My Brothers & Sisters is a large Kansas City collective that adds psychedelic flourishes to rock, funk and soul. In characteristically purple prose, the band refers to itself as “the ascetic bloodhounds of immortal sonic ecstasy.”
They deliver a powerful live performance. The nine or more musicians who squeeze onto stages during My Brothers & Sisters shows induce wide smiles and uninhibited dancing.
They perform on the main stage of the Boulevardia festival on Saturday and headline the late show at RecordBar on Friday, pledging that show will be a “surrealist art-pop dream party.”
“Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer,” the lead track on their 2014 album Violet Music, provides a taste of what audiences can expect. It includes a horn section, strings, handclaps, a full chorus and bandleader Jamie Searle's distinctive warble.
My Brothers & Sisters, 10 p.m. on Friday, June 16, at Record Bar; 12:20 p.m., Saturday, June 17 at Boulevardia. Stephonne Singleton, one of Kansas City’s most promising vocalists, opens Friday’s show.
KCUR contributor Bill Brownlee blogs about Kansas City’s jazz scene at Plastic Sax.
