An intense, raw, soul-filled take on traditional rhythm and blues will pump through the Hammer Museum’s outdoor courtyard July 15 at 8 p.m.
Retro soul-funk Brit rockers The Heavy are a part of the Hammer’s Also I Like to Rock concert series. Billed with local Motown hipsters Fitz and the Tantrums, the night will also include a DJ set by Garth Trinidad flanking the two performances.
According to singer Kelvin Swaby, The Heavy draws its influences from both James Brown and the experimental genre, making for a raw performance quality.
“(The audience) will never see another show like it … until we come back,” Swaby said.
The band’s fan base encompasses a wide age range, from teen to elderly, and reflective of this is a cross-genre palate of influences including blues, funk, soul, reggae and rock.
After its latest release last October with “The House That Dirt Built,” The Heavy have been on the road ever since, playing shows in the U.K. and major U.S. cities.
Paired with the across-the-pond funk rockers is a Motown-influenced, homegrown sextet, Fitz and the Tantrums.
Headed by Michael Fitzpatrick, the band provides an indie pop response to old-time soul. Evidence of the soul and Motown influences on the band is an absence of the centerpiece of rock music: the guitar.
The band’s career has been a proverbial success story. Fitzpatrick said a New York tattoo artist was playing a Fitz record when Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine walked in, landing Fitz an opening spot during the band’s fall tour.
“For other things in my life you feel like you are trying to shove a square peg in a circle hole,” Fitzpatrick said. “But this just feels magical.”
In April, Fitz was signed by Silver Lake indie label Dangerbird following a performance at the South by Southwest festival in March.
Of the band’s live performance, Fitzpatrick said that dancing would be a strict requirement.
KCRW, the sponsor of the South by Southwest concert, was one of the first radio stations to play Fitz and the Tantrums.
KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley said the station prides itself on promoting up and coming artists like Fitzpatrick.
“We’re excited about what’s next,” Bentley said. “I guess that’s what drives us. We bring through a lot of different music, we will give them their earliest exposure.”