Tomar & the FCs, June 28

Saturday, June 28, 7 p.m.

Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA

Touring in support of their February release Soul Searching, which the Austin Chronicle hailed for its "jaw-dropping anecdotes, 200 years of family timeline, and palpable musicality," the Texas-based talents of Tomar & the FCs headline a June 28 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, The Alternate Root adding that the group's latest soul album "tags the past with the same love for the sound that filled recording studio in Memphis, Muscle Shoals, New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Los Angeles during the genre’s heyday."

Tomar & the FCs founder Tomar Williams got his start singing lead on the Chitlin Circuit with his family band, spent decades as a keyboardist and backup vocalist for acts including Latasha Lee & the Black Ties and Hot Butter Rhythm, and produced hip-hop albums for Carnival Beats, Mike Jones, and Big Moe. His band made its live debut in March of 2015 and self-recorded and released its first EP Day by Day that October, with the Austin American-Statesman stating, “Williams shows his own soul chops with searing vocals that drip with blood, sweat, and tears.” In March of 2016, Tomar & the FCs was selected to play an official showcase at SXSW, and that June, NPR Music picked the ensemble out of hundreds of Austin entries to represent the city in its Tiny Desk Concert Series.

Heart Attack, the band’s debut album, was released in November of 2016, leading KUTZ Radio to call the recording “Pure soul, pure energy,” with the titular single “an electric, three-minute ride of some of the purest blues/soul we’ve heard lately.” The following January, Tomar & the FCs was selected as the KUTX Artist of the Month, with the group's 2017 festival appearances at River Revival and Viva Big Bend culminating in an appearance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. In early 2018, the band was also voted in the top five of the Austin Chronicle’s Music Poll for Best Blues, Funk, or Soul Artist, and that spring, was awarded a prestigious Black Fret nomination at that year's SXSW.

Released in 2020, Tomar & the FCs' Rise Above was another critical smash for the band, with Impose magazine calling the work "a bouncy slow dive oozing with copious amounts of soul, " adding that listeners should "prepare the eardrums for a wealth of bliss. Tomar's vocals are smooth and crisp alongside that illustrious funk." Continuing the praise, Tribeza said of the Texas artists, "It’s obvious Tomar & the FCs do what they do for the pure pleasure of creating synergy in the form of sound, and Austin is better off for it."

Tomar & the FCs headline their Davenport engagement on June 28 with additional sets by The Imperial Sound and the Rachel Drew Band, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $19.84, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.