Urban Sun

Great Interview with Rachel. Rachel was kind enough to book end "Realize" in the middle of the interview. Super dope to hear people tell us about hearing Urban Sun on the radio up in the Capital Region of NY State. Big props and gratitude to Darrin and Rachel at 88.3 The Saint! - 88.3 FM The Saint - Albany, NY

Funk and soul is brought to a whole other level once Urban Sun takes the stage. Urban Sun is an eight-piece band that is schoolin’ the city on the fundamentals of funk since 2002. The crowd starts grooving as the music starts bumping through the venue and its impossible to avoid the urge to get hype and move out your seat. With a devoted fan base of soul loving New Yorkers the band is spreading the love and packing the venues around the city.

Music described as “skin-tight, creative, deeply funky, and highly infectious” this band has been on the radar of the NY music scene for quite some time stirring up the buzz and was even named High Times Unsigned Band of The Month in February of 2010. If you have a chance to catch this band live, DO IT. The vibes, the music, the dancing (and often times, the drinks that go perfect for a night on the town with a great crowd of people) make for an unforgettable night of soulful mayhem. Urban Sun is currently working on a follow up to their studio debut, Practice Me (which is available on iTunes for all of you ready to experience the grooves) working with music legends such as Allen Toussaint. For more on Urban Sun just check out UrbanSunMusic.com - Tracy Brock
- ZINK MAGAZINE

"Urban Sun is an old, old school funk band. I’ve been looking for music like this, but I didn’t think anyone was making it any more. I’m glad I was wrong. Urban Sun is an eight-piece band, and each part moves and grooves. Take the songs apart, and it seems like it shouldn’t work, but put it all together and it definitely does. That’s how classic funk, by people like Earth, Wind and Fire and the Neville Brothers worked, and Urban Sun nails it. Their lead singer sounds like Supestition-era Stevie Wonder, and the whole thing just cooks. The band has established themselves in New York City, and now they are hoping that their second album will help them get heard further afield. Now that the holiday shopping is done, and we all have a better idea of what we can afford, please help make this happen if you can."
- Darius Rips, oliverdiplace.blogspot.com (Jan 24, 2011)
- oliverdiplace.blogspot.com

To put it bluntly, URBAN SUN is quite frankly, THE SHIT. This eight piece band, based out of New York City, plays some of the most lively, feel good music to date! These guys know what’s up. Continuing to gain momentum with an unstoppable, high energy live show, Urban Sun packs venues throughout the City such as Sullivan Hall, B.B. Kings, and the Knitting Factory. They were even voted BEST UNSIGNED BAND OF THE MONTH in HIGH TIMES.

Urban Sun is a MUST SEE band if you are in the Metropolitan or Tri-State area. Not only is their music spreading some seriously positive energy, but it creeps into your feet and makes you want to dance and boogy down. Which I think all of us need these days. Singer, Joe Trombino, erupts from the first beat, dancing, shaking, embodying the tight, feel good grooves that the band holds down. Urban Sun has played with and been praised by notable acts such as Trombone Shorty and Cyril Nevile. They are now hard at work on their second album, following their 2008 studio debut, Practice Me (available via CD Baby and iTunes).

I implore you to take a listen and dig on it - Home Is A Lonely Hunter

Put on your shades, next geners, because this band is too school for cool. Get down with your bad selves to the 8 piece NYC band that sells out classics like BB Kings and other famous venues. We linked up with them because the word on the Hoboken street is that they’re headed towards our way; which means that these NEXT GEN Insider Rockstars will be on our home turf-even before the big red man comes down the chimney, so we must prepare you. You’ve heard of Maxwells right? It’s none only than the hot spot that we frequent because well, we know the management, and we love the music, the art on the walls, and the year-round holiday lights in the windows.
Put on your next gen ear muffs (but take them off to hear the band) and head to the ‘boken on December 23rd to meet them in person. Yes, just like the 8 reindeer, this band will sleigh themselves in from the Big Apple to perform. And we love that they’re headed here because their story is one of triumph, next-gen goodness, and passion, baby. Even the drummer from Sly & The Family Stone gave them a rave review; two-thumbs up and a GFF golf clap. So, if you’re dreading the early family drive home, stay a while before you head to suburbia and wear your santa hat with us. We have front row seats, so we’ll let you sit by us. No, really. We’ll be in the back jumping and dancing around. You can’t miss us. Urban Sun is… hot. (Much nicer than the cold winter air.) Check em’ out now.http://urbansunmusic.com
- THE NEXT GEN insider

