If you've been anywhere near downtown Jackson, Mississippi in the last few years, chances are you've heard them before you saw them. The tuba hits first. Then the drums. Then the horns, and by the time Epic Funk Brass Band rounds the corner, the crowd is already moving.
Founded in 2016 by Eddie Newton, Epic Funk Brass Band is an 11-piece powerhouse rooted in the New Orleans second-line tradition but built with Jackson's own soulful DNA. Drawing inspiration from legendary brass bands like Rebirth Brass Band, Hot 8, Dirty Dozen, and Soul Rebels, the band weaves in the funk and groove of Earth Wind & Fire, Frankie Beverly & Maze, and The JB's, creating a sound that's both deeply traditional and completely their own.
The band is led by original members Eddie Newton on snare drum and Phillip Kelly on trumpet, alongside Joshua Hood, Robert Estes, Nicolas Organ, Rigel Robinson, Tellis Moaton, Jermaine Hughes, Cedric Wiley, Shaun Stamps, and DeVante Rawls, eleven musicians locked in and built for the stage.
Their resume speaks for itself. Epic Funk Brass Band has performed alongside The Flaming Lips, Dumpstaphunk, and The Revivalists. They appeared in the Mardi Gras scene of the Peacock TV series Queer as Folk. They've filmed commercials for the City of Jackson. They've performed at Hal & Mal's, Martin's Downtown, and stages across Mississippi. And in 2025, they went into the studio with the legendary Malaco Records, one of the most storied soul and R&B labels in the history of American music, right here in Jackson.
Their latest single "She's Dangerous" is out now on all major streaming platforms. A new album, Welcome to Jacktown, is on the way.
At Velvet Rhythm Radio, we've always said that Jackson, Mississippi is the undisputed home of Southern Soul, brass band tradition, and authentic R&B music. Epic Funk Brass Band is living proof of that every time they take the stage.
Stream "She's Dangerous" now and follow Epic Funk Brass Band at epicfunkbrassband.biz.
Visit epicfunkbrassband.bizRead article →Southern Soul is a subgenre of soul music that blends classic R&B with country blues, and gospel influences, creating one of the most emotionally powerful sounds in American music. It emerged from the Deep South - Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee - rooted in the everyday experiences, heartbreak, celebration, and spiritual life of Black communities who built these traditions from the ground up.
Unlike the polished Motown sound or the orchestral Philadelphia soul of the 1970s, Southern Soul has always been rawer, closer to the earth. You hear it in the Hammond organ, the deep bass lines, the horns that hit like a Sunday morning sermon. It's music that doesn't apologize for what it is.
Southern Soul grew directly out of the gospel tradition. Artists who came of age singing in church - where music was life, not entertainment - carried that emotional intensity into secular recordings. The influence of blues, particularly Mississippi Delta blues, added a layer of grit and storytelling that set Southern Soul apart from its northern counterparts. Labels like Stax Records in Memphis, Malaco Records right here in Jackson, Mississippi, and Hi Records in Memphis were the incubators. These studios understood that Southern Soul wasn't a trend - it was a way of life.
Denise LaSalle, the Queen of Blues, was a Jackson, Mississippi native who recorded some of the most iconic Southern Soul records ever made. Her 1971 hit "Trapped by a Thing Called Love" set the template for decades of artists who followed. Sir Charles Jones is widely regarded as one of the defining voices of modern Southern Soul. His smooth delivery over deep, groove-heavy production helped bring the genre to a new generation of listeners in the 2000s and beyond. Tucka, known as the King of Swing, built a massive following on the Southern Soul circuit with his energetic performances and consistent output. Artists like Marvin Sease, Mel Waiters, and Shirley Brown all contributed essential chapters to the story.
Southern Soul remains one of the most loyal and passionate listener communities in music. It doesn't live on mainstream radio - it lives on independent stations, word of mouth, fish fry circuits, and community events across the South. That's exactly where Velvet Rhythm Radio comes in.
