Tower Of Power Performs With The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra At the Providence Performing Arts Center, October 28

TOWER OF POWER, the iconic funk and soul band, performs with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra (RIPO) at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) on Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 8P.

Tickets go on sale on Thursday, June 8 at 10A at the PPAC Box Office (220 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence), online at ppacri.org and by phone at 401.421.ARTS (2787). Summer Box Office window and phone hours are Monday through Thursday: 10A to 3P and two hours prior to curtain time(s) on performance days. Tickets are $30.50 - $111.50; all ticket prices include a $4 per ticket restoration charge and a $1 per ticket charity fee. TOWER OF POWER will donate $1 from each ticket sale to Backline, the music industry's mental health & wellness resource.

TOWER OF POWER first performed live with a symphony orchestra in July 2022, with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. The musical pairing also marked the first time the Orchestra had played with a funk/soul band. Within the past year, TOWER OF POWER has also performed with The Colorado Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

For over 55 years, TOWER OF POWER has delivered the best in funk and soul music. “We were a Soul band called The Motowns,” recalls Emilio Castillo, the founder of TOWER OF POWER. “Rocco [Francis “Rocco” Prestia, Jr.] was the bass player, I was there and my brother was the drummer. I met “Doc” Kupka back in 1968 and gave him an audition. He came in the band, and we eventually changed our name to the TOWER OF POWER.” The reason for the band name change was that they had a specific goal in mind. 

 

East Bay Grease defined their sound and landed them with Warner Brothers. Bump City, their 1972 debut for the label, was a hit on both the Billboard 200 and the R&B Album charts and netted them the hits “You're Still A Young Man” and “Down to The Nightclub.” The 70s were a boom period with radio classics like “So Very Hard to Go” and “What Is Hip?”.  The band continued to tour and record over the years. Castillo says their love of performing live on stage is the same today as it was back in 1968.

 

In 2018, they returned to the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA, where they first started playing together, to celebrate their landmark 50th anniversary with two concerts. The momentous celebration was captured on the album 50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater. Tower's window-rattling grooves and raucous party spirit have been a balm for the soul throughout their half-century existence. 

 

The band has long since surpassed Castillo's modest aspirations, traveling the world, enjoying hit singles on their own and backing legendary artists including Otis Redding, Elton John, Santana, the Grateful Dead, John Lee Hooker, Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt and countless others. In the process they've defined an “Oakland soul” sound as instantly recognizable as those from Castillo's hometown, Detroit, as well as inspirations like Memphis and Philadelphia. 

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