Soul Revue to perform spring concert

IU Soul Revue members will be grooving to the sounds of everything from Prince to Brandy on Saturday at the Burskirk-Chumley Theater.

IU Soul Revue is one of three ensembles of the African American Arts Institute, which celebrates the African-American culture through the arts.

Infusing the sounds of classic R&B with soul, funk and contemporary music, IU Soul Revue plans to take the audience on a walk down memory lane.

For its last concert of the year, the ensemble’s theme is the “basement party.” IU Soul Revue Director Nathanael Fareed Mahluli reminisced about old-school basement parties, saying that at a basement party, friends and family “take turns setting the groove and letting everybody know what the real hip song used to be.”

Terrence Dennie, instrumental coach and drummer for Soul Revue, said he is ecstatic about the concert.

“I like being able to express myself on drums through music because I’m known mainly as a keyboard player from church but I’m also a good drummer,” Dennie said. “That’s what I started off with, and I’m just excited about being able to play that instrument.”

He said he hopes the audience gains an experience through real music and compares music from then and now, enjoying raw talent and not just music that seems computerized nowadays.

Peyton Conners, a freshman and vocalist for IU Soul Revue, said she and the group are practicing hard to make sure the music is relevant to the potentially diverse audience.

“Our vocal coach polishes it, basically, and we just rehearse, rehearse, rehearse — that’s all we can do,” Conners said. “We do exercises so we know what the song is about and how the song is supposed to be portrayed, the emotion behind it and know the history behind the song.”

Conners talked about the difference between just singing and singing from your soul, which is what the group plans to do.

“When you get up there and you are singing and everybody is sitting down and watching you, it doesn’t feel as good as when you get up there and you’re singing your soul and the audience is singing with you and they’re standing up and they feel the music,” Conners said. “You know you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing.”

The IU Soul Revue spring concert starts 8 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children and IU students with a student ID.

Tickets are available at the Sunrise Box Office.

“You can expect some laughs, you can expect some great music, some great chemistry and energy and a great performance,” Conners said.