Soul Revue explores black rock music

Clapping hands, stomping feet and dancing were a part of the scene Wednesday at Bear’s Place as Soul Revue performed songs of funk, rock, soul and R&B.

The performance is one of the group’s bigger performances for the fall semester.

“It was an amazing performance,” said senior Tyonda Jones. “I love the fact that they covered songs from different time periods and genres. Each person in the group has a very strong and unique voice that meshes well with the other group members.”

Jones has attended some other Soul Revue performances in the past but said this was her first time attending their performance at Bear’s Place.

“I came out to support my friend that’s a member of Soul Revue,” Jones said. “I’ve been a huge fan of Soul Revue for a while though. The group consists of outstanding singers and performers that make you want to continue to support their performances.”

The first half of the show covered songs of soul and R&B such as D’Angelo’s “Spanish Joint” and Michael Jackson’s “Rock with You”.  A performance of Rick James and Teena Marie’s “Fire and Desire” by Soul Revue members junior Troy Thomas and senior Terrilyn Dennie brought the crowd to a standing ovation.

“The audience participation is key to a successful performance,” said Senior and Soul Revue member Everett Scisney. “We feed off of their energy as well as our own.”

Members of the group came out into the audience and chose people to Salsa and “Chicago step” to get more crowd participation for the second half of the show focused on Black Rock.

“It’s important to not only entertain but education people that African-Americans have contributed to other genres of music as well, “Scisney said.

IU Soul Revue performed last week as a part of the “Reclaiming the Right to Rock” Conference hosted by the Archives of African-American Music.

“The performance gave us a chance to explore a genre that has had a significant importance to the African-American music culture and tradition,” IU Soul Revue Arranger and Producer Terrance Dennie said.

The second half of the show was also mixed with some contemporary R&B.

Junior Chauneesha Lester performed Denise Williams’ “Free” that brought a melodic sound to the second half of the show.

“The performance of ‘Free’ was by far my favorite performance,” Jones said. “I love the song and her voice fit the song.”

The night closed out with a performance of George Clinton and the Funkadelic’s “Not Just Knee Deep”.

“We hope that people will continue to support the IU Soul Revue as we pushed the envelope to entertain as well as educate,” Dennie said.