When organizers of the inaugural Fool In Love festival first announced the event's lineup this spring, soul and R&B heads across the internet went nuts.
The reaction was to be expected: There hadn't been such an ambitious mix of GRAMMY-winning legends and young, popular soul acts on a shared bill in recent memory. And certainly not in a single-day event.
The Aug. 31 event will highlight six decades of soul, R&B and funk — proof that those sounds are anything but oldies. The sounds of the 1960s through the '80s and beyond will be well represented by headliners Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, as well as Smokey Robinson and a recently reunited Nile Rodgers and Chic. Sets by Dionne Warwick, 2024 Special Merit Award honoree Gladys Knight, and sweet soul legend Brenton Wood promise to turn up the heat, sweet and memories.
FOOL IN LOVE FEST 2024 🎙️🎶
YES, IT’S REAL 📻🤎 Register now for Presale that starts Friday, February 16th at 10 AM PT. All tickets start at $19.99 down. https://t.co/cLK4qnSo6x pic.twitter.com/pnOc56MRrv
— Fool In Love Fest (@foolinlovefest) February 13, 2024
A cadre of up-and-coming soul acts — many of whom call Southern California home — also appear high up on the lineup, highlighting a younger generation's decade-long revival of interest in soul sounds.
"I never want people to hear my records and wonder if it's new or not," GRAMMY nominee Mayer Hawthorne told GRAMMY.com in 2023. "I’ll never do classic '70s Philly soul better than the Delfonics. Plenty of artists do regurgitation of something old, but I’m all about putting my new spin on it."
In addition to Hawthorne, Fool In Love's lineup includes L.A.-based singer Trish Toledo, San Diego sweet soul phenoms Thee Sacred Souls, singer/drummer Aaron Frazer and singer Durand Jones, who will appear solo and together as Durand Jones and the Indications.
While some of the older acts may be missing original members (Kool and the Gang's George Brown, for example, passed in 2023; Henry Fambrough, the last original Spinner died in early 2024; Ruth Pointer is the only living Pointer Sister) or have feuding families, the legendary acts playing across Fool In Love's four stages are not to be missed.
Ahead of the Labor Day weekend show, cruise over to your favorite streaming service and enjoy this playlist of Fool In Love performers.