I attended a great southern soul concert with my sister at the Bessie Munden Recreational Park (better known as the Playground) in Camden, Alabama, and loved the show! There were a few local groups and the highlights were Pat Brown, The Love Doctor, Will Easley, Ms. Jody, and Wilson Meadows. The atmosphere in the park was pretty cool – tents were up, lawn chairs were out, and the grills were going in spite of the 100+ heat. Let me give you the good and the bad on the night.
The Bad
--The show was supposed to start at 6:00 but didn’t start until 7:30.
--Uncle Lucky Love, you’re a fantastic promoter; I’m just not that crazy about you as a performer.
--There was too much down time and space between acts. It’s the first show I’ve attended where the crowd seemed bored.
--The promoter, who is also one of the town’s dee jays, wasted way too much time talking about nothing. And then he thought he should sing along with the records in between acts.
--Before Wilson Meadows performed, the emcee played line dances for almost an hour – this started around 11pm but most people were tired (a lot of them had been there since 2pm) and hardly anyone danced.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t take it anymore and decided to leave – I later heard Wilson Meadows got on stage around midnight. I’m sorry Mr. Love, keep bringing in the great shows but emceeing is definitely not your thing.
The Good
--Will Easley was fantastic. We caught him walking around before the show and not only is he a great performer, he is friendly, personable, handsome, and a likable man. He knows how to work a crowd and got everybody up on their feet when he performed. He sang “I Got You”, a pretty good version of Johnnie Taylor’s “Just Because,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “You Wiggle When You Walk,” and my absolute favorite “Your Love Amazes Me.” He ended with a spirited gospel song, “Cooling Water.”
--Pat Brown was pretty good and sang an answer to “Equal Opportunity” and other music.
--The Love Doctor sang several songs but “Slow Roll It” was the only thing the crowd and I knew.
--Ms. Jody was excellent. She was the only performer who brought her band – everyone else sang to recorded music. She sounds just like her records and was the crowd favorite. She sang “It’s The Weekend,” “Your Dog’s About to Kill My Cat,” “Ms. Jody’s Line Dance,” “Looking for a Sugar Daddy Lover,” “Ms. Jody with a Big Daddy,” and a few more of her popular songs.
--One of my favorite things about southern soul shows is that you can get up close and personal to the artists - it's really, really cool.
In spite of the delays, this was a great show. Southern soul concerts are growing in popularity and the fan base is definitely expanding. I am so proud of the progress being made in Camden and look forward to many more shows there and in other cities throughout the country.
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Southern Soul Paradise
southernsoulparadise@hotmail.com
