Doubleheader: Ben Harper and Raphael Saddiq

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Over the years, Ben Harper has built a strong world wide fan base with his up-beat soul singing and genre-bening rock. Covering every style under the sun, including blues, folk, reggae and rock, this two-timeGrammy-Award-winning musician has long established a reputable standing as a multi-instrumentalist. Though widely recognized for his work as a solo artist and with the band Innocent Criminals, he took a courageous turn in the middle of his career in taking a temporary break from the band in 2008. That year, Harper teamed up with long time friend Jason Mozersky as well as Jesse Ingalls and Jordan Richardson to form the Relentless 7. Dispelling any sort of preconceptions, Relentless 7 is not simply another one of Ben Harper's side projects, but rather a new phase in his career. Together the band trashed some of Harper's previous material and replaced it with some fresh stripped down rock.

Teaming with the passion and excitement of a young new band, they are optimistic about their future--a buzzing confidence that has followed them through their debut album up until now. After receiving hand clapping praise for 2009's "White Lies for Dark Times," Haper and The Relentless 7 went back to the studio to piece together their upcoming album Give Till It's Gone, With Harper's determination to flesh out the groups sound, the quartet went to record in Santa Monica with some big-name collaborators--Ringo Starr playing on one song and Jackson Browne providing background vocals on another. The result is a solid album, just recently released this month, that maintains the same interlocking exchange of Harper's soulful singing, cascading electric guitars and upbeat percussion. Catch some of the new material live in concert at World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, Delaware, as part of the 2011 NonCOMMvention!

Website: benharper.com/
MySpace: myspace.com/benharper
Recent Release: Give Till It's Gone
Release Date: May 17, 2011
Label: Virgin
Origin: Los Angeles, California

Lauded as a modern day soul revivalist, Raphael Saadiq (born Charlie Ray Wiggins) is an esteemed Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and record producer. The formerlead vocalist of the dance trio Tony! Toni! Tone!, Saadiq has produced records for top profiled artists such as John Legend and Joss Stone, and has collaborated with the likes of Whitney Houston, D'Angelo, Stevie Wonder, The Bee Gees, The Isley Brothers and The Roots. His 20 years in the R&B scene has left a remarkable old-school footprint in the musical world, fusing classic sounds of the 1960's and 70's with a solid background in classical music, spirituals and jazz.

Since the young age of six, Saadiq professed a strong knack for music, playing the bass, singing in professional gospel groups, and performingonstage for his church and school. Now hailed the leader of the neo-soul movement he has come a long way. And while his collaborations with others placed him at the forefront of the industry, his solo albums marked a steady career as an artist. Following the overwhelming success of his 2008 release "The Way I See It," Saadiq presents "Stone Rollin,'" an album that surely has a lot of shoes and expectations to fill. But according to Saadiq, "both the attraction and reaction to my music from my listeners has giving me all that I need to continue pushing the envelope and making music that wakes and rocks the soul of many..."

This Friday, Saadiq will be on stage with venerable rocker Ben Harper in a not-to-miss performance at noon - World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, Delaware. Let Raphael Saadiq show you music "that wakes and rocks the soul of many"--it's a great way to start the weekend.

Website: raphaelsaadiq.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/raphaelsaadiq
Recent Release: Stone Rollin'
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Label: Columbia Records
Origin: Oakland, California

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