By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
greer@wktv.org
The warm evening air was filled with the upbeat and energetic tones of Motown Thursday when RocknSoul took the stage at the Kentwood Summer Concert Series.
Based out of the Detroit area, RocknSoul brought the Motown sound to their performance behind City Hall. It also was Throwback Thursday at the Kentwood Farmers Market, where a variety of food trucks and vendors were on hand.
“We play a little bit of everything,” said vocalist and bass player Robert Joiner. “From Motown, to R&B, Dance, Blues and some jazz. The fans really like Motown and we play a lot of the 60s, 70s and 80s Motown and dance music.”
Featured songs include artists like The Temptations, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson.
As a group, RocknSoul has been together for a few years, but individually, the members have 20-to-30 years of professional music experience each.
Joiner, who retired after 30 years with the City of Detroit Police Department, spent 18 years playing with the Blue Pigs, a band comprised of City of Detroit Police officers who gained a large following.
The band’s lead guitar, Charles Hawkins, was a member of Black Merda, a rock band from Detroit that was active from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. Black Merda produced a number of albums during that time period and also played psychedelic soul, funk rock and blues rock.
“Charles has played with Eddie Kendrick and David Ruffin,” Joiner said. “He also had a stint playing with Edwin Starr from War. He’s played with a lot of big names during his career.”
Keyboardist and saxophone player Kevin Armstrong has also played with a variety of musicians and Paul Sikorski brings a wealth of experience as the band’s drummer.
The band features variety in its vocals as Joiner and Armstrong both handle about 40 percent of the vocals apiece, while Hawkins sings vocals on about 20 percent of the songs. Sikorski also has been known to step in as a vocalist at times.
The band primarily performs in Southeast Michigan, but also makes plenty of trips into Ohio. This week’s concert in Kentwood was the band’s first performance in West Michigan.
