With the release of Come and Get It, the Boston-born, Brooklyn-based soul singer Eli “Paperboy” Reed has put forth a major label debut that critics are calling “scorching,” “ebullient,” “pitch-perfect,” and “as potent a classic R&B set as this century is likely to deliver” reports Bruce Edwin of The Hollywood Sentinel. The album, an irrepressible, 12-song set produced by Mike Elizondo, came out on EMI’s Capitol Records on August 10. Reed has been the subject of feature profiles on NPR Weekend Edition and CNN, and was named PASTE magazine’s “Best of What’s Next” and YAHOO Music’s “The New Now.” Possessed of an enviably broad appeal, Reed is the rare artist who has graced the pages of both AARP and Cosmogirl.
The festival also represents an important part of Reed’s M.I., going back to the source of his own inspiration, finding the unsung legends that have inspired him, and shining a spotlight on them. This fall the Brooklyn Soul Festival returns with an incredible lineup headlined by two legendary women of Gulf Coast soul, Barbara Lynn and Betty Harris. The massive event also features a top-notch record fair, award-winning BBQ, and a slew of international soul DJs. See full line-up below. “It’s been a wild ride, that’s for sure,” says Eli “Paperboy” Reed, looking back at the incredible journey that took the soul belter from a Boston high school band room to a Mississippi Delta juke joint, from Sunday morning gigs behind the organ at a tiny South Side Chicago church to headlining the coolest clubs in New York City with his red-hot band, and now, signed to Capitol Records.
On Come and Get It, Reed proves to be the life of a soulful party in which everyone eventually gets dragged onto the dance floor. As a performer, Reed approaches each song with nothing less than utter conviction. Admirers have likened him to such luminaries as Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett; the Boston Herald called him “Boston’s answer to Sam Cooke.” But he’s not merely trying to recreate a sound; Reed is channeling his influences and inspirations into making something all his own.
“For me,” says Reed, “it’s all about writing pop songs. Soul music was the greatest pop music of the 20th century and its influence is so far-reaching. When I pick up a guitar to write a song, the influence of the music I love invariably comes out. I can’t sing or write any other way than I do.” WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT COME AND GET IT: “Marvin, Otis, and Stevie deserve a new playlist pal: On ‘Come and Get It,’ Reed mines classic ’70s soul, but the romantic fervor of his whoops and wails is totally here-and-now.”
-Oprah Magazine
“Eli Reed is a great case for past lives. If that is real, this white boy was a brotha’ in one of his. He brings back the soul of Motown with craft and power.”
– The Hollywood Sentinel
‘Come and Get It’ combines soul-ratcheting spunk with 1960s-style ballads. At its core is an age-old R&B tradition: lyrics of love and being driven wild by women. When he hits stride, Reed unleashes raw sexual energy through deep-bellied hollers, explosive bursts from his band and auctioneer-like rapidity.” -CNN
THE SECOND ANNUAL BROOKLYN SOUL FESTIVAL
at the Bell House – 149 7th St., Brooklyn, NY
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8
8:00pm doors/DJs
8:30pm Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves
9:30pm Don Gardner
10:30pm Vernon Garrett
11:30pm Barbara Lynn
DJs until 4am
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9
11:00am-5:00pm Shakey’s Record Fair
8:00pm doors/DJs
8:30pm The Sweet Divines
9:30pm Renaldo Domino
10:30pm Harvey Scales
11:30pm Betty Harris
ELI “PAPERBOY” REED – 2010 TOUR DATES
Aug. 24 – Fenway Park – Boston, MA
Aug. 28 – J&R Music Festival at City Hall Park – New York, NY
Sept. 3 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Cleveland, OH
Sept. 4 – Hard Rock Cafe – Philadelphia, PA
Sept. 5 – Bayley Beach Park – Norwalk, CT
Sept. 11 – Life Is Good Festival – Boston, MA
Sept. 25 – Loon Mountain – Lincoln, NH
Oct. 8-9 – Brooklyn Soul Festival – Brooklyn, NY
Oct. 29 – V. Festival – New Orleans, LA
