About Soul of Boston
Way before Bruno Mars came along, Boston already had its very own uptown funk machine … the mega-talented dance band Soul of Boston! Don’t believe me? Just watch as this uber-chic, trend-setting, 9 piece musical juggernaut SLAYS dance jam after dance jam and lights your dance floor on fire! With its soul-crushing rhythm section, a brass section that will blow your mind, and six (YES 6!) LEAD vocalists who hit EVERY high note, Soul of Boston rocks its way like a BOSS through every musical genre from 60’s soul classics, to epic 80’s rock anthems, to 90’s “old skool” R&B, all the way to today’s biggest chart-topping pop hits! An absolutely extraordinary blend of vocal and musical excellence puts this band in a soul-searing class all its own! For non-stop music that you will feel down right down in your soul, let Soul of Boston funk you up … just watch!
Apollo Payton/ Band Leader & Lead Vocals
Born and raised in New England, Apollo is a former Berklee College Of Music student. His passion & love for music started as a child, watching his father write, produce and perform all over Boston. Apollo studied voice, majored in Contemporary Writing & Production while at Berklee, and has had the privilege of performing all around the country, including the White House and abroad in Europe.
Canitra Wynn/Lead Vocalist
Canitra Wynn is a 3rd generation vocalist, born in Chapel Hill, NC and raised in Boston, MA. With a foundation in Gospel, R&B/Soul, Hip Hop and Neo-Soul, Canitra utilizes her wide vocal range and high energy to excite audiences on stages all around the world. Stages stemming from the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, and abroad in the south of France.
Juliana Lopez Davis/Vocals
Juliana is a Boston-based entertainer and educator, originally from Lynn, MA. She studied as a classical singer throughout her youth, and transitioned into contemporary styles shortly before college, earning a full-tuition scholarship to the world-renown Berklee College of Music. After earning her Bachelor’s degree at Berklee, she continued to expand her knowledge of music business through Berklee’s partnership with Southern New Hampshire University, successfully completing her MBA program in 2021.
Luther Johnson/Guitar/Vocalist
Luther Johnson III is a versatile vocalist, guitarist, and entertainer born and raised in New York City. He later attended The Stockbridge School (Stockbridge, MA) where he studied music theory and participated in Jazz workshops under Jazz Bassist, Vishnu Wood and his wife at the time, floutist, Elise Wood. Also during that time, he had the honor and privelige of performing with other jazz greats, including Sam Rivers and Randy Weston. Luther then attended Simon’s Rock College of Bard where he studied music theory and composition. Since then he has had the pleasure and honor of performing with other greats such as Joe Tex, Taj Mahal, Charles Mageed Greenley, Avery Sharpe and Fred Tillis. He also performed around the world with R&B band, New Star opening up for Chaka Khan, Chris Rock and Al B. Sure and in 2012 traveled to Fez, Morocco to perform with jazz saxophonists Archie Shepp and Charlie Neville. Currently Luther performs with Soul of Boston, The Floyd Patterson Band and “The Voice” finalist, Michelle Brooks-Thompson as well as performing solo in various venues.
Martin Robertson/ Musical Director & Keyboard
Martin Robertson is a Boston-based music producer, arranger, and instrumentalist. Born in Worcester, Martin was surrounded by music from an early age. In 2011, Martin decided to formalize his love for music and began studies at Berklee College of Music, where he majored in Contemporary Writing & Production. Since graduating, Martin has performed with and produced music for numerous local and national acts. He continues to regularly perform for weddings and corporate events.
Sam Lee/ Bass
Sam JC Lee is one of the most versatile and multi-talented musicians in the scene. Born in South Korea, originally studied Electronic Engineering, he pursued musical training in Jazz Composition and Performance at Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA. Sam now teaches at Berklee College of Music as an assistant professor, and serves Citylife Presbyterian Church in Boston, MA as Worship Arts Director.
Laura Bibbs/Trumpet/Vocals
Laura Bibbs is an educator, performer, composer, singer, and trumpet player. She holds degrees from Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Manhattan School of Music, where she studied both classical and contemporary music. She has shared the stage with a variety of artists including Harry Styles (Coachella 2022), Jon Faddis, Chris Jaudes, Wycliffe Gordon, Angel Subero, Eva Sita and many others
Hoyt Parquet/Trombone
Hoyt is a versatile and well-rounded trombone player. Born in New Orleans, he grew up around Black American Music and studied classical music at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He went on to squire two degrees from Berklee Colege of Music including Electronic Production & Design as well as Performance. Hoyt has played in over a dozen bands performing across a plethora of genres including Trap, Reggae, R&B, BAM, Rock and Pop. He currently plays in one of New Englands busiest wedding bands, Soul of Boston, while he also plays and tours with an up and coming Indie Pop band, The Q-Tip Bandits. Noteable acheivements include performing the Konzertino in Eb with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra as a soloist at the age of 16, touring across 36 states with original music, and earning over 1 million streams on Spotify with original music.
