Curious Entertainment is paying tribute to Rick James at OC Funkfest 2019, where the 15th year of the passing of “The King of Punk Funk” will be commemorated. The late, great and notorious funk music superstar’s Stone City Band (a.k.a. “The Bad Boys of Funk”) headline Saturday’s festival at the Anaheim Convention Center.
For the past five years, Curious Entertainment has brought some of the best classic funk bands and artists to Orange County, and it’s been confirmed that this year will be no exception. To celebrate the fifth anniversary OC Funkfest, the promoter is springing a funky lineup to match the level of excitement that’s been stirred up since 2014, with 13 performances scheduled including some by special guests.
The star-studded lineup includes; Midnight Star, Fat Back, Brick, Whodini, Brass Construction, Chocolate Milk, Tom Brown Featuring Slap Back, Yarbrough and Peoples, Carmen and Magic Girl. Ameega is flying in from France to perform at the single-day event, and Chemise, who is best known for her hit song “She Can’t Love You,” will be on stage for the first time in more than 30 years.
Curious Entertainment took a decidedly new approach to building this year’s OC Funkfest lineup by including more underground artists to join the genre’s groundbreakers. Expect plenty of old-style funk style with thumping bass lines, driving drum beats and soaring guitar notes as such songs as Rick James’ “Give It to Me Baby” and Midnight Star’s “Wet My Whistle” propel you, your friends and other Funkfest fans to get up and dance.
Such fans have been coming to OC Funkfest since the first one in 2015 packed the Yost Theatre in Santa Ana. But over the years, word spread and funksters arrive from beyond Orange County–or as close as Riverside, San Diego and Los Angeles, and as far away as France, Canada, Mexico and Japan. Nothing better illustrates OC Funkfest’s magnetic pull.
Musical sets will be performed this year on a 360-degree rotating stage that guarantees there will be no bad seat in the house (and has thus eliminated the need for VIP tickets). The convention center will also have a beer garden, and Modelo beer trucks and carts will be lined up outdoors for guests’ drinking pleasure. Last year, the Funk Fest was held at the Honda Center, where all alcoholic beverages sold out before 11 p.m., so Curious Entertainment has vowed to have stocked up on beer and liquor to prevent shortages this year.
Curious Entertainment expects a fifth consecutive sellout, so click here immediately to get your tickets, which start at $40. The can also be purchased at the promoter’s office, 2860 S. Bristol St., Ste. A, Santa Ana; curious-ent.com.
