Tower of Power Tour
Legendary R&B and funk band Tower of Power loves the open road For over 200 days every year, original members Emilio “Mimi” Castillo, Stephen “Doc” Kupka, Francis ‘Rocco’ Prestia and David Garibaldi are touring along with tripmates:
- 1st tenor saxophonist Tom Politzer
- Adolfo Acosta & Sal Cracchiolo playing the trumpet
- Jerry Cortez playing the guitar
- Roger Smith playing the keyboard
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Every group of genre-blending, country-crossing musical dynamos needs an origin story, right? For Tower of Power, that story starts in 1960’s San Francisco where a young Emilio “Mimi” Castillo was taking in the R&B, jazz and blues bands at the clubs where his father was bartending. Those early days planted the seed of something special in young Emilio’s mind. By the time Emilio met fellow saxophone player Steven “Doc” Kupka in the Summer of 1968, that Tower of Power sound was ready to bloom.
The duo formed Tower of Power and began to play as a unit and in collaboration with other top acts needing a horn section including Elton John, Aerosmith, Santana, Heart, Bonnie Raitt & Otis Redding.
The band released their first album, East Bay Grease – named after their San Francisco neighborhood in 1970. Their followup Bump City gave the world classic songs like “You’re Still a Young Man” and “Down to the Nightclub.”
But, Tower or Power wouldn’t really rise to prominence until their third, self-titled, album featuring hits like “So Very Hard To Go,” “What Is Hip?” and “This Time It’s Real.” The band built upon their new found fame with their fourth album Back to Oakland and its top tracks “Squib Cakes” and “Don’t Change Horses (In the Middle of a Stream).”
That’s only the beginning of the Tower of Power story. Over the following decades, the band played countless tour concerts and produced a total 26 albums including their latest Soul Side of Town and Step Up.
Joslyn and The Sweet Compression
The Tower of Power tour that stopped at Sony Hall on March 14-15, 2022 featured special guests Joslyn and The Sweet Compression, who provide a mix of funk and soul music that perfectly compliments that Tower of Power sound. Releasing their debut self-titled album in 2019, the group was founded by frontwoman Joslyn Hampton and her stepfather Marty Charters who has shared the stage as a guitarist for legendary acts like Van Morrison and Junior Wells.
Other members of the group include:
- Steve Holloman on keyboards
- Smith Donaldson on bass
- Rashawn Fleming on drums
- Trevin Little on saxophone
- Chase Fleming on trombone & trumpet
Both bands offer a unique fusion of musical genres that create a one-of-a-kind live concert experience.