The Suffers - Gulf Coast Soul & Benefit Concert
Enjoy A Night With This Houston-Based Soul Group While Giving To Hurricane Relief
McGregor Hall to donate 50 percent of ticket sales to American Red Cross in order to support the victims of recent hurricanes.
An award-winning eight-piece band that helped redefine the sound of “Gulf Coast Soul” opens the 2017-2018 season for the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Sept. 21, and half of the ticket sales to the show will be donated to help the victims of this summer’s hurricanes.
The Suffers hail from Houston, Texas, the site of catastrophic flooding near the end of August as Hurricane Harvey became the first major hurricane to strike the United States in more than a decade, bringing rainfall amounts of 40 inches and more to the region. The band still makes its home in Houston and its members and their families were impacted by the storm.
“This simply felt like the right thing to do since we have such a popular band from the very center of the hurricane flooding coming to entertain us here in Henderson,” said Mark Hopper, vice president of the McGregor Hall board of directors. “Not only can we help the victims of the storm with our financial contributions, we have an opportunity to connect personally with victims of the Houston crisis in a unique way and show our concern.”
Seats for the 8 p.m. show will be $25 and $22, and McGregor Hall will give 50 percent of each ticket sold to the American Red Cross to help the victims of the recent storms.
The Suffers are coming to Henderson on the heels of a Sept. 16 scheduled performance at the renown Monterey Jazz Festival in California, followed by a show at the Whale Rock Music Festival in Templeton, Calif.
Established in 2011, The Suffers soul band was organized by bassist Adam Castaneda and vocalist/keyboardist Pat Kelly, who brought on trumpet player Jon Durbin, trombonist Michael Razo, guitarist Kevin Bernier, percussionist Jose "Chapy" Luna, and drummer/vocalist Nick Zamora. Frontwoman Kam Franklin tops off the group with soaring vocals.
The group describes their music as a mix of musical styles and cultures found in Houston and around the Gulf Coast area — blues, soul, country, Cajun, hip hop, and Caribbean, according to a 2015 radio interview.
Brennan Carley of Spin Magazine said in a 2015 review: “The Suffers are a ten-piece soul collective that steeps their tracks in jazzy history with a modern twist. They’re the sort of neo-retro group you never knew music was so badly missing.”
The last three years have taken the band to new heights as they have played in more than 300 shows across North America. They have also appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah, and National Public Radio’s “Tiny Desk Concert” for Bob Boilen.
Their debut album, “The Suffers,” was selected by Billboard magazine as one of the “Top 10 Anticipated Rock & Alternative Albums” and Buzzfeed included the Suffers as one of the “25 New Artists You Need in Your Life in 2015.”
They recently finished their first international tour, spreading Gulf Coast Soul across the Caribbean, Western Europe and Australia.
Tickets to The Suffers show can be purchased online at any time at www.McGregorHall.org, by calling the Box Office at (252) 598-0662, or by visiting the Box Office at 201 Breckenridge Street in Henderson. When purchasing tickets online, patrons should make sure they are purchasing tickets through McGregor’s secure and trusted purchasing platform, eTix. The Box Office is open on Tuesdays through Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m., and, starting Monday, Sept. 18, Box Office hours will expand to Mondays through Fridays from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. Patrons can save online fees when ordering directly with the Box Office staff.