Kevin Pace Jr/Drummer
Kevin is an Ohio native currently based in Boston studying at Berklee College of Music on a full-tuition scholarship acquiring his degree in Music Production and Engineering. He has had the opportunity to work alongside Grammy nominated artists such as Bobby Sanabria, Winner Oscar Hernandez and many more! While gigging and performing all around, Kevin continues to learn and hone his skills to prepare for the opportunities the future holds.
R&B/Pop/Hip Hop Medley
Let’s Go Crazy by Prince
R&B Medley
“Better Now” by Postmalone
Motown Medley
High Hopes by Panic at the Disco
“Oops I Did it Again” by Britney Spears
Song List
Soul of Boston’s song list includes:
- Dance!
- 2000’s
- Nineties
- Eighties
- Seventies
- Sixties
- Fifties
- Standards / 40’s / Swing
If you don’t see a song you want…ask!!
They had everyone on the dance floor
Soul of Boston played at our private island wedding in August, 2019. As if the work of loading/unloading equipment on and off of barges to get set up on the island wasn’t enough, they absolutely blew us and our guests away with their outstanding musical performance. A year and a half later, we are still receiving compliments about how fantastic our band was. They had everyone on the dance floor (even the people who I never thought I’d see dancing) and they sounded amazing. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a high-energy, engaging, and fabulous-sounding band!
I highly recommend Soul of Boston!
We were unable to go see Soul of Boston before the wedding for a number of reasons, and having heard from other couples and general online advice that seeing your band live was key, I was a little bit nervous about it. However that all changed even before the day -one of the first things Apollo told us on the phone during our prep call was that him and the band would ensure we would have the absolute best night of our lives, and boy was he right! Our guests were a broad mix of nationalities, ages and backgrounds, and every single one of them was up and dancing – Soul of Boston did an amazing job finding the right mix of music based on our style preference but also their expertise of what will get a crowd going. I never even knew my uncle had such amazing moves!! If you’re after a band which will truly ensure everyone has an amazing night, I highly recommend Soul of Boston!
There was never a lull in the dancing
The Soul of Boston was the BEST. They made our reception AMAZING. They were fun, upbeat, and had the entire dance floor packed the entire night. They learned our songs for our first dances–it was beautiful. They even learned a fun twist on a song that my husband and his friends do back in Buffalo, NY. There was never a lull in the dancing — everyone danced the entire night. They even stayed for two additional songs! They were dancing with us and had everyone engaged. After the wedding, everyone asked me about the band and raved about them. I love Soul of Boston and would recommend them to ANY BRIDE!
Best dance party ever
The band was one of the most important things to me and my fiance so we spent a lot of time going to venues to hear bands. When we saw Soul of Boston, I knew RIGHT AWAY -my feet were bopping to the music and the crowd loved them. I was very demanding about which songs I wanted performed and when – and they were so accommodating and also gave some really helpful suggestions. Apollo was fantastic to work with and I felt completely confident in how the night would go – and it really went so perfectly! People danced the entire time and everyone I spoke to praised the music! “Best dance party ever” was repeated numerous times 🙂 Highly recommend – thanks for the most special night!
Hank Agency is the BEST
They made our wedding. Simple as that. I seriously could not recommend another vendor higher. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH and our guests did too! We had MULTIPLE couples asking for their cards and whether they would travel to their respective destinations. First off – Tanya is a dream to work with. So organized and on top of everything. Secondly – DAVE and his team were BEYOND amazing. They interacted with the guests — several of which came up and sang (including the bridal party); they even had an impromptu dance off. I love them. I wish words could describe how perfectly they made our night. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
All I can say is wow. My heart is bursting just writing this review because everyone and everything was so amazing.
Don’t hesitate to book this band, it will be the best decision you make.
They rocked!!!!
Ridiculously amazing! It took us a long time to find a band for our wedding since we were only planning within 8 months. When we came across Soul of Boston (through the Hank Agency) we couldn’t believe how amazing they sounded. Pamela, at the Hank Agency, was on top of her game providing answers to questions, and information all throughout the process. She connected us to Dave Ellis, the band leader, prior to the wedding. Dave is the coolest! We spoke a few times on the phone a few weeks before the wedding to get a gauge on what we were hoping to hear throughout the night. I told him I wanted a mix of current and oldies, to cater to the entire crowd. He did just that and the dance floor was bumping all night long. He was awesome, calming and on top of his game the entire night. We were so lucky to have them at our wedding and we would recommend them to anyone looking to get married and use a band. They rocked!!!!
Made the wedding!
Everyone raved about Soul of Boston. They made the night SO FUN and kept everyone dancing all night. Thank you Apollo, Gail, and all for your help and attention to detail! We had an incredible night thanks to you!!!!! I’d hire them again in a second. Also they killed a few requests like Third Eye Blind and Shania Twain 🙂
Fabulous-sounding band!
Soul of Boston played at our private island wedding in August, 2019. As if the work of loading/unloading equipment on and off of barges to get set up on the island wasn’t enough, they absolutely blew us and our guests away with their outstanding musical performance. A year and a half later, we are still receiving compliments about how fantastic our band was. They had everyone on the dance floor (even the people who I never thought I’d see dancing) and they sounded amazing. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a high-energy, engaging, and fabulous-sounding band!
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