Some bands bring the heat in the studio, but are lackluster live. Huckleberry Funk is not one of those bands, manager Chrisjaan LeMann Smith said.
Audience members can see the band Smith said has mastered the art of live performance 9 p.m. Saturday at the Bluebird. Tickets are available for $6 online or at the door.
Huckleberry Funk’s chemistry, musicianship and positive energy are all reasons why the band is so exciting to watch when performing its signature mix of funk, R&B and soul, Smith said.
“It's electric,” Smith said. “I’ve had people come up and say they had an out of body experience watching them.”
Huckleberry Funk balances its setlist with covers and original music, said lead vocalist and rapper Dexter Clardy. In addition to songs from its first album, “The Tear Down,” the band will play some unreleased music from its upcoming second album that the band is currently working on, Clardy said.
Clardy, who writes most of the band's lyrics, said he tries to leave a lasting influence on listeners through his songwriting.
“I like to write music that people will walk away from and feel inspired, or make them think differently,” Clardy said.
Clardy said he’s interested in writing about both sides of different topics, whether it be discussing the upsides and pitfalls to relationships or navigating racial tensions. Having grown up as a black person in a mostly white neighborhood, he remembers one defining moment where he was attacked in a field and called racial slurs by kids who he said were never punished for the incident. He taps into experiences like that when writing lyrics about stereotypes and police brutality.
“I think I just got a different perspective that allowed me to see both sides,” Clardy said. “Every black person has that experience that showed them ‘Oh wait, I’m black.’”
Although some of the lyrics are serious, the Huckleberry Funk experience is ultimately about dancing and having a good time. Bassist Matt McConahay said he creates the setlist for each of its performances as if the band was telling a story. He said he pieces songs together to deliver a narrative, culminating in a show-stopping climax at the end.
“It’s got a lot of ups and downs, a lot of surprises,” McConahay said. “We really just tell a story and make people feel something.”
Huckleberry Funk is now based in Indianapolis, but its roots will always be in Bloomington, McConahay said. The band paved its way by performing a few times per month at the Bluebird, which makes playing there now feel more like a reunion.
“We love playing for the home crowd,” McConahay said. “It’s always cool to come back, it always feels like home.”
