First Magnitude Brewing Company is celebrating soul with the three B’s — beer, blues and barbecue.
The brewery, located at 1220 SE Veitch St., is hosting a soul music festival Saturday, featuring the bands Little Jake & The Soul Searchers and 21Blue.
The event starts at 4 p.m., with Little Jake & The Soul Searchers playing the first of alternating hourlong sets until 11 p.m.
“Because it’s such a long event, we wanted to give people who may have had plans through the day an opportunity to come by and see both,” said Lane Abraben, the event coordinator at the brewery.
The Mojo Hogtown Bar-B-Que food truck will be serving soul food at the event.
Little Jake & The Soul Searchers have performed at First Magnitude before, but it will be 21Blue’s first time playing at this venue.
Little Jake & The Soul Searchers consists of nine members, including Little Jake Mitchell on vocals, Tran Whitley on keyboards, Charles Henry and Levi Griffin Jr. on guitar, Allen McCollum on bass, Hal Saylor on drums, Charlie Blade on saxophone, Doug Meyers on trumpet, Brian Stevens on trombone and Kenny Eunice as the master of ceremonies.
Griffin Jr. is the band’s newest member. Saturday’s show will be the first time they play in Gainesville with their new second guitar player.
Blade said one of his personal favorite songs of theirs to perform is “Have Faith.” He describes it as “just a really powerful, soulful song.”
21Blue band members are: Longineu Parsons on trumpet, vocals, flugelhorn, flute and recorder; Robert Griffin on keyboard and trombone; Longineu Parsons III on drums; Chris Delorean Fullington on bass; and Ted Shumate on guitar.
Parsons III previously played drums for the punk band Yellowcard, known for its 2003 hit song “Ocean Avenue.”
21Blue combines the power of rock and the soulfulness of blues with the funk of rhythm and blues, Shumate said.
“To lock into that groove and see an entire audience experiencing that power and energy together is exhilarating and very spiritually filling,” Shumate said.
Each band noted admiration for the other. Shumate looks forward to the high-energy performances from both groups.
“Gainesville itself has a very special energy that is conducive to the creative spirit,” Shumate said. “It is fun to tap into that.”
This will be the second soul festival First Magnitude has held. The first one was in August with Little Jake & The Soul Searchers and Gainesville-native band The Savants of Soul.
“We had a wonderful turnout last time and hoping for the same this time around,” Blade said. “Everyone just had a ball, and seven solid hours of rhythm and blues music.”
The event is open to all ages. There is a $10 cash-only entry fee per person, which gives all-day access to the beer garden. Admission is free for children 12 and younger.
