Sugar Bomb + Zones
𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗺𝗯 is a trio from Asheville, North Carolina that’s as sweet as it is explosive – with extreme dynamic range & a knack for improvisation, the band is quickly making a name for themselves with their mind-bending grooves & melodic explorations. Zones is a duo featuring keyboardist Daniel Combs and drummer Brady Kennedy. Born out of a shared love for musical exploration, each performance is a unique sonic adventure that begs the question: are you in the zone or are you zoning out? Their debut EP “Areas” was released in January 2025.
The Moon Unit + Instant Alter
The Moon Unit is a high-energy jazz fusion trio based in Durham, North Carolina, made up of musicians who have performed alongside some of the country’s most popular neo-jazz and jazz fusion artists. Drawing from a rich tapestry of musical styles—from traditional jazz and modern funk to rock and experimental pop—the trio brings a unique, genre-defying sound to every performance. Rooted in a lifelong friendship, The Moon Unit has honed their craft through years of exploring complex rhythms, melodies, and intense improvisation. Their performances are an invitation into an ever-evolving sonic journey where the boundaries of musical genres dissolve, leaving listeners with a transformative experience. Whether you’re a jazz enthusiast or a lover of bold, genre-blending sounds, The Moon Unit offers a live performance like no other. INSTANT ALTER is a new project formed by saxophonist Emilio Modeste and vocalist Natasha Agrama. INSTANT ALTER features drummer Miguel Russell and bassist Ryo Takenaga. INSTANT ALTER is a reorientation into a new way. A new aesthetic and a new story. These four virtuosic artists join together in service of the art of storytelling, creating a new thread of music as super-bands of the past have done – such as Return to Forever – while integrating grounded Earth Songs that call to the Brazilian Tropicália movement. Within this musical vessel lies an engine room fueled by a powerful and inimitable Bass-and-Drum connection. INSTANT ALTER follows in the spirit of the storytellers that have graced our journeys, offering a fresh sense of melody and rhythm, leading the way to deep feeling, healing and consciousness. INSTANT ALTER’s debut record is produced by Stanley Clarke and Lenny White (Clarke is also bandleader to Modeste and Agrama). INSTANT ALTER is the point of change between sensitivity and earth-shaking calls for reflection; between expansion and deep dives into learning and unlearning; between a global sentiment and an individual experience. INSTANT ALTER is happening in every living moment.
Chloe White w/ Too Phat Brass Band
Chloe White hails from North Carolina with a strong pull towards hard bop, fusion and traditional jazz repertoire. As a child she studied Suzuki piano and spent many evenings listening to bluegrass and jazz in Asheville, NC. After graduating from the School of Inquiry and Life Sciences she studied music performance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program. Her time in school led to many opportunities including touring/leading her own quintet, arranging music for UNCG’s Big Band, producing content for UNCG’s college radio station; WUAG 103.1, and competing in the 2022 Jack Rudin Competition. Too Phat Brass Band is a high-energy New Orleans-style second-line band based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Blending traditional brass band roots with funk, soul, hip hop, and modern jazz, Too Phat brings infectious grooves and an unmistakable vibe to every performance. Whether parading through festivals, rocking club stages, or setting the vibe at private events, the band delivers an unforgettable experience with bold horns, driving rhythms, and a spirit that gets people moving.
An Evening With Eli Fribush Experiment
SAM FRIBUSH ORGAN TRIO (ALBUM RELEASE SHOW)
Keyboardist Sam Fribush is on the frontlines of the Hammond organ revival. His debut release was produced by Charlie Hunter and recorded in North Carolina. The trio’s new record ‘People Please’ was released March 15th, 2024. Over the past few years, Fribush has established himself as one of the country’s hottest young bandleaders and People Please pushes the keyboardist’s music into new and uncharted territory, revealing a deep affinity for crispy, wah-wah driven funk, Hip-hop beats and sultry HAMMOND ballads. Says Fribush, “My intention is to take this music into the future. I’m trying to expand the rules about what organ trio music is.” Indeed, the album places Fribush’s music not only among the giants of soul jazz–Ronnie Foster, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Larry Young–but also in the pantheon of funkateers like Sly Stone and the Meters.
