Known in years of old as one of the main music cities in the United States, the Kansas City area is still putting out some great musician's and music.

The Yards, an instrumental project from Lawrence Kansas (40km East of Kansas City) recorded a CD that not only caught my ear, but also caught my attention.

The Yards project is the brainchild of keyboardist Bradford Hoopes and drummer Kelly White, who wanted to make an old-fashioned one-day-in-the-studio record. There were no rehearsals...just an overall aesthetic to create an authentic New Orleans funky Meters vibe, instrumentation-, arrangement- and engineering-wise, circa 1969

Taking a spin of their track 'Sweet Potato Soup' immediately made visible the level of musicianship that Hoopes and Kelly are used to operating. They were able to pull off an incredibly tight CD with some GREAT arrangements in only one session!

In the last couple of months that they've had an active website at MP3.com, they've been exceeded 2500 downloads which is considerable for a studio based, non-touring (currently) instrumental band.

They've since found permanent solutions to studio musician's Tom Johnson (engineer and bass), and his brother Eric (guitar) and Brian Bagget (guitar) with veterans Brad Maestas (bass) and Brian Mitchell (guitar) to complement Bradford and Kelly's steadfast groovefest.

If you're a lover of R&B, funk and groove, or if you're a musician' that appreciates top-level musicianship, The Yards is something you'll want to give a listen.

For more information on The Yards, CLICK HERE

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