Based in Jackson, Mississippi - the heart of Southern Soul country - Velvet Rhythm Radio features Southern Soul 24 hours a day alongside Smooth Jazz, Classic R&B, and Blues. We play the artists the mainstream ignores and the listeners who know the difference never forget. If you've never really listened to Southern Soul, start with Denise LaSalle's catalog, work your way through Sir Charles Jones, and then tune into VRR. You'll understand why this music has never needed a trend to survive - it just needs people who feel it.
Read article →Smooth Jazz is one of the most enduring genres in contemporary music - a sound built for late nights, long drives, and the kind of listening that slows everything down. It sits at the crossroads of jazz improvisation, R&B groove, and pop accessibility, making it one of the most universally loved formats in radio history.
Kenny G is the most commercially successful instrumentalist of all time, full stop. His soprano saxophone tone is instantly recognizable, and records like Breathless and Miracles set the standard for what Smooth Jazz could be at its most accessible. George Benson bridged the gap between jazz guitar virtuosity and R&B soul in a way nobody had done before. Breezin', his 1976 masterpiece, is still one of the best-selling jazz albums ever recorded. Grover Washington Jr. defined the genre before it even had a name - his 1980 album Winelight, featuring Bill Withers on "Just the Two of Us," is one of the most perfect records in American music history.
Brian Culbertson has been one of the most consistent artists in the genre for over 25 years. A multi-instrumentalist who plays piano, trombone, and bass, his productions are lush, detailed, and built for headphones. Norman Brown is a guitarist whose warm, soulful tone sits perfectly between jazz phrasing and R&B feeling. Boney James has built one of the most loyal followings in contemporary jazz with his accessible, deeply soulful saxophone work - albums like Solid and Shine are essential listening. Jonathan Butler, Peter White, Rick Braun, and Russ Freeman & The Rippingtons round out a generation of artists who keep the genre fresh without losing what makes it feel timeless.
Velvet Rhythm Radio streams Smooth Jazz around the clock alongside Soul, Classic R&B, Blues, and Southern Soul - all from Jackson, Mississippi. Our programming is curated by hand in Jackson, Mississippi, not by streaming algorithms, which means you'll hear deep cuts alongside the classics and discover artists you wouldn't find on mainstream platforms. Tune in at velvetrhythmradio.com anytime and let the music do the rest.
Read article →Something has been quietly happening in music over the last decade, and most people haven't noticed. While the streaming giants argue over algorithms and playlist placement, independent internet radio has been doing what it's always done - connecting listeners with music they actually love, discovered by people who actually know it. Velvet Rhythm Radio is part of that movement.
Spotify, Apple Music, and their competitors are extraordinary at one thing: feeding you more of what you already listen to. Their recommendation engines are sophisticated, data-driven, and remarkably good at keeping you inside a bubble. What they're not good at is surprise. Discovery. The moment when you hear something you didn't know existed and realize it's exactly what you needed. That's what a hand-curated station does: the music is selected by someone with real taste, who has spent years learning a genre deeply enough to know what belongs next to what.
Independent stations program with intention. At Velvet Rhythm Radio, every set is built around feel, flow, and the listener experience - not engagement metrics or skip rates. When VRR moves from a Southern Soul classic into a Smooth Jazz set and back out through a Classic R&B hour, that's a deliberate programming decision, not a data output. Independent internet radio also serves communities that mainstream platforms ignore entirely. Southern Soul, for example, has one of the most dedicated listener bases in music - and virtually no mainstream radio presence. The genre thrives on independent stations like VRR because we're built around the music, not around what's commercially convenient.
Velvet Rhythm Radio is licensed through Live365, one of the leading internet radio licensing platforms, which means every song we play generates royalty payments to the artists and rights holders. When you listen to VRR, you're directly supporting the artists you love - many of whom see virtually nothing from streaming platforms where you need millions of plays to generate meaningful income.
The numbers tell the story. Internet radio listening has grown consistently year over year, driven by listeners who are tired of the same playlists and want something with actual personality. Velvet Rhythm Radio streams 24/7 from Jackson, Mississippi - the home of Southern Soul, Blues, and some of the most important music in American history. Tune in at velvetrhythmradio.com. You'll hear the difference immediately.
Read article →R&B radio never really went away. It just moved online. While mainstream FM stations chased pop crossovers and hip-hop formats, the listeners who grew up on Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Anita Baker, and Keith Sweat found their way to internet radio - where the music still plays the way it's supposed to. Here's where to find the best R&B radio online right now.
