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Photos by Sterling Munksgard // Written by Kevin Quandt //

A Tribute to Sly & The Family Stone’s Stand! Feat. Guest Music Director, David Möschler

Awesöme Orchestra Collective feat. The Bengsons, Bayonics, Ensemble Mik Nawooj, Marcus Shelby, Jazz Mafia feat. Crossroads, Tumbleweed Wanderers, Will Magid & Friends, Zakiya Harris, Con Brio

The Independent // San Francisco

January 17, 2014

When a show starts with a 50 person ensemble playing Sly and the Family Stone’s seminal album opener “Stand!”, you know you are in for something pretty unique. That was the case for the 3-night stand put on by Undercover & Faultline Studios at the Independent over the past weekend which featured 9 different groups and ensembles, each playing a song off the the album Stand!. A well attended, and dressed, crowd was extremely receptive to the various formations which played a song each while adding their own flair via musicianship, dancing or spoken word. Ensemble Mik Nawooj deconstructed and reconfigured “Don’t Call Me Nigger, Whitey”, while Tumbleweed Wanderers offered a folk-soul rendition of the classic track, “Everyday People”. David Möschler acted as guest music director, a massive task for the various moving parts that this album, and subsequent live shows, required. This project was purely a Bay Area endeavor, showcasing it’s musical diversity in a way that would make Sly and the Family Stone proud.