The New Mastersounds: Behind 26 Years of FUNK with Eddie Roberts

This week I talk with Eddie Roberts about his long and amazing musical career, from his beginnings in Jazz to the formation of his funk band The New Mastersounds. In 2024, they celebrated their 25th anniversary as a touring Funk band.

Eddie is a Welsh-born guitarist, music producer and entrepreneur, and The New Mastersounds are one of this year's headliners for the upcoming Whippersnap Music & Arts Festival that will happen at the Florida Sand Music Ranch in Brooksville, FL from February 19th - 20th, 2025.

In the conversation, you'll get the history of the band and learn when and why Eddie chose to make the move from the U.K. to the U.S. We get into the band's line up of members, how they approach studio recordings, some of their notable live performances, favorite venues and so much more.

We dig into their 2025 U.S. tour that includes a stop at the 4848 Festival held in Snowshoe WV, and how Eddie got to know the guys from Greensky Bluegrass which helped land that gig. You'll even hear a surprising story about how Eddie fell in love with sailing.

Up Next Week: My Conversation with Ben Bloom of Funk Band The Polyrhythmics.

Formed in 2010, The Polyrhythmics are a Seattle-based instrumental ensemble that originated in the city's underground deep funk scene. They have also produced records under Eddie Roberts record label, Color Red.

The band is known for blending tight grooves with bold brass and hypnotic percussion, incorporating elements of R&B, progressive jazz, and Afrobeat into their sound. Over the years, their music has evolved to include a more progressive sonic palette, resulting in their unique brand of psychedelic funk.

Ben Bloom is the band's guitarist, a composer, and a music producer in his own right. His journey began with piano lessons in his youth, fostering an early interest in improvisation. During high school, he transitioned to guitar and immersed himself in jazz, participating in jazz bands and studying music theory. He co-founded Polyrhythmics in late 2010 with drummer Grant Schroff.

Bloom has also been involved in projects like Rippin Chicken and the Unsinkable Heavies. Make sure to tune in next week to hear my chat with Ben that will drop on the day of their festival performance down at Whippersnap.

Win 2025 Festival Passes for You and a Neighbor

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Neighborhood subscribes get exclusive content that's not published on the website or channels as well as chances to enter drawings for ticket giveaways to festivals all over the U.S. Subscribers also get access to discount codes and deals from our growing list of supporting partners.  

Make sure to visit the homepage and sign up to Join the Neighborhood with your email address. You'll get no more than one email each week as we roll into the spring and summer festival seasons. See you on the inside. 👋

WinterWonderGrass Drawing Winner Announced!

I'm thrilled to announce the winner of the passes to WinterWonderGrass 2025! 🍻

BIG CONGRATS to our neighbor Joanna Goodman!  Joanna attended last year's festival on crutches, but is back on healed legs this year and ready to dance and ski in Steamboat! If you want to dance and ski too, you can still get passes at the WinterWonderGrass website.

I want to extend extend our heartfelt gratitude to our incredible partners at Bonfire Entertainment and the WinterWonderGrass Festival for their generous support and collaboration in making this exciting ticket giveaway a possible!  And, a big thank you to Joanna for being a Neighborhood subscriber, tuning into the show each week and for entering the drawing. 🙏