Geno Washington & Robbin Kapsalis
Geno Washington and The Yo Yo's + Robbin Kapsalis
Entry Requirements: VENUE ENTRY 18+ AFTER 7PM / DAYTIME ENTRY U18s CONTACT VENUE
Join us for a very special co-headline show with the legendary Geno Washington & The Yo Yo's and fellow US soul diva Robbin Kapsalis.
Always ready to rock the house, the King of the Swingers Geno Washington is the incarnation of all things '60s. Hipsters and flipsters, movers and shakers alike, are all rendered incapable of having a bad time, when the Good Time Guru gets his army of fans on the good foot! The old Geno magic still drags them in and sends them home high.
Geno Washington and The Yo Yo's are an English based Soul band originally active from 1965 to 1969. Now going stronger than ever!
Robbin Kapsalis & full band
Robbin Kapsalis carries Chicago's soul in her commanding voice, blending traditional blues grit with contemporary spirit. Born on the Southside amid the city's legendary blues scene and later shaped by Atlanta's musical heritage, she delivers a vocal presence that feels both deeply rooted and refreshingly alive.
A Blues Music Award nominee, three-time Blues Blast Music Award nominee, and featured artist in Living Blues Magazine (#284), she led DC-based soul blues band Vintage #18 for a decade before launching her solo career.
Her reputation soars as she tours throughout the UK and Europe, captivating audiences from intimate clubs to major festivals. Her latest album, The Blues Is In The House, cements why she's not just preserving the blues tradition — she's helping shape its future.
Line Up
US soul acts rarely visited the UK and, having come over as a part of the USAir force and stayed, Geno was our soul man. His level of touring and the high energy of his gigs was, and still is (as immortalized by Dexy's Midnight Runners in the 80's hit Geno) the stuff of legends. During his sets, the beat was continuous and the hits were incessant. It was really Geno who pioneered this Go, Go style of performing and the audiences simply could not get enough. With the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and Pink Floyd in support Geno could never relax.
Eventually, having made Pye records and numerous managers millions of pounds, Geno decided a break might be a good idea. Rock and Roll had taken its toll and being on the road with every sixties act you care to think of, had finally drained the mighty Washington batteries.
Geno did do some recordings in the States in the seventies, some never released stuff with the Beach Boys for example, but he largely retreated from the world of show biz and studied hypnosis and meditation.
These spiritual meanderings were abruptly halted when, in 1980 Blighty beckoned once more. A call came from old friends in the UK that a tribute called Geno (mentioned above) had gone to number one in the charts. In interviews, the singer, Kevin Roland, was speaking of this legendary soul man, whose name they used to chant up and down the land and public interest in Geno was growing for a new generation. Soon, Anglophile Geno, was back in the UK and back on the road.
The arrival of the nineties saw Geno go back to his roots (he was a Blues singer originally in his home, town of Evansville, Indiana) doing a show he called Cut Loose and Singing the Blues. This was a great success and spawned the band The Purple Aces. He then took this band to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, had a great reaction and a three week sell-out run. This in turn resulted in a collaboration with Ray Fenwick (The Spencer Davies Band) and an album called Change Your Thoughts You Change Your Life.
Members: Geno Washington (Lead Vocals); Geoff Hemsley (Drums); Steve Bingham (Bass and Backing Vocals); Billy Burke (Guitar and Backing Vocals); and Alan Whetton (Tenor Sax). Geno Washington and The YoYo's play a more Blues oriented set and are the band minus the saxes.
