Fans of old-school R&B and funk are in for a treat Friday night when session supergroup The Smoking Section returns to 3rd and Lindsley. “We’re going to do a gamut of tunes that range from Chaka Khan and Stevie Wonder to Earth, Wind & Fire and Tower of Power — some of the fun tunes from the ’70s and ’80s,” guitarist Tom Hemby tells the Scene. “We’ll play two sets — usually an hour-and-15-minute set, then we’ll take a 15-minute break and do another hour-and-15 or so.” The group featuring top Nashville session musicians and singers was founded in 2009 by keyboardist Tim Akers, who loved horn-driven R&B, and has continued to perform after Akers passed away in 2021. The Smoking Section’s current lineup features vocalists Joey Richey, Gene Miller, Kim Fleming and Kim Keyes, keyboardists Blair Masters and Boh Cooper, guitarists Hemby and Mark Baldwin, trumpeters Steve Patrick and Mike Barry, saxophonists Mark Douthit and Jovan Quallo, trombonist Barry Green, drummer John Hammond, percussionist Eric Darken and sound engineer Doug Sarrett, who is integral to the group’s electrifying sound. Due to a conflict, sax man Jimmy Bowland will be subbing for Quallo at Friday’s show.
8 p.m. at 3rd and Lindsley
818 Third Ave. S.
