Kool & The Gang To Perform At The California State Fair & Food Festival on July 29
Do you remember dancing and partying, back in the day, to the latest hit by The Jazziacs?
Neither do I.
How about rocking out to the newest hit, at that blue light party, by The New Dimensions? Not The Fifth Dimension…The New Dimensions.
You probably don’t recall that, either. Nor does The Soul Town Band ring a bell.
All are former names of the two time Grammy winning group Kool & The Gang. They went through several names before settling on that moniker, and soon thereafter they began racking up hit after hit.
And you know those jams: “Jungle Boogie,” “Open Sesame,” “Hollywood Swinging,” “Too Hot,” “Fresh,” “Joanna,” “Tonight,” “Get Down On It,” “Misled,” “Cherish,” and the quintessential party jam, “Celebration,” among them.
Kool and The Gang is scheduled to sing all of that and more, bringing their unique blend of jazz, soul, and funk to the California State Fair & Food Festival on Saturday, July 29. The show starts at 8pm, and tickets are free to those attending the Fair that day.
I did my best to hop on the phone with one of the group’s founding members, in advance of their Sacramento concert. Alas, they’re in the middle of a “rigorous, non-stop tour,” according to their rep, and founding members Robert “Kool” Bell George Brown (who just published his memoir, Too Hot: Kool & The Gang & Me) were unavailable for a brief interview.
(Since they founded the group in 1964, the year I was conceived, I get it: those bruthas need to get their rest!)
Kool & The Gang last performed at the California State Fair a few years ago, on July 16. I remember the date because it was my birthday! I was tremendously flattered that they’d dedicate “Celebration” to my special day, and ask the hundreds in attendance to join in singing it.
Yes, I’m full of myself. And yes, I’ll be back this weekend for Kool & The Gang’s encore performance, and my belated birthday bash!
Get your tickets to the California State Fair & Food Festival at castatefair.org, and use them Saturday, July 29 to catch Kool & The Gang in concert! Don’t be misled…get over there!
