Third Coast Kings

Hailing from the Metro Detroit area in south east Michigan, Third Coast Kings are a deep funk and heavy soul outfit that brings back the era of music one can only find on dusty old 45 records. Right from the beginning in 2007 the band delved into the old, funky catalog of vinyl records that DJ's and beat makers were using to get crowds moving. Over the years they have refined this sound into their own unique blend of the old and the new, and have released two critically acclaimed and internationally renowned albums of original material on the Italian-based Record Kicks label. The band's second album, "West Grand Boulevard", was named one of the top R&B recordings of 2014, alongside the likes of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and Lee Fields, in All Music Guide's year-end review.

With the release of the band's first, self-titled album in 2012, Third Coast Kings were invited to perform at the Fuji Rock Festival in the mountains of Naeba, Japan. The band played for a crowd of 15,000 people and were very well-received, so much so that they were invited back to Japan in 2014 after the release of their second album.

Third Coast Kings have also garnered the praise and attention of many of their contemporaries, including: BBC DJ Craig Charles; funk and soul luminary Charles Bradley; DJ Andy Smith from The Document and Portishead; Lance Ferguson from The Bamboos; Henry Storch from Unique Records; Juno Records in the UK; Emrys Baird from Blues & Soul Magazine. Third Coast Kings is comprised of James Keovongsak on drums; Sean Ike on vocals; Andy Filisko on Guitar; Steve Barker on bass; Ryan Dolan on trumpet; and Alec Cooper on tenor and baritone saxophones. Third Coast Kings were active from 2007-2017 and disbanded shortly after their 10 year anniversary.