Soul Benefactor presents High Country Holiday Throwdown

On the night of Dec. 14, Soul Benefactor will host the second annual High Country Holiday Throwdown.

Held to have some seasonal fun, as well as to raise money for local charities, the free-form concert will also feature guest spots by The Worthless Son-In-Laws, The Brown Eyed Handsome Band, Pot Luck, Melissa Reaves, Heather Paige Preston, Laura England, Danny Whittington and more.

The throwdown will take place at the Boone Saloon, located at 489 W. King St. in Boone. The show begins at 9 p.m., and the cover charge costs $5.

Soul Benefactor is a local band that plays everything from soul and funk classics to blues and rock. What sets the band apart from similar outfits is it always come to the show with a horn section, bringing pop and sass to its party grooves.

“I wanted to be in a band that had a horn section for a long time,” said David Brewer, of Soul Benefactor. “I had dreamed about it for a long time, before I was in any band. Soul Benefactor has had horns for about four years. The horn section had been a revolving door up until a year ago, but it has stabilized now, and we have the best section yet.

“We’ve had a few guys who have come out of the ASU music program. But to be honest, for a band that plays old school soul, it is really helpful for us to play with older guys that have more than a passing familiarity with the material. Although, we have a trombone player who still plays for us on and off named Jordan Craig, who is a fantastic horn player, and although he didn’t know the material as well as the older guys, he’s a super-talented cat who is really enthusiastic about it. But I think that good, dedicated horn players are really hard to come by.”

The members of Soul Benefactor include: Brewer on drums, guitar and bass; Aaron Burleson on keys, guitar and bass; Chris Hice on guitar and bass; Steve Green on drums, bass and vocals; Jordan Craig on trombone and choreography; Beaver Robinette on saxophones and Rusty Smith on trumpet.
This is the second year for the throwdown, and Brewer hopes to make it a tradition so that more funds can be raised for local charities.

“The notion of getting together with people that play music to raise a little money for charity, that concept is old, but it is tried and true,” Brewer said. “Melissa Reaves’ holiday party will be happening earlier down the street, and we’re hoping that party will transition on down the block afterwards and things will get even bigger and out of control. I’m hoping it will be one for the ages and we get a lot of folks turning up to jam and a lot of folks just coming to have a good time.”

For more information on Soul Benefactor, visit http://www.soulbenefactor.com.