There is a movement happening in music right now and it has been building for a while. A wave of bands decided that the soul, the warmth, and the ache of classic oldies music was not something that belonged exclusively in the past. Not just the style. Not just the groove. All of it. The analog warmth, the harmonies, the feel of a song that sounds like it was recorded in a room where everybody believed in what they were playing. Thee Sacred Souls are one of the best that wave has produced, and they are coming to the Borderland.
The Band That Made Daptone Records Stop and Listen
Thee Sacred Souls formed in San Diego in 2019, built around bassist Sal Samano, drummer Alex Garcia, and vocalist Josh Lane. Garcia and Samano were already cutting bedroom demos together, drawing from Chicano soul, gospel, doo-wop, and classic oldies. The story of how they got signed is almost too good. After only their first live performance, producer Bosco Mann pulled them aside, hands were shaken, and three days later they were laying tracks in his Riverside studio. That studio was Daptone Records’ Penrose Studios, one of the most respected homes for soul music in the world.
Their debut singles racked up more than ten million streams in a year and pulled in early fans like Gary Clark Jr., The Black Pumas, and Timbaland. Critics reached for every superlative in the book. One called it “barrel-aged deep soul, laced with Latin, lyrically inventive, and peculiarly fresh.” Another said it felt like it was “transported from the heavens.” Their debut album received universal acclaim on Metacritic. Then they toured relentlessly, sold out shows across North America and Europe, and came back with their second album, Got a Story to Tell, in 2024. The follow-up features 12 original songs and counts celebrity fans like SZA and Alicia Keys among its admirers, alongside an NPR Tiny Desk performance that stopped the internet cold.
LA LOM Is the Perfect Opening Act for This Night
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