Photo by Sam Davis

Soulive completed their third annual Bowlive residency over the weekend at Brooklyn Bowl. As has become tradition, the two shows featured extensive guests, both scheduled and surprise, and setlists encompassing Soulive’s original material as well as a wide selection of classic rock and soul covers.

The Friday show opened with a set from Nigel Hall and Alecia Chakour, backed by various members of Lettuce and Chakour’s brother Alex. They delivered a set of vintage soul and r&b covers, including a run through the Beatles classic “With A Little Help From My Friends,” assisted by Alex and Alecia’s father Mitch Chakour. Soulive hit the stage next, opening with “Steppin’,” before bringing George Porter Jr. out for a set of deep funk and soul. The first set also featured sit-ins from Ledisi, Adam Deitch, and jazz pianist Eldar Djangirov. The band returned for the second set toting the Shady Horns for a spin through Cannonball, before being joined by surprise guest Mark Whitfield to take on George Benson’s “The World Is A Ghetto.” Whitfield made way for Porter’s return to the stage, wherein the NOLA bassist led the band through another set of Meter’s classics.

The final night of Bowlive was advertised as a “White Out Party,” requesting that fans come dressed in white to match the band. Earlier in the evening, the band announced that Ledisi would return as a guest again, along with previously scheduled openers The London Souls. The Souls turned in a burning set to warm up the crowd, peppered with their best-known tunes. Soulive launched in to their first set of the evening with a run of their own compositions, before bringing Nigel Hall, Ledisi, and members of The London Souls for an assortment of covers. The second set hit much the same as the first, with another selection of Soulive originals before diving in to a string of vocal-assisted Beatles tunes. To close out the night, the band invited Derek Trucks on stage, fresh off his performance with the Allmans at The Beacon. Trucks and Ledisi turned in a scorching version of “A Change Is Gonna Come,” before the band finished out their residency with a Hall and Trucks augmented version of Hendrix’s “Manic Depression.”