Musician Returns To Atlanta With Louis York

Went to City Winery on a Monday night to see multi-grammy nominated Louis York, relative newcomers to the music scene playing mainly R & B ballads and Rock and seeing their star on the rise since 2015. The duo with their sister group The Shindellas, Stacy Johnson, Tamara Williams, and Kasi Jones who just released their debut single “Reconsider”,will perform at the Essence Fest in New Orleans at the Super Dome Sunday, July 8 in one of the Super Lounges. They remind me of the Neo-Soul movement that introduced Jill Scott, D'Angelo, Maxwell, Erykah Badu, Music Soulchild. and Kindred The Family Soul but more with their country and gospel.

The place was full at City Winery Atlanta and the vibe was electric as the duo of pianist Chuck Harmony (Charles T. Harmon) and lead vocalist Claude Kelly captivated their fans, an interesting mix of millennials and the more seasoned. Harmony also plays the drums and guitar. Harmony won a 2011 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song for Fantasia's Bittersweet. Nashville's vocalist/guitarist Jason Eskridge opened the show.

One table was boisterously celebrating a birthday while several others were specifically there to support Harmony aka piano man.
He was the pianist at Ben Hill United Methodist Church in Southwest Atlanta from 2000-2007 after first arriving in Atlanta to attend
Clark Atlanta University.

The name Louis York is derived from the hometowns of its founders. Harmony is from East St. Louis and Kelly is from New York City. The group is now based in Nashville, Tennessee where they relocated everyone associated with their label "Weirdo Workshop" including girl group The Shindellas. One member of the Shindellas is a Dallas Texas native while another is from Seattle, Washington. The Shindells in their shimmery dresses resemble remind me of a current version of the Supremes.

The songwriting and production duo of Kelly and Harmony has a portfolio that covers everything from Pop, R&B, Gospel, and Country. They met while writing and producing for Chrisette Michele's album Ephipany. The two have created music for Michael & Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus, Fantasia, Ledisi, Jazmine Sullivan, K. Michelle Le’Andria Johnson and Jonathan McReynolds amongst others.

Louis York's work includes themes of love, acceptance, and social awareness that eventually culminated into an EP trilogy called Masterpiece Theater: Act I, Act II, Act III. Their first song “Clair Huxtable,” an ode to black women is popular with their fans along with “Things I Should Have Said,” “Slow Motion,” and “Don’t Play.” Louis York will release their debut album Deep Fried Veggies in the Fall. At the show here they played all of their recordings backed by the vocals of the Shindellas.

Located at Ponce City Market, City Winery opens its doors about two hours before the performance. Guests order drinks and food (suggest the cheeseburger and fries margarita. They have a full menu) and network and mingle before the show starts. The venue is modern, easy to access and parking and the ambiance is relaxed and inviting. It has become the go to place for various genres of music from Jazz to R&B, Blues to Hip Hop in Atlanta.

I've seen Average White Band and Angie Stone there and now Louis York. City Winery is my favorite indoor music venue
only matched by Chastain and Wolf Creek Amphitheaters as outdoor venue faves.

Upcoming Shows at City Winery include:

Cherelle, Sunday, July 8, 8 p.m.
Q Parker and Friends, Friday, July 13, 8 p.m.
Miki Howard, Wednesday, July 18, 8 p.m.
Angie Stone, Sunday, July 22, 7 and 10 p.m.
Trina Broussard w/ Russell Taylor, Monday, July 23, 8 p.m.

Chandra Currelly, Tuesday, July 24, 8 p.m.
Syleena Johnson, Tuesday, August 8, 8 p.m.
Tower of Power, August 13 and 14 8 p.m.
Average White Band, September 8, 7 p.m.

Photo: Ben Hill United Methodist Church Members Joy and Mike Watkins greet Chuck Harmony former pianist for the church.