After careers that spanned almost half a century playing with everyone from BB King and Aretha Franklin to Sam Cooke and Nat King Cole, the Neville Brothers give no indication of slowing down — unless Mother Nature steps in.
If you go
The Neville Brothers
Where: Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Info: $49.50; ticketmaster.com
Last winter’s snowstorm across Washington, D.C., caused the brothers to reschedule their February show until now. But now Aaron, Charles, Art and Cyril — cited by many modern producers (think Justin Timberlake and 50 Cent) as one of the most influential groups in modern music history — are back with their classic fun sound. “We have fans all over the world of all ages. Here in the states, our fans are from every walk of life,” Charles Neville said. “I think it’s because the music is real and speaks from our spirits.”
Indeed, their latest release “Walkin’ in the Shadow of Life” was inspired when Art expressed the sentiment in 2001 while facing paralysis after back surgery.
Not that the brothers hadn’t faced adversity before. The four grew up in one of the toughest neighborhood of New Orleans, the 13th Ward, and faced struggles born of drug use and business missteps.
“Really all of the experiences added to who we are and what we are now,” Neville said. “There is nothing I would change or regret.”
Embracing life as it comes is apparent in the Neville Brothers’ shows that are rich in various genres of music. Many bemoan that such expert interpretation of many genres is a lost art.
“It is not really their fault,” Neville said of much of today’s somewhat homogenized sounds. “They have a certain band of music and they’re told ‘This is your music. This is how you should sound.’ We are from an age when a new sound made an impact.”
Kent Sorrell, the band’s manager, said the Neville Brothers sound will again be enriched when they release a new studio album, likely next spring.
“The Neville Brothers are the first family of New Orleans music,” he said. “In the climate of the entertainment business, with so many one-hit wonders around, it’s exciting to have such a rich catalog and fan base.”
And Neville doesn’t take that rich music history lightly.
“When we play for an audience it is always new because we are sharing what is happening in that moment with the audience,” he said. “We don’t have pre-planned shows. We respond to the environment.”
