The red carpet rolled out on a cold Saturday night down West 56th Street as New York’s Terminal 5 prepared to house one of the biggest funk, soul, and rock events the Big Apple had ever seen. Headlined by Soulive, Lettuce and Nigel Hall, the Royal Family Ball was promised to be the record company’s biggest group gala to date. An ancient proverb says that a promise is a cloud; fulfillment is rain. With that logic, the Royal Family Ball served a perfect storm, down pouring funk and soul through a thunderous crowd that extended from the first note to the last.

If there was a proverbial “belle of the ball,” Nigel Hall was certainly that character. The Royal Family soul man kicked off the evening’s festivities backed by an all star blend of both Soulive and Lettuce elite. Regularly referred to as the company’s next big thing, Hall demonstrated how he earned that designation during his set over the course of seven songs presumably from his forthcoming release.

Next on the bill was the titan funk troop Lettuce, backed by the talented Shady Horns featuring an expanded section that included Rashawn Ross and Maurice Brown. The 12 piece ensemble electrified the already lit crowd playing original tunes from the band’s vast catalog. As previously announced on the event bill, Brooklyn’s own Talib Kweli appeared on stage to collaborate with the group. After three blazing Lettuce songs, the Prince of Brooklyn offered his own grand finale with the signature track “Get By,” where he invited the crowd to pump fists and rage atop the blistering basslines. Following Kweli’s departure, guitarist John Scofield stepped out and along with Nigel Hall, ripped through the rest of the set.

On this Royal Night, the guitar captain himself, Eric Krasno, took no breaks. Sans intermissions, the guitarist played throughout the entire show as Soulive stepped onto the stage. Fresh off the heels of their recently released album, Rubber Soulive, the trio jumped right into it, offering renditions of “Come Together,” “Something in the Way,” Eleanor Rigby,” and lastly, the powerful “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” while the crowd joined in and adding vocals. Segueing into deeper tracks, Soulive was then joined by John Scofield for “What You See Is What You Get.” Krasno and Scofield bounced off one another in pinball fashion which escalated into “Hottentot.” Alan Evan’s grabbed the mic at the conclusion of the jam and gleefully whispered the announcement of their next guest, as Warren Haynes took center stage. Arguably three of the most fundamentally gifted guitarists on the jam scene, Krasno, Haynes, and Scofield went into a whirlwind of solos, passing the lead baton all throughout “Born Under A Bad Sign.” Haynes and Scofield exited the stage to a grand salutation that left the crowd standing in awe. A bit later, Nigel Hall and Scofielded returned for an ever-so appropriate James Brown Medley to close out the event. Hall brought back the final bars over and over again, as the lights shadowed his energetic presence and conducting of the horn section. The Royal Family Ball wasn’t just any ordinary show; it lifted live rock and funk standards to a whole ‘nother level. And though James Brown might have physically left us, his vocal prowess and stage persona live on through the youthful, show-stopping singer, Nigel Hall.