Brass Queens + Too Phat Brass Band
Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Brass Queens is a female-led brass band featuring all-female horns with a sound that sits right at the intersection of the Big Apple and the Big Easy. Their music is deeply inspired by and pays homage to the New Orleans brass band tradition while injecting the upbeat, multifaceted energy of their New York home into each performance.
Fat Toosday with Too Phat Brass Band
Sam Fribush Organ Trio and Friends Holiday Spectacular
**🎶 Join Us for a Holiday Spectacular! 🎄** Don’t miss the **Sam Fribush Organ Trio and Friends** live in concert for an unforgettable **Holiday Spectacular**! 📍 **Where:** Flat Iron 221 Summit Ave, Greensboro, NC 📅 **When:** **December 23rd** – Doors open: **8:00 PM** – Show starts: **9:00 PM** Come experience an evening of festive grooves and incredible music!
Faust (Live film score by Modern Robot)
You may not know the name “Faust”, but you do know the story. Something between a doctor, scientist, and alchemist, Dr. Faustus thirsts for what he believes is the ultimate power — knowledge. Reaching his own limits, he makes a bargain — the Faustian bargain — and sells his soul to the Devil. “Every notable historical era will have its own Faust.”—Kierkegaard In 1587, a small chapbook called “Historia von D. Johann Fausten” told stories of an actual Johann Georg Faust, who traveled around Germany in the early 1500‘s performing magic tricks, telling horoscopes, and committing various kinds of fraud. He may have died in his own alchemical experiment. Since then, his story has been superimposed with legends of a pact with the Devil and then retold in innumerable ballads, plays, novels, operas — any kind of adaptation you can imagine, including an episode of The Simpsons. In 1947, Thomas Mann re-cast the story as a talented composer reaching for greatness. By intentionally contracting syphilis, he created music of extraordinary inspiration, but also caused his own madness and demise. You may also recognize this as the story of the Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson, who meets the Devil at the crossroads to be given mastery of the guitar, a reason I called this show “At the Crossroads” when I performed it on the Fringe circuit in 2016. Which brings us back to this show. “One of the most astonishing visual experiences the silent film has to offer.”—Dave Kehr, The New York Times Like all Modern Robot shows, this performance is a film with a live musical score, in this case the first major adaptation of Faust, released in 1926. German production company UFA hired F.W. Murnau to direct the film. Lavish sets, complicated shots, and Murnau‘s many, many takes made this a massively expensive production as well as a financial flop. But it also makes for a fantastic movie filled with effects and compositions that seem more painted than filmed. After a premier in Greensboro, Ben Singer performed the show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (five-star review by Broadway Baby), the Orlando Fringe, the San Francisco Fringe Festival (Best of the Fringe award), and the New York International Fringe Festival (Overall Excellence Award for Music Composition). The score will be performed by Ben on guitar and Tyler Monroe on drum set.
Sam Fribush and Friends (NC Folk Festival After Party|Night Two
Keyboardist Sam Fribush is on the frontlines of the Hammond organ revival. Hisdebut release, Riverboat and the Root, was produced by Charlie Hunter andrecorded over quarantine in North Carolina. In 2024, Fribush released his secondcritically acclaimed record People Please. Fribush became a member of HissGolden Messenger in 2021. Currently based in Greensboro, NC, Fribush hasbrought his fonky, soulful vibe home to the town where he was born and raised.Over the past few years, Fribush has established himself as one of the country’s hottest youngbandleaders and People Please pushes the keyboardist’s music into new and unchartedterritory, revealing a deep affinity for crispy, wah-wah driven funk, Hip-hop beats and sultryHAMMOND ballads. Says Fribush, “My intention is to take this music into the future. I’m trying toexpand the rules about what organ trio music is.” Indeed, the album places Fribush’s music notonly among the giants of soul jazz–Ronnie Foster, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Larry Young–but also in thepantheon of funkateers like Sly Stone and the Meters. Throughout the album, Fribush is joinedby frequent collaborator Charlie Hunter–a guitarist who has been an instrumental part of musicculture since the late 90s –and North Carolina allstar Calvin Napper (the drummer in Maze feat.Frankie Beverly for the past 13 years), Xavier Lynn and Nick Falk. But even among hishigh-caliber guests, keyboardist and composer Sam Fribush remains the star of the show.