After nearly a week’s worth of straight torrential downpour over the island of Manhattan, Urban Sun had the fortuitous luck of the weather with them for the fun and fabulousness of their 3rd annual boat cruise. Sunny skies all that Saturday afternoon mellowed to a sweet breeze and soft blues sky with a rising nearly full moon as the guests gathered on the pier at East 23rd Street.

The Jewel Cruise ship, a 300-capacity, two-tiered affair with full bar service below and canopied seating above was the flotilla for our evening’s festivities. The band, all nine members of them plus their equipment, were wedged tightly into the first floor front tip of the boat on a stage that was obviously meant for a smaller troupe. Still, the band left ample space between themselves and the dance floor for their fans to get down, because Urban Sun is first and foremost a group that is gonna make you moooooovve, baby. Even if you think you can’t dance, ain’t got no soul, no damn rhythm, and have two left feet, these boys will bring something out of ya, you didn’t know ya had in ya.

Vocalist Joe Trombino and his brother, guitarist Rob Buckley, together with bassist Zach Abramson, keyboardist Rich Formidoni, drummer Lex Dunbar, conga/percussionist Theo Moore, saxophonist Gerard O’Shea, trumpeter Emilio Bizga, and baritone saxophonist Ariel Levine meld together into such a tight, cohesive unit, blending elemental structures from their various pasts in funk, rock and soul to form a hot, slick, sliding cohesion of funking, slaboliciousness. (They themselves state influences as varied as The Meters, Stevie Wonder, Sly and The Family Stone, and Jamiroquai.)

The boat pushed off from the dock at a little past 8pm, while the skies were still pre-dusk, and started to circle the island of Manhattan. As soon as the boat got out into the East River proper and took up her steady cruising speed, the jamming started in earnest, with the kicking off of the first of the night’s two searingly long sets with “Shout It Out”, “Coleslaw”, and “Destination” back to back, getting the crowd moving enough to make navigating the upper deck a little more strenuous than the normal strength of the gnarly tides of the waters surrounding NYC.

From there on out, it was all smiling, fun, smooth, groove, lovin’ funk fun for the next three hours. I have yet to experience a bad sensation at an Urban Sun show…and I go to a lot of different kinds of shows. I just don’t think it’s a possibility.

Urban Sun, with the combination of their own tight, syncretic song structuring and seismic syncopatic funkiness are poised on the precipice of true flight. Watch and see. - Crusher Magazine

"Well, I can’t recall hearing a hotter set than what I heard at BB King’s
tonight! Urban Sun was wonderful!

The grooves were kicking... arrangements were great, every part lived very well. The lead vocalist was high powered. Everything was tight, together and very professional, no wasted questionable time. And the audience surely was with you all the way but then they couldn’t help but to.
I am very glad to have witness such.
Thank you for letting me know- "

Allen Toussaint - Allen Toussaint

New York concertgoers are a tough crowd and we hate shitty opening bands, which are almost unavoidable. So how can one get a fully awesome concert experience? By seeing an opening band that you know is great in one venue, and the main act in another!

Call me crazy, but this method totally worked last night when I went to see funk-rock-soul band Urban Sun open up the Sly Stone birthday bash tribute at B.B. Kings Blues Club & Grill (the main act, Days of Wild, are an NYC funk superstar band that I couldn't stick around for). After that I walked over to Terminal 5 to see the Ting Tings, mixing up venues, musical styles and countries of origin. Both bands were fantastic and the 15-minute walk was refreshing and lovely.

Urban Sun, fronted by the outrageously energetic Joe Trombino, are an extremely funky group that also incorporates hip hop and blues into their sound. And they just know how to put on a great show to a screaming audience. With nine years experience in riling up NYC crowds—the secret is "persistence"—the soulful-voiced Trombino spent about 75 percent of show flying through the air as he danced around onstage.

