Celebrate Valentine's Day Eve w/ Lee Fields & the Expressions

On Saturday, Feb. 13, Soul/ R&B singer Lee Fields and his band will be bringing their Motown sound to the Fête Ballroom.  Channeling the spirit of Rhythm & Blues legends like James Brown, Fields has delighted audiences worldwide over the past decade with his brand of honest soul music.  Most recently, Lee Fields & the Expressions helped close out the first-ever Providence International Arts Festival over the summer to a captivated and lively audience.

At a time when many new artists are trying to emulate the soul and swagger of the 1960s, Lee Fields  just has to record a new record. This authenticity  is on  full  blast, once again, with Emma Jean, the new offering  from Lee Fields and The Expressions on Brooklyn's own Truth & Soul Records.

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Having been on the road touring for the better part of the last decade, it's evident that Lee Fields  has  hit  an  elevated  stride  with  this  album.  There's  a  sharper  wisdom  in  the songwriting--from  the  having  loved,  lost,  and  learned  vibe  of “Don't  Leave  Me  This Way,”  backed  by  crooning  guitar  and  wailing  horns,  to  the  sophisticated  arrangements and studio acumen that's pared with Lee's straightforward sincerity in “Just Can't Win.”And  then  there's “Magnolia,”  a  cover  of  a  JJ  Cale  song  that  embodies  the  late,  great American  singer-songwriter  and  the  Tulsa  Sound  he  helped create, that's  refreshed  with the Lee Fields approach.  

Like  past  releases  from  this  matchless  pairing  of  Fields' warm-and-raw  growl  and  The Expressions'  switched-on  and  sharp  musicianship, Emma  Jean  takes  soul  music  in  a familiar,   but   updated,   direction.   Mixed   and   partially   recorded   at   Dan   Auerbach's Nashville  studio--country  soul  and  bluesy  rock  are  immediately  noticeable. It  brings  a different  kind  of  strut  to Emma  Jean,  but  Fields--born  and  raised  in  North  Carolina--is right at home with the Southern soul sound. In fact, it feels like a natural progression; an organic, refreshingly pure next step.  

You'd  be  forgiven  a  few  years  ago  if  you  heard  a  Lee  Fields song  and  thought  it  was somebody else: O.V. Wright, The Delfonics, or--of course--James Brown. But now, with the  release  of Emma  Jean,  there  is  no  mistaking  a  Lee  Fields  track.  A  distinct soulful sound and a grown style has been forged between him and The Expressions. His 45 years of  recording  this  music,  5  years  deep  now  with  Truth  &  Soul--something  has  clarified. "He's 65 years old," says Leon Michels, co-owner of Truth & Soul and the man with the production credit on Emma Jean. "he's  so focused, and  has  been working  non-stop--he's singing  the  best  he  ever  has." Emma  Jean  shows  this  progression  and  may  prove  that Fields,  The  Expressions,  and  Truth  &  Soul  may  be  no  longer  interested  in  being contemporary soul  music royalty. Instead, they  seem  more  motivated to push this  music in new directions and explore it's next steps.

With their only other New England-area show sold out (Fri. 2/12 at The Sinclair), this Saturday is your only chance to catch Lee Fields & the Expressions in concert!  What better way to kick off Valentine's Day than with some lively, heartfelt soul music?  So grab your date and head on down to Fête Music Hall this weekend!


Lee Fields & the Expressions

w/ Lawrence
Saturday, February 13th, 2016
Fête Music Hall Ballroom
Tickets: $15 adv. $18 DOS
Available at fetemusic.com and the Fête Box Office