Soul Connection kicks off Knoxville Museum of Art's 19th anniversary of 'Alive After Five'

KNOXVILLE -- The Knoxville Museum of Art begins its 19th Anniversary of Alive After Five on Friday, September 21 by featuring the rhythm & blues and rockin' soul music of Soul Connection. The performance will be from 6:00 to 8:30 pm.

Soul Connection is the band that holds the single-show attendance record at Alive After Five. Originally formed in 1966 under the name of Soul Sanction, this nine-member group from Oak Ridge High School became one of East Tennessee's favorite soul, blues and oldies bands. In 1968, they won the Tennessee State Battle of the Bands and competed in the National Finals in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The band broke up in the early 1970s as band members pursued education, careers, and families. Then in 1988, at the urging of their Oak Ridge classmates, they got together again to play for the 20th-year class reunion. Inspired by the success of that performance, the band stayed together and once again enjoyed great popularity. They played mostly for private functions but also opened shows by Ray Charles, B. B. King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and James Brown. At a special "Rename the Band Party" at Alive After Five in 2006, their name was changed to Soul Connection.

With their combination of keyboards, horns, guitars, and drums, blended with dynamic male and female vocals and harmonies, Soul Connection covers a wide musical spectrum of Rhythm & Blues, Soul, and dance music, all done with infectious energy and unmistakable style.

Alive After Five takes place in the casually elegant atmosphere of the museum's Great Hall and features tabled seating, food from a variety of area restaurants/caterers, cash bars, dancing, free freshly popped popcorn, free portrait drawings (first come, first drawn), and a licensed therapeutic masseuse/masseur available for chair massages.

Admission to the "19th Anniversary Celebration" of Alive After Five is $10 for general admission and $6 for college students with valid ID. Museum members and ages 17 and under are admitted free.

Alive After Five is sponsored by Cherokee Distributing Company, East Tennessee PBS, Metro Pulse, WDVX-89.9FM, and WhatsHotKnox.com.

Published September 14, 2012