On Jan 30, Uptown Café proudly hosted local band, Joel Worford and the Old Souls. The band, which comprises current Longwood students Joel Worford and Josh Burtner along with Longwood alum Chip Hale, performed during the café’s weekly live music session for their first gig this past Saturday.
Well before the band played, Uptown was packed both with locals looking for a good meal and new music to listen to, as well as college students supporting their fellow friends and classmates.
“I’m so proud of him,” said Amanda Patterson, Longwood student and friend of Worford, “He did a tremendous job and I thought he did a great job interacting with the audience.”
The band played with such passion and camaraderie that it would seem the trio have know each other for years. However, they were perfect strangers just a little over a year ago. Guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter Worford met drummer Burnter while working on Longwood’s theatre production of “Evil Dead: The Musical.” Soon after they began working on Worford’s debut solo EP titled “Where the Heart is.” The EP features seven original songs written by Worford and was released Feb. 24 of last year. Not long after, Worford met Hale while performing at Uptown and since then the three have bonded over their love of music and formed Joel Worford and the Old Souls.
The band, according to Worford, plays soul and neo-soul music with jazz and blues influences mixed in. They cite Jimi Hendrix and D’Angelo as inspirations for their music, while Worford names John Mayer a big influence in his guitar playing and Jeff Buckley as his favorite artist. All of these influences were heard in Worford’s originals, which included, “Justified,” “Peaceful Calm Sunday” and “Passing Time.” In addition, the group performed some covers such as John Mayer’s “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” and “Gravity” and The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge.”
In preparing for the event, Worford mentioned that the set took about five months to prepare and their dedication to the preparation of it showed through their performance. The music was also well received by the crowd. People could be seen bopping their heads, tapping their feet and swaying to the music. After the show, the band was bombarded with applause, congratulations and even tips from those in attendance. The band was very grateful to all who came out to listen and support them.
“The turnout was like everything I had dreamed,” said Worford, “It was cool seeing so many friends and then, I felt like there was a good number of people who hadn’t heard my music before there so, I could kind of reach some new people.”
Joel Worford and the Old Souls’ next performance is still up in the air as to when and where however, Worford will be performing solo on Feb. 14, in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Longwood sophomore honors student Joel Worford (right) performed with his band at Uptown Cafe on Saturday evening, his first paid gig since creating Joel Worford and the Old Souls.
