Program

MonoNeon (born Dywane Thomas Jr.) was born in Memphis in 1990. He started playing bass at the age of four and by the time he was eleven he was playing with the legendary funky band The Bar-Kays. He spent a short time at Berklee College of Music, but then went his own way. His particular style comes from playing the reverse bass – as a right-handed player, he plays an instrument designed for left-handed players without reversing the strings. His music reflects the influences of Indian musicality and deliberately works with an element of chance – what would be a mistake for other musicians is just another unexpected step for MonoNeon.

A Balkan brass band at a festival specialising in funky music? Don’t be surprised! The grooves that Boban & Marko Marković Orkestar bring with them will certainly captivate you with their unique southern European flair. The large ensemble, which has been called “the best Serbian brass band of all time”, will also bring its more modern and funky repertoire to Brno.

The French band Big Funk Brass has been spreading its explosive energy for ten years, and this year’s Groove Brno festival will be no exception. Their raw sound combines funk and hip-hop into an original blend that will leave no listener unmoved. Look forward to exciting grooves and intoxicating improvisations.

As Kudla from Brno, Martin Kudlička makes do with just his voice, a guitar and a looper. This gives him an amazing freedom in communicating with the audience. He can go practically anywhere the mood of the moment and the mood of the audience takes him.

Carlsbad’s Steven’s may be winning blues show after blues show, but that doesn’t mean they don’t belong at a festival with ‘groove’ in its name. The band, led by young multi-instrumentalist Štěpán Kordík, can really rock the stage. Especially when backed by an energetic brass section.

If you want to enjoy a concert by a band that is still in its infancy, but has all the more enthusiasm and musician’s heart, you can’t go wrong with Majkls.

Juraj Griglák is a multi-talented musician who divides his career between fusion and classical music – as a double bass player he is a permanent member of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra.

Juraj Griglak’s work and stage presence is characterised by the boldness with which he draws inspiration from fusion music legends such as Miles Davis, John Scofield, Marcus Miller and Jaco Pastorius. The line-up features Eugen Vizváry on keyboards, Michal Cálik on trumpet and Dávid Hodek on drums.

It was led by two unique personalities: vocalist and trombonist Ashley Slater and bassist Norman Cook. Under the Freak Power banner, they released two albums together – 1994’s Drive-Thru Booty and 1996’s More of Everything For Everybody – before going their separate ways. The latter went on to become the producer and DJ known worldwide as Fatboy Slim, while the former later resurrected Freak Power, taking the reins as bandleader and, with a host of younger musicians, continuing the flow of this wonderfully crazy and immensely engaging energy.

A fiery mix of gypsy pop, funk, RnB and soul from Brno, guaranteed to get you dancing!

Iceland is a place where perhaps every one of its nearly 400,000 inhabitants plays in a band. Björk, Sigur Rós, Gus Gus, a few metal bands and jazz musicians come to mind. And among the foremost of the latter is undoubtedly Mezzoforte, arguably the most distinctive jazz-funk formation to have emerged from the Nordic country. They will be performing at the Groove Brno festival on 8 November at the Metro Music Bar in Brno.

The French phenomenon, which sells out thousands of venues in its home country, is coming to the Czech Republic for two exclusive concerts. The seven-piece funk soul formation and its vocalists will be joined by the entire horn section of the nationally renowned B-Side Band for two concerts – on 23 October in Brno and one day later, on 24 October, in Prague. It will be a unique opportunity to enjoy Electro Deluxe in an extended big band line-up, as only the French audience can experience it.

The French phenomenon, which sells out thousands of venues in its home country, is coming to the Czech Republic for two exclusive concerts. The seven-piece funk soul formation and its vocalists will be joined by the entire horn section of the nationally renowned B-Side Band for two concerts – on 23 October in Brno and one day later, on 24 October, in Prague. It will be a unique opportunity to enjoy Electro Deluxe in an extended big band line-up, as only the French audience can experience it.

Keyboardist Henry Hey, the only founding member of Forq at the time, had played with David Bowie and Empire of the Sun. 

“A melting pot of local flavours: hip-hop, funk, blues and rock, all tied together by a smokin’ groove. That’s how Rolling Stone described the music of the Fun Lovin’ Criminals years ago. The trio of Brian Leiser (bass, keyboards, trumpet, harmonica, vocals), Frank Benbini (drums, vocals) and Naim Cortazzi (guitar, vocals) promise the city under Špilberk a raucous show that seamlessly blends rap bangers and love songs.

“To say that Giacomo Turra knows what “groove” means would be an understatement. He rather embodies this word. Whether it’s playing Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Prince, or his own improvised pieces, this Italian guitarist has his own way of playing music,” wrote music columnist Sophie McVinnie in Guitar Magazine, essentially summing up what regularly goes through the minds of those 592,000+ Instagram followers every time Turra releases a new video.