Toronto – Brooklyn’s own soul queen Sharon Jones has been hard at work on her fourth album I Learned The Hard Way. It is scheduled for release on April 6th. The Panic Manual is no stranger to covering Sharon Jones and her soul revivalist band, the Dap-Kings. She will be performing several shows at SXSW, and this will be a great opportunity for funk and soul enthusiasts to get a preview of her latest efforts and those of bassist Bosco Mann.
I will be the first to admit that I have a bit of a man crush on Bosco. He’s the understated mastermind of the Dap-Kings; receiving writing credits for most of the material in addition to being the unspoken ring-leader during live performances. The Panic Manual has reviewed Sharon Jones’ last two Toronto shows, at both the Toronto jazz festival, and the Kool Haus. In both reviews I specifically gush about Bosco like a 15 year old girl. What can I say? If I was a professional musician, I’d want to be making the kind of music Bosco does, and pairing it with the set of pipes that Sharon Jones has.
The CD release party will be happening at New York’s legendary Apollo Theater on April 30. After the first show sold out, a second date for May 1 has just been announced. Sharon Jones also plays Toronto’s Sound Academy on May 25th.
Her SXSW schedule is:
Wed Night (3/17) – NPR Showcase @ Stubbs, 9:45pm
Thursday Afternoon (3/18) – Billions / Ticketfly Day Party @ The Mohawk, 2:50pm
Friday Afternoon (3/19) – Spin Day Party @ Stubbs, 3:10pm
Friday Night (3/19) – AOL Showcase @ the Austin Music Hall, 11:30pm