A local band is returning to campus and bringing some soul.
The Savants of Soul are partnering with Reitz Union Board Entertainment and will perform a free concert at 8:30 p.m. today in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom.
The Gainesville-based band has 10 members who are committed to the sounds of the 1960s and ‘70s Motown soul. Six of them grew up in Gainesville.
“We’ve got a pretty big following in Gainesville, especially the downtown scene, but campus is a place we want more visibility,” said bass guitar player John Gray Shermyen, 25.
Drummer Alexander Klausner, 24, said the band will be playing a set lasting about 90 minutes that features original material.
The band is hoping the central location will attract some new fans.
“I don’t follow (the band) heavily,” said Jessica Wang, a 19-year-old UF psychology sophomore who hopes to attend the concert. “It’s nice that A, it’s free, and B, I don’t need to drive anywhere.”
Klausner, Shermyen and singer Justin McKenzie, the three founding members of The Savants of Soul, were able to grow the band while attending UF and are excited to return to their roots, even if things have changed a bit since their 2012 graduation.
“The Reitz is super different, and I haven’t even been gone that long,” Shermyen said. “I feel like every time I come back, there is something new. It’s nice to reconnect.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 2/17/2015 under the headline “GNV band to bring Motown to UF"]
The 10 members of the Gainesville-based Savants of Soul band pose for a picture. Savants of Soul will play a 90-minute set in the Reitz Union tonight.
