Royal Southern Brotherhood in San Francisco

This past Friday night (Jan 31), The Royal Southern Brotherhood lit up an appreciative crowd as they brought their brand of blues and rock to the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. This is a band with serious roots in music consisting of the powerful line up of Yonrico Scott (drums), Charlie Wooton (bass), Mike Zito (guitar & vocals), Devon Allman (guitar & vocals) and Cyril Neville (percussion & vocals).


Formed late in 2011, the band has been busy with a heavy touring schedule taking them throughout the US and Europe. It's been about two years since they've been to northern California and those who witnessed this show were treated to a blistering set from one of the finest bands around. It must be pointed out that every one of these players has long roots in the music world and this could, and should, be considered a "supergroup." Beginning with the rhythm section of Yonrico on drums and Charlie on bass, the two create a rich, wide base for the others to play over and through. And then there's that front line!  There's the great depth of the guitar work from Devon and Mike that continued to deliver crowd pleasing solos from each all night long, the great vocals, not just from Cyril, but from Devon and Mike as well, and the overwhelming energy and drive of the band as a unit that put smiles on everybody's face throughout the night. It was a tour de force that took everyone on a magnificent journey. To get a taste of that, there are some excellent HD videos on YouTube that are well worth checking out. The talent and energy of this band is abundantly clear to anyone who sees them and hopefully, as they continue this journey, we'll be treated to more or the same....one can never get too much of a good thing.