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Instrumental intro DURAND JONES TOUR DATES AUG 1 Pickathon Music Festival Happy Valley, OR READ MORE
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Even without The Indications, the goal was still soul--
Louisiana soul/R&B singer-songwriter Durand Jones was the special musical guest in downtown Lawrence KS at the annual Juneteenth Celebration, a street party held in South Park, ahead of the actual holiday. Jones finished a run supporting eclectic country artist Orville Peck and worked this date in, on his way back to his native Louisiana for a short break, before hitting the road again.
Durand Jones and The Indications are a group we’ve covered and seen live regularly since 2018 but the band has been on a break as several of them pursue solo projects, though they recently returned to the studio to begin work on the band’s upcoming album.
For Jones, his debut solo album is called “Wait Til I Get Over”, an autobiographical and lyrically revealing piece set to reflect his upbringing in the deep Gulf south of Hillaryville, LA, a small town on the Mississippi River founded by eight former Civil War-era slaves in between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
While still retaining the southern soul/gospel roots of his full band’s sounds, Jones forays into more jazz on the record, punctuated by his increased use of saxophone and lyrics that seem more yearning, personal, and heartfelt. His seventy-minute set was an extended version of the opening set he’s been performing on Peck’s recent tour.
“Gerri Marie” was dedicated to a girl from the area he fell for, “The Place You’d Most Want to Live” is about his hometown and is a phrase his grandmother would always use to describe it, and “Lord Have Mercy” brought out Jones’ Otis Redding-like growls and stomps.
On “Letter to My 17 Year Old Self” Jones concedes “we’re gonna get it right next time” perhaps a result of youth and inexperience, and his soulful cover of Donny Hathaway's “Someday We’ll All Be Free” was an ideal Juneteenth selection, which Jones had the street crowd repeating the chorus on.
That cover worked well enough for Jones to convince the band to try another, performed live for the first time, “You Got the Power”, a cover from Paul “Lil’ Buck” Sinegal (featuring The Topcats), who was best known not as a singer but the longtime guitarist for Buckwheat Zydeco.
“Let’s dance on this last one!” Jones shouted as the band fired up one of the most upbeat and positive tracks on the solo album, anchored by a Stevie Wonder-esque organ riff, “See It Through.”
Durand Jones more than “got over” in Lawrence for Juneteenth, and we look forward to seeing him live (and The Indications), again soon.
(Click on any image to enlarge and see in full)
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| JohnC ♥ johnc@weheartmusic.com ♥ X / twitter.com |
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