What makes a great R&B internet radio station isn't just the playlist. It's the programming philosophy. The best stations understand that R&B is a broad, deep tradition - it connects gospel to blues to soul to funk to quiet storm to new jack swing to neo-soul. A good R&B station moves through those eras with intention, not just randomness. Its music is selected by people who understand it, not just algorithms that approximate it.
Velvet Rhythm Radio, broadcasting live from Jackson, Mississippi, is built exactly on that foundation. As one of the South's premier independent internet radio stations, VRR programs Classic R&B alongside Southern Soul, Smooth Jazz, and Blues - all genres that share the same DNA. When you listen to VRR, you're hearing music curated by people who grew up with it, who understand why "Always and Forever" by Heatwave belongs next to a Shirley Brown record, and why that matters.
The classic R&B era - roughly 1965 through 1995 - produced some of the most emotionally powerful recordings in American history. Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. Al Green's Let's Stay Together. Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You. Anita Baker's Rapture. These aren't just old songs - they're the foundation of a genre that's still being built on today. A great R&B internet radio station knows this catalog deeply and programs it with respect.
New R&B is equally important. Artists like H.E.R., Lucky Daye, Silk Sonic, and Giveon are writing the next chapter of a tradition that stretches back decades. The best online R&B stations balance classic and contemporary without losing the thread that connects them - the emphasis on melody, feeling, and real vocal performance over production tricks.
If you're looking for R&B radio online that plays the full spectrum - from Southern Soul to Classic R&B to Smooth Jazz grooves - Velvet Rhythm Radio is on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No streaming algorithms. No skip culture. Just the music, programmed by hand and streaming from Jackson, Mississippi. Tune in at velvetrhythmradio.com.
Read article →When people talk about the geography of American music, they mention Nashville for country, New Orleans for jazz, Detroit for Motown, and Memphis for blues and soul. What they don't say often enough - but absolutely should - is Jackson, Mississippi. Because Jackson's contribution to American music is deep, wide, and still unfolding.
The story starts with the blues. Mississippi is the birthplace of the Delta blues tradition, the root system from which nearly every genre of American popular music grew. Robert Johnson, Son House, Muddy Waters - these artists came from Mississippi soil, and their influence runs through every R&B record, every rock and roll song, every soul album ever made. Jackson sits at the center of that legacy.
But the more specific story is about Malaco Records. Founded in Jackson in 1962, Malaco became one of the most important soul and R&B labels in American music history. While the major labels moved on to disco and new wave, Malaco stayed committed to Southern Soul, blues, and gospel - recording artists that mainstream radio ignored but Black audiences across the South loved deeply. Z.Z. Hill's Down Home Blues, recorded at Malaco in 1982, became one of the best-selling blues albums of the decade. Dorothy Moore's Misty Blue was a massive crossover hit. Bobby Blue Bland found a second chapter of his career at Malaco. The label became a home for artists who told the truth about life in a way that polished pop music never could.
Denise LaSalle, the Queen of Blues, was a Jackson native whose career spanned decades and whose influence on Southern Soul and blues is immeasurable. Her 1971 hit Trapped by a Thing Called Love remains one of the most iconic recordings in the genre. She performed and recorded until her death in 2018, and her connection to Jackson was something she carried proudly her entire life.
Today, Jackson's music community continues to produce artists doing serious work. Epic Funk Brass Band, founded by Jackson musician Eddie Newton, carries the New Orleans brass band tradition into Mississippi with an 11-piece ensemble that has performed alongside national acts, appeared in network television, and recorded with Malaco Records. The city's gospel tradition remains one of the strongest in the country. And independent stations like Velvet Rhythm Radio are ensuring that the music Jackson helped build - Southern Soul, Classic R&B, Blues, Smooth Jazz - continues to reach listeners around the world.
Jackson, Mississippi doesn't need to be rediscovered. It needs to be heard. Velvet Rhythm Radio is part of making that happen, streaming 24/7 from the heart of a city with more music history than most people realize. Tune in at velvetrhythmradio.com.
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