The Matt Fuller Band at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad Cities -- March 16.
Sunday, March 16, 5 p.m.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad Cities, 3707 Eastern Avenue, Davenport IA
In the latest presentation in Polyrhythms' Third Sunday Jazz Series, powerful, hypnotic grooves will fill Davenport's Universalist Unitarian Congregation of the Quad Cities with the March 16 concert by the Matt Fuller Band, the early-evening event featuring the talents of Fuller on lead guitar and vocals, Joshua Kain on rhythm guitar and vocals, Dewey Lacefield on bass and vocals, Tyrone Phillips on lead vocals, and Jim VanHyfte on drums.
At age 25, Davenport native Matt Fuller combines the energy and fresh enthusiasm of youth with wide-ranging experience that would be the envy of much older musicians. Fuller started young with a musical pedigree, as both of his grandfathers played professionally. His dad’s dad played drums in a heavy metal band starting in the late 1980s, while his mom’s dad played guitar with Quad Cities blues legends the Peña Brothers. As the artist has stated, Fuller started his chops as a kid, with drums: “They got pictures of me sitting in diapers on grandpa’s drum set.” He switched to guitar at 10, and as a youngster, he himself played alongside the Peña Brothers, who were inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. Growing up, Fuller was exposed to all kinds of music by much older musicians, which developed a musical depth in the nascent professional far beyond his years.
In addition to being the leader of The Matt Fuller Band, Fuller plays with the Mercury Brothers, John Resch & Doggin’ Out, and tours with Kent Burnside – the grandson of the legendary late Mississippi blues singer/guitarist R.L. Burnside. Fuller’s favorites on guitar include Albert King, Johnny Winter, Freddie King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, and Carlos Santana. His bandmates, meanwhile, also bring deep and wide resumes of collaboration. Dewey Lacefield, a native of East Moline’s Watertown, has been playing bass for more than 40 years, including with the Casino Band, the Amigos Band, and Smooth Grove. Joshua Kain (a.k.a. “QC Slim”) and Jim VanHyfte have both been recognized as great blues artists and inducted into the Quad Cities Blues Hall of Fame. And the band’s dynamic front man and soulful crooner of blues and jazz is Rock Island native Tyrone Phillips.
The Matt Fuller Band performs their Third Sunday matinee concert at Davenport's Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad Cities on March 16, admission to the 5 p.m. event is $20 (no reserved seating), and children K-12 and college students (ID required) will be admitted free. The venue's front doors will open at 3 p.m. for the musicians' jazz workshop, and a social hour will begin at 4 p.m., with doors for the 5 p.m. performance opening at 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit Polyrhythms.org.
