Brooklyn Soul Festival
The Bell House, Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn's hot new venue, the Bell House, hosted the first Brooklyn Soul Festival, organized by Capital Records' new soulster, Eli "Paperboy" Reed and upstart promoter Dig Deeper. The club was packed to the rafters with an urban crowd too young to have been born when featured legends Otis Clay and Maxine Brown first began writing and performing their brand of music.

The Sweet Divines, a new soul force, opened. They have powerful voices and heavenly harmonies and incorporate classic synchronization into their set. Together with the Divine Soul Rhythm Band, lead by music director J.B. Flatt, they started the festivities with a dozen songs that included searing versions of "Money Tree" and "Honeythistle." After a nonstop 12-song set, they assumed the role of back up singers and band for the rest of the evening.

Maxine Brown, all but overlooked for decades, now has her rightful due from a new generation of soul music lovers, who welcomed her with a thundering applause. Resplendent in red, she knocked out her classics "Funny" and "All In My Mind," before treating the crowd to a wondrous version of "Piece of My Heart" and Sam & Dave's "Hold On." It was hard to believe this soulful songstress started her career in the 1960s—she was as scintillating and energetic as any of her younger audience members.

Closing act and Chicago stalwart Otis Clay got caught up in the electricity that flowed through the room. Still one of the premiere soul blues singers anywhere, he delivered gut-wrenching versions of "I Didn't Know the Meaning of Pain" and "Is It Over?" as well as a benchmark rendition of "Trying to Live My Life Without You," a song well known to Bob Seger followers.—Howard B. Leibowitz