Best of Cleveland 2014: Northern Soul Band
best of cleveland
12:00 AM EST
September 21, 2014
Northern soul band
To Wesley Bright, soul is not just a type of music, it's a feeling. "It's a dynamo," says the frontman of Akron-based soul band Wesley Bright & the Hi-Lites. "It takes you somewhere else." Since 2011, the seven-piece group - influenced by James Brown's Famous Flames and complete with the two-step, dapper suits and horns - has been spreading joyous soulful vibes regionally with Bright at the helm. Growing up in the Baptist church, spinning records of Stevie Wonder and traveling regularly to Georgia helped inform Bright's signature sugary-sweet vocals and exuberant dance moves. "As soon as I get on stage and I hear people, I hear their feet moving and their screaming, something happens and I turn on," he says. The group released two singles, but waited until this fall to drop a full-length album, recorded with Black Keys engineer Jason Tarulli, to ensure a fully polished debut. "We got a nice little soul history in Cleveland," Bright says, "but I really want to bring it back." facebook.com/wesleybrightandthehilites
Find more than 150 editor and reader picks in food, entertainment and shopping - all of which make Cleveland just the best. Stories by Danny Cunningham, Allison Jack, Kate Bigam Kaput, Julia Lombardo, Paris Mather, Annie Nickoloff, Christina Rufo, Olivia Szmania and Maura Zurick
Support your favorite parts of Northeast Ohio by voting for Cleveland Magazine's 2024 Best of Cleveland Reader Picks. By Cleveland Magazine Staff
Cleveland bites, boutiques, hot spots and retailers chosen by you, the reader. By Cleveland Magazine Staff