New music from Brassroots District

It’s Los Angeles, 1974 and there’s something stirring in the city tonight; beneath the glitter of Sunset and the smog that settles over Crenshaw after dark, an energy is rising that’s deep, dirty and deliciously alive. Its name is Brassroots District and if you’ve been anywhere near a warehouse with no sign outside and a line of strangers swaying in sequins and denim, you’ve already felt it. The District is a movement, a congregation, a nine-piece funk collective that’s rewriting the rulebook of what music and community can be in a city that never stops chasing the next thing.

Their story is as improbable as it is irresistible, picture it: mid-72, New Orleans, the humid heart of American soul. Vocalist Ursa Major, already a known name on the Preservation Hall circuit bumps into a smooth-voiced dreamer named Copper Jones. They connect instantly, musically and spiritually and before long they’re playing music, trading verses and visions. Then fate lands in the form of a busted van, a desert detour and a night under the Joshua Tree stars. Out there, amid sand and silence, Brassroots District was born as a union of soul, sweat and serendipity.

Since then, the band has been on a tear through the underground, lighting up every warehouse and backroom in LA from Venice to the Valley. Their followers, a wild mix of artists, mystics, hustlers and lovers, call themselves the faithful and when the District takes the stage, it’s pure ritual. Inside their “groovehaus,” time melts and you’ll see suits and students losing themselves side by side, tambourines clattering, smoke curling through the strobes, bodies swaying like they’re possessed by the same holy rhythm. It’s church, but the communion wine is whiskey and the sermon comes with a bassline that could raise the dead.

Now, after a year of unstoppable buzz, the Brassroots District is stepping fully into the light with LA ’74, an immersive theatre and concert residency at Jewel’s Catch One that’s set to turn nostalgia into a fever dream. Running select nights between February 7th and March 28th, it’s being billed as a “time-traveling record release party,” where fans can walk straight into 1974 itself. Think of it as a party, a play and a prophecy all rolled into one, presenting a night when the band stands on the brink of their big break, chasing a record deal that could change everything.

If their new single is any indication, that moment is coming fast, “You Caught Me Baby” is pure seduction in sound, offering a slow-burn funk jam that starts with a look and ends somewhere between ecstasy and oblivion. It’s the sound of a city falling in love with itself all over again, built on slinky guitars, honeyed vocals and a rhythm section so tight it might just crack open the night. Building from the soft, filtered keys and vocals of the intro, a dreamy scene flows into a dazzling jam brimming with soulful vocal leads, warm brass textures and laid back groove.

Showcasing a new side of the band’s sound, it’s a stunning new outing that continues to build the excitement that surrounds the Brassroots District movement. The debut album drops January 29th, just days before LA ’74 kicks off and if the District’s mission is to make us move, think and believe again, they’ve already succeeded. With the new year just around the corner, Brassroots District are set to make it their own with their highly anticipated debut record and live shows.

Listen to You Caught Me Baby below

More from Music

---

Editor Picks

---