Way back in time, whilst the rest of the world wrestled with the rise of the internet, grunge and girl power a group of Dorset musicians decided to form a band around the mighty yet sublime vocal talents of a young Jess Upton.
The Jess Upton Soul Band regularly packed out venues across the South of England and last played for the public over a decade ago.
Now, they’re BACK for a one-off gig at the wonderful Electric Palace, Bridport on Friday 14th March 2025.
The Band
Jess Upton has wowed audiences over many years with her unique, powerful voice. Although Jess is very much a local, her vocals are touched by Memphis, Nashville and Detroit delivering songs by Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone and Carla Thomas to name a few. If you’ve been fortunate enough to see the Jess Upton & The Guilty Pleasures live you’ll know Jess is one of the finest singers in the South West
Sammy Hurden is a pianist and vocal teacher who gets all the right harmonies in the right places and plays keys at the same time! Sammy runs singing workshops and is one of Bridports musical guiding lights
Chris Lonnergan is THE bass players bassist. A stalwart of the music scene playing with … well, just about everyone! The bedrock of many a classic soul tune is a fat, funky bass line and Lonners has them all in his pocket
Dave Kenderdine is the the most reliable, groovy drummer who has provided the beat since the Soul Bands inception. Weymouths own Ringo Starr with a dash of Ginger Baker
Steve Mutter is not only the most awesome and in demand percussionist locally, he’s also an expert at backing vocals. Steve is a member of local group What the Phunk and if you’re lucky, Steve will explain in detail what a bongo is, and a conga isn’t !
Dan Anderson is an amazing guitarist at home in any musical setting. He is in more bands than he has guitars! That’s a lot. Dan is stepping in for Terry Cottam, but has been a rock solid dep for the JUSB over the years.
Clive Ashley is the go-to player if your band needs soul power and can be heard locally with the Mutter Slater Band. The saxophonist who can play jazz, RnB, funk and blues and sound mighty fine doing any of them.
Julie Trevett on Alto Sax, is part of the Trevett musical dynasty! Julie has been educating the young musicians of the south west for a few decades now, and is back to teach us a thing or two about sounding great !
Matt Barge is a trumpet player. Locals may recognise him as the guy who waves his arms in front of the Bridport Big Band. He is also in What the Phunk with Dan and Steve!
The Gig
This will likely be the bands only, and final performance for the general public and they will be playing all the classics – RESPECT, Street Life, Try a Little Tenderness, Can’t Stand the Rain, Think and many, many more!
