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Kool & The Gang – special guest Al Mckay’s Earth,Wind & Fire Experience
30 November @ 7:30 pm - 10:30 pm
R915 – R3320Big Concerts is delighted to announce that the iconic, two-time Grammy Award-winning and platinum hit makers, Kool & the Gang will tour South Africa in November 2024. Catch them live at the Grand Arena, GrandWest on the 28th November and at the SunBet Arena, Time Square on the 30th of November with Special guests Earth, Wind & Fire Experience by Al McKay. In association with 702, KFM 94.5 and CapeTalk. Supported by 947. Kool & the Gang, officially launched in 1969. Thanks to iconic songs like Celebration, Cherish, Jungle Boogie, Summer Madness, and Open Sesame, they’ve earned two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, 25 Top Ten R&B hits, 9 Top Ten Pop hits, and 31 gold and platinum albums. From Nairobi to Newark, Kool & the Gang has performed continuously longer than any R&B group in history and their bulletproof funk and jazzy arrangements have also made them the most sampled R&B band of all time. A reviewer recently called their performance “a 24-karat show’ and every year, even after a half-century on the road, yields a non-stop schedule of shows across the globe. The heavily-in-demand band has continued to tour the world, appearing most recently alongside Kid Rock, Dave Matthews Band, Elton John, The Roots, and a 50-city tour with the legendary rock band, Van Halen. In 1964, Ronald Bell and his brother, Robert “Kool” Bell, joined Jersey City neighbourhood friends Robert “Spike” Mickens, Dennis “Dee Tee” Thomas, Ricky Westfield, George Brown, and Charles Smith to create a unique musical blend of jazz, soul and funk. At first calling themselves the Jazziacs, the band went through various names–The Dimensions, The Soul Town Band, Kool & the Flames – before settling on their famous moniker. Over the next several years they solidified their musical chemistry on the rough-and-tumble East Coast music scenes supporting acts like Bill Cosby, Ritchie Havens and Richard Pryor. The band’s stellar reputation grew with each album, but 1973’s gold disc Wild & Peaceful took Kool & the gang to another level (#6 R&B, #33 Pop), spurred by the immortal party anthems Funky Stuff, Hollywood Swinging and the platinum smash Jungle Boogie. Hits like Higher Plane (#1 R&B), the classic Summer Madness (featured on the Grammy-winning movie soundtrack Rocky) and LPs Spirit of the Boogie, Love & Understanding and Open Sesame followed. The latter’s title track was featured on the top-selling movie soundtrack of all time, Saturday Night Fever, earning the group their second Grammy. In 1979, Kool & the Gang unveiled a smooth new sound with Ladies Night. Produced by the legendary Pop/jazz musician Eumir Deodato, it became their first platinum album. Today, the group enjoys global fame and recognition and a following that spans generations due in part to the groups widely sampled catalogue. Kool & the Gang’s drum beats, bass, guitar and signature horn lines lace the tracks of numerous artists including the Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Cypress Hill, and P. Diddy. Kool & the Gang is the most sampled band in hip-hop by far. Their music is also featured on the soundtracks for rocky, Saturday Night Fever, Pulp Fiction, Wreck-It Ralph and countless others