For those who like the funk of New Orleans music and the soul of Motown, Mingo Fishtrap is a must-see act. The Austin, TX based band has shared stage with the likes of Trombone Shorty, Parliament, Sting, Little Feat, Earth Wind & Fire, Robert Randolph, Galactic, and MOFRO. The group will be headed to the nation’s capital on Wednesday, June 28, 2016.

We are pleased to give away a pair of free tickets to the event. Fill out the form below to receive email updates and be eligible for a chance to win a pair of tickets to Mingo Fishtrap.

If what James Brown supposedly said was true – “the one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing” – then Mingo Fishtrap has plenty of business to take care of in our nation’s capital.”
– Zoe Polluck www.washingtoncitypaper.com

Video by Barry2theB

About

Mingo’s fourth full-length record, the aptly-named On Time on Blue Corn Music, blends punchy horns and gritty Memphis grooves with N’awlins funk to create sounds steeped in both modern pop and sixties soul sensibilities, that transcend both era and genre. “My first love is classic sixties soul, funk, and Motown,” says Roger. As the band has grown, this early love affair has become a bigger part of Mingo’s musical landscape. “There was a time early on when we were really into these crazy, bombastic arrangements,” he explains. “Now it’s more the song, the groove and the overall feel.”
Audiences can always expect spontaneity and heart from a Mingo set, where the band intermingles fresh takes on songs from their extensive catalog with their twist on a few select soul standards.

“When something feels a little a stale, we’ll change up the arrangement to keep it feeling new,” says Roger. “You don’t want to change so much about a tune that it becomes completely unfamiliar, but folks who are a part of our musical world also expect some experimentation. We don’t want a solid wall of sound; we want to create a whole night of music, with a natural ebb and flow.”

Masters of music and entertainment, the music was tight, the tunes were big and moving. This is the kind of band that will swallow you with their talent. The music turns and twists, it curls up inside of you, this is a band you cannot ignore.”
– Kristina Loye, Writer www.mtv.com

What started as a casual jam session with friends blossomed over time into an impressive eight-piece ensemble that evoked fond memories of listening to soul music as a kid. “Pops [Mingo’s bassist, Roger Sr.] always had soul and R&B on the stereo, and then he was playing those tunes every night. So that was what I grew up with. Then, when I was maybe eight or nine and living on an Air Force base, all my little friends used to go to Catholic Sunday School on Sunday mornings, so I’d tag along. After that let out, we heard this gospel music wafting from the chapel,” explains Roger. “The deacon saw our raggedy jeans and cut-off shorts and said we weren’t really dressed for an audience with the Lord, but he let us watch from the balcony. That became our regular stop. It was really moving, even though I didn’t fully understand it at the time.”

While the band’s name comes from a crossroads just outside of Denton, TX, Mingo has long since extended its reach onto the national music scene, sharing stages with the likes of Trombone Shorty, Parliament, Sting, Little Feat, Earth Wind & Fire, Robert Randolph, Galactic, and MOFRO — but they still experience their fair share of humbling moments.

After playing a show at MusikFest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, they noticed an oddly familiar-looking gentleman dancing in the crowd. “We got offstage, and when he walked up, he handed me his business card,” recalls Roger. “It was Bernard Purdie, one of the session drummers with James Brown. He’d recorded some of the very songs we’d just played. And he was dancing… Those kinds of moments are hard to beat.”