Hubbard Park to Get Funky with Tweed Funk

Bringing their unique mix of blues, soul, funk, and elements of hip-hop, the Milwaukee quartet Tweed Funk will take over Hubbard Park Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

, Tweed Funk will continue to rock the village in , 3565 N. Morris Blvd., after playing in Atwater Park during a fourth of July celebration.

The group’s guitarist JD Optekar has lived in Shorewood for seven years and said he loves playing in the area.

“It really is one of Milwaukee’s best kept secrets,” he said referring to Hubbard Park.

The group’s mix of different sounds will become apparent early he said. In one particular song, they combine The Commodores Brick House, The Sugarhill Gang's Rapper’s Delight and other songs into one.

“It’s really a combination of all our backgrounds,” Optekar said.

The group is led by its lead vocalist Joseph "Smokey" Holman who has a “stone cold old-school vibe and has got the pedigree to prove it, having been signed to Curtis Mayfield's Custom label in the 70s,” Optekar said.

The group says it uses the premise that today's R&B, rap and hip-hop can be traced back to the musical roots and beginnings of the blues, when producing its music.

Tweed Funk finished second in the Grafton Blues Challenge and was nominated for a Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) award as Best New Artist.

In addition, the group’s most recent CD released in mid-March, "Bringin It," has been on the national Roots Music Report Blues Internet Chart for eight weeks including seven weeks in top 10 and three weeks in the top five, and has been on the RMR Wisconsin State chart for 15 weeks straight, including nine weeks at No. 1.

The staff of Shorewood Patch will be on hand before the concert to greet our readers and hand out free goodies to concert-goers.

Those who sign up for the Patch newsletter will be entered in a drawing to win a $200 and $100 gas gift card. And there will be games and prizes for kids as well.

The will feature local bands every Thursday until Aug. 11.