Summer Soulstice

Legend Steve Arrington To Play Soulstice 2017

It’s been a struggle holding this exciting news in, but now we can proudly announce that Steve Arrington, drummer/lead vocalist with renowned Dayton group, Slave & successful solo artist in his own right, is joining the party at Summer Soulstice this June!

His songs have been introduced to legions of hip-hop, dance & R&B fans through samples by Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Mariah Carey, Masters At Work to name a few. His music, both with Slave & solo, helped create the blueprint of the 90’s G-Funk sound. Steve became a lead vocalist for Slave in 1978 & for the next 4 years and 4 albums, contributed to the innovative Dayton outfit’s most successful period, as dance floor classics like ‘Watching You’, ‘Just A Touch Of Love’, ‘Snap Shot’ & ‘Wait For Me’ all bearing his trademark tenor vocal.

In 1982, he left Slave & formed Steve Arrington’s Hall of Fame, signing for Atlantic Records & enjoying top 10 success with ‘Feel So Real’ & ‘Dancin’ In The Key Of Life’. Steve then left the music business at the height of his career to join the church & after nearly 20 years in the ministry, his heart began to slowly pull him back to music. He returned to recording in 2009 with the self-released album ‘Pure Thang’, which lead to collaborating the following year with modern funk lord Dam-Funk & Stones Throw Records. By this time, his Slave hit “Just a Touch of Love” was 32 years old, but when he performed it, fans half his age knew every word. Arrington’s music had come full circle.

“I saw myself as being able to connect with a new generation & they embraced me,” he says. Armed with that fresh perspective, he began touring Europe & the US, as well as revisiting old demos & other tapes found in the Atlantic vaults. This led to the planning of ‘Way Out: Steve Arrington 80-84’, a retrospective encompassing all of Arrington’s classics, his first solo single, the Slave backed ‘Summertime Lovin’’ / ‘Special Effects From Mars’, hits from his early solo albums & a handful of unreleased/previously unfinished tracks featuring the Hall of Fame & reworked with his current band.

For everyone at Summer Soulstice, it is another moment of getting to work with one of your heroes & Steve is also our first American act to perform at the event. He joins an already impressive line-up for this year’s event which includes Shaun Escoffery & Aisling Iris!

#Soulstice2017 – it just keeps getting better & better!