IU Soul Revue to play at Bear's Place

IU Soul Revue is set to perform two concerts at 8 and 9:15 p.m. today at Bear's Place, 1316 E. Third St., for the first time in about three years.\nSoul Revue is known for its interesting mix of R&B and soul music. Some members of the group sing and others play instruments. \n"I'd describe Soul Revue as an R&B and soul group dedicated to preserving old-school soul African- American music," said Jacob Hughes, a singer in the group. \nSoul Revue began in 1971 as a class to help enlighten students on the topic of African-American music. The group was first directed by professor Portia K. Maultsby. Soul Revue was the first music group within the African American Arts Institute. \n"Actually all of the AAAI performance groups, African American Choral Ensemble, and African American Dance Company, for example originated from Soul Revue," Hughes said. \nMembers of Soul Revue now go through a class on African-American music, and in order to become a part of the group, they must try out and chosen by Tyron Cooper, the group's director.\nSoul Revue is still going strong some 30 years later. The group has a variety of artists -- who range from freshmen to seniors -- that keep the group's solid reputation alive. \nSoul Revue performs at many locations each year and attracts audiences with its interesting mix of original compositions and classics from R&B and soul artists, such as Earth, Wind and Fire and The Temptations. \n"I went to Soul Revue's concert last year and had a great time," senior Cicely Harris said. "The variety of music they play, coupled with their amazing talent, makes the performance worthwhile." \nThe group tours across the country and also holds its own events along with the other performance groups in AAAI. \n"It's been about three or four years since Soul Revue performed here," said Jim Reef, Bear's Place general manager. \nHughes said he is looking forward to playing at Bear's tonight.\n"Actually, this was the first place I performed as a member of Soul Revue during my freshman year," Hughes said. "It's cool that I'm coming back to perform here as a senior." \nIt was the group's idea to do a concert at Bear's.\n"Actually Soul Revue approached us with the idea of doing a concert," Reef said.\nThe group plans to play a variety of soul music tonight, Hughes said. \n"We're going to hit all ranges from the early '50s to the '90s to 2003," he said. \nBear's Place has live performances every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Reef said. There is a $5 cover for the concert and listeners must be 21 to enter.\n-- Contact staff writer Angela Graves at agraves@indiana.edu