Introducing Bridge City Revival was recorded in quarantine at Marmoset HQ over the summer of 2020 and highlights artists that have appeared across many projects in our catalog. To bring them together despite the challenges of a global pandemic speaks to the strength and perseverance of our creative community.
Bridge City Revival (BCR) is a new soul music collective from Portland, Oregon, brought together by friendship and inspired by the soulful sounds of the 1960s. At the core of the project are bandleader and trumpeter Farnell Newton, guitarist Gus Berry, keyboardist/bassist Michael Elson, and drummer Tyrone Hendrix. Taking their cues from masters of the style like The Chi-Lites, Otis Redding, The Isley Brothers, Lee Fields, and Sharon Jones, BCR’s sound and rai·son d’ê·tre are encapsulated in their name — giving new life to great soul music through a distinctly Portland pitch. The result is ample groovy drum breaks, driving bass lines, rhythmic guitar interplay, rolling keyboards, and soulful brass — a revival of Portland soul music like nothing before it.
With their expansive debut release, Introducing Bridge City Revival (Infinite Companion, 2021), BCR showcases plenty of their own talents while rolling out the red carpet for some of Portland’s finest. The album features guest performances from legendary Motown drummer Mel Brown, soul legend Ural Thomas, blues singers LaRhonda Steele and Arietta Ward, smooth R&B vocals from Ronnie Wright and Redray Frazier, poetic lyrical mastery from Vursatyl, and many more.
Introducing Bridge City Revival is an album of connection — between the past and the present, between fresh and veteran talent, and between you and your favorite pair of dancing shoes.