The Acoustic Groove Gets Its "Groove" On

The Roving Wino achieved a new level of entertainment when she put together the latest Wine Therapy session with The Acoustic Groove playing. 

The sounds of Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor and Steely Dan permeated the air as guests were sampling Spanish wines from The Wine Company and eating Paella cooked from Sandra Serebreni from A La Cuisine. 

The Acoustic Groove is a relatively new group formed at the beginning of the year with three of its members splintering off from the group The Bash. Those three original members are Kelly Cowen, lead guitar and vocals, Kepi Payne, percussion and vocals, and Lonnie Sumrall, drums,percussion and vocals.

Kelly Cowan also used to play for the now defunct band Poetic Justice along with Alex Watson who plays bass and sings. The band got its initial start when it was recruited to fill in for Poetic Justice and also added Gio Stefani, sound and harmonica. Nina Markert steps in as a guest vocalist and plays percussion.

Kelly Cowan said that Motown is among his favorite genres along with the music of Steeley Dan and Fleetwood Mac. Steve Lukather, the singer and guitarist most known for his work with rock band Toto, has most influenced him and he aspires to be most like Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell and Bernie Taupin.

The biggest challenge for a new band “is to stay together and have longevity,” according to Cowan.  “A band is like a marriage and has its ups and downs and little personality conflicts.” 

The first year is the hardest, with many bands not making it together.

The Acoustic Groove is bound for success, and they are consistently booked every weekend. The Acoustic Groove stands out among others with their blending of vocals and pleasing the crowd with highly recognizable songs.

There’s a vibe about this band that people connect with. You would think that with their high quality of music and vocal harmonies that The Acoustic Groove would rehearse for hours. However, their biggest challenge is scheduling, and due to their conflicting itineraries, they never rehearse together.  The only time they play together is onstage -- a real tribute to their professionalism.  

Acoustic Groove is a band dedicated to each other but, most importantly, as Cowan said, “it’s a labor of love.” 

Both Cowan and Markert play solo performances and each have original songs.  Cowan plays all the instruments himself and Markert plays to backing tracks. 

The Bash plays with J.D Pinckney on bass and Skip Noell on keyboards and guitar. The style of music is a little harder rock with more of an electric sound.

The Acoustic Groove bridged generations of classic rock music. With facility, the group wound up the crowd with “Best of My Love” by the Eagles and ended the evening with “Wild Nights” by Van Morrison.  Everyone wished that the night could go on as we were all really enjoying their music selections and many were dancing.

The Bash will be playing the following weekend at Keyways Winery on Friday August 26^th, at The Gambling Cowboy on Saturday August 27^thand at The Wine Company on Sunday August 27^th.

For booking information contact:

Stefani Entertainment

Gio Stefani

events@stefanientertainment.com

951-514-5720