"Crazy people make for great entertainment," I commented to a cohort as Trombino belted the band's original "Rise Up," (clips below) one of the crowd favorites along with "Serve Chilled," and a great cover of Sly and the Family's "Sing a Simple Song."

Trombino, a wiry, dark-haired sexpot who learned his crazy dancing at LaGuardia Performing Arts High School and in NYC hip hop clubs, takes influence from Sly, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Jamiroquai (for the dancing), the Meters, and Jimi Hendrix. Guitarist Rob Buckley, who started in hard rock but had his "second birth" in funk, taking influence also from the God-like Jimi, as well as Warren Hayns and Stevie Ray Vaughn. "If you're not funky, you can't do it," they say, referring to the amazing reaction they got from the crowd.

- New York Press

As a Valentines Day treat for my single soul, I checked out Urban Sun at the Mercury Lounge in Manhattan. Ever hear of these guys? I hadn’t, but I definitely won’t forget the name. Their set was an hour of super-sweaty dance party fun that had even the goofiest of white guys pulling of respectable moves for the ladies they were grindin’ on.

Astute modern Funk instrumentation - that was well-layered and miles beyond jam-band fare - mixed with an absolutely insanely hype lead singer is always a good combination.

It’s not the same as the live show, but do yourself a favor and check these guys out. Who knows? Maybe they’re on thier way to a locale near you. Just make sure that you don’t forget to get the # of the girl you were dancing with all night. - www.airandseabattle.com

Urban Sun:

***February 2010 HIGH TIMES Unsigned Band of the Month***


Urban Sun is an NYC-based band that combines elements of funk, rock, and soul to create contagious, danceable funk music. To put it simply, Urban Sun never fails to fill a venue with happy people who can't help but get down.


The music is undeniably funky, and varies from deep, swampy grooves, to grinding rock, to future-retro dance anthems. Influences such as The Meters, Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, Jamiroquai and many more contribute to the chemistry that keeps the band tight and creative.


Urban Sun has been at it for over nine years and their loyal fan base, appreciative of the breath of fresh air the band provides, has relentlessly packed dozens of venues (B.B. King’s, The Knitting Factory, Sullivan Hall and several concert cruise ships to name just a few).


With the release of their debut full-length album, Practice Me, Urban Sun demonstrated their prowess in the studio – deftly capturing the energy and excitement fans have come to expect in concert. Practice Me is guaranteed to get your backyard bouncing, and is available via CDbaby and iTunes.


- www.hightimes.com

Last weekend I spent a perfect Saturday evening on a sold out concert cruise on the East River. I was there to see NYC-based funk band Urban Sun, who managed within two sets in that one evening to jettison themselves up into my list of favorite local bands, even though I had only even heard of them a few weeks before.

A large band with two drummers, guitar, bass, a brass section, keyboard, singer, and probably more (I couldn't even see the whole band there were so many of them and the stage wasn't really elevated), they had people dancing all night long to their funk and sometimes disco tunes. They played two long sets - the first was about 10 songs and I lost track of how many songs the second was but I never got bored. I was too busy dancing my butt off! The lead singer, Joe Trombino, looks so unassuming and laid back when he's not on stage, but he has quite the presence and definitely knows how to work an audience. The whole band seems like a really fun group of people. Definitely check them out if you have the opportunity. - Guilt Free Pleasures

Now let me tell you about where I went Saturday March 13th - the Alphabet Lounge on Ave .C and 7th Street. And that night all the lovely ladies, little brothers and strange hip life forms were grooving to the fun, funky sounds of Urban Sun!

Urban Sun is a fresh funk group chock full of soul. Their groovy beats will get your ass out of your seat and on the dance floor. With all original music, they take command of their instruments and their audience. A sure fire good time. Hell, I’ll be their groupie. This band is Hot! Hot! Hot! - New York Cool

Artist: Urban Sun

Song: Coleslaw
Review: Now That’s funk..!! These guys have it. The singing is perfect to the era of mo-town, the performance rock solid, even the recording was superb in every way. Well, time listen to more of their tracks, put on my finest pimp threads and darn my fuzzy brim hat.

Rating: 10.0 out of 10

Reviewed by: Danny Shrum - Bandradio.com