George Porter Jr. is an award-winning bassist, songwriter and vocalist. He is a founding member of New Orleans’ seminal funk band, The Meters and widely recognized as one of the greatest bass players of all time. Formed alongside Art "Poppa Funk" Neville, Leo Nocentelli and Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste, the pioneering R&B funk outfit hit the scene on the streets of the Crescent City in the 1960s, to ultimately become one of the progenitors of the funk music genre. The groundbreaking collective carved out syncopated polyrhythms and grooves inherited from New Orleans’ deep African musical roots. Porter’s heavy pocket and fat notes formed the rubbery bass lines behind funk classics like their signature “Cissy Strut,” the now classic 1969 funk instrumental released as a single from their eponymous debut album, which reached No. 4 on the R&B chart and No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively. While the group rarely enjoyed massive mainstream success, they are widely heralded alongside James Brown, Sly Stone, and George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic as the founding fathers of funk. The Meters have been nominated four times for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (most recently in 2017), and were presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018.
At the outset of his young career, Porter developed his signature style on sessions in his hometown New Orleans, with early musical pioneers Johnny Adams, Irma Thomas, Snooks Eaglin, Eddie Bo and The Lastie Brothers. While Porter developed his pedigree, The Meters were gaining notoriety, soon becoming the house band for Allen Toussaint’s recording label, backing classic records from Dr. John, Lee Dorsey and Earl King, while later supplying the musical foundation for classic hit albums and singles from modern artists Robert Palmer, Paul McCartney, Tori Amos, Taj Mahal, not to mention Patti Labelle’s No. 1 R&B hit “Lady Marmalade.” George and The Meters toured with the Rolling Stones in '75, were embraced by Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, and became primary influences to modern artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Beastie Boys. Porter’s rhythmic work with drummer Modeliste also became the building block behind primary samples used by the most relevant hip-hop artists of the 1980’s and 1990’s, including A Tribe Called Quest, Run DMC, N.W.A. and Queen Latifah.
Porter has accompanied the stage as a band member or special guest with the likes of David Byrne, Dead & Company, Jimmy Buffet, Warren Haynes, Widespread
Panic, Tedeschi Trucks Band, John Scofield, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart and various members of Phish, to name a few.
He continues to be the bandleader of current projects, George Porter Jr. and Runnin' Pardners and George Porter Jr. Trio; with both incarnations still playing often locally, and touring prolifically, garnering respect not only as quintessential New Orleans' bands, but also as major national attractions within the jam band and festival scene. On special occasions, Porter still anchors Foundation of Funk, a current Meters "reinvention" with original drummer Zigaboo Modeliste, boasting a rotating line-up which has featured members of Widespread Panic, Medeski Martin & Wood, Dumpstaphunk and 2018's now infamous Lockn Festival sit-in by Bob Weir, John Mayer and Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, the latter of whom George played with in the popular side project, The 7 Walkers.
Currently, Porter still maintains a healthy touring schedule with his trio and Runnin’ Pardners projects with a cast of seasoned and talented musicians including long-time collaborator Michael Lemmler (keyboards), Terrence Houston (drums) and Chris Adkins (guitar). George and his Runnin' Pardners recently released their highly acclaimed first new studio album in six years, Crying For Hope in March 2021. The album garnered national coverage with Billboard, Tidal, MOJO, Premier Guitar and Bass Player, along with Porter's hometown publication, Offbeat, which declared:
"While the title cut harkens back to the social commentary lyricism of some of the best Meters songs and references the déjà-vu all-over-again experiences of Black America in these fraught times, the rest of the album remains emotionally upbeat and hopeful. For a band that is known for its stop-on-a-dime tightness when performing live, this album proves over and over that with the right musical ingredients the magic can actually be bottled."
During the course of his career spanning more than four decades, Porter has made a deep impression as an elite player; acknowledged as one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s 50 Greatest Bassist of All Time. At 74 years young, George Porter Jr. plans to keep a smile on his face and often says, "I feel like I am working towards something that will be remembered."
Natalie Brooke
Natalie Brooke is a rock star. A virtuoso funk / rock keys player leading her powerhouse 4-piece band from the Baltimore area. The explosive act is fronted by Natalie on keys, synth, keytar, and vocals and backed by drummer Nathan Shulkin, Nester on the bass, and Luke Walker on the guitar.
She kicks off every show with a punch and never lets the energy drop - audiences move, dance, scream, jump, and ride the wild wave of the set with her and the band. Natalie’s music was once said to be a mashup of Rick James and Rush. She has an undeniably infectious vibe featuring a fiery blend of fast tempos and sloshy rock elements balanced with her transcendent jazz and classical roots. Natalie brings an exceptionally unique approach to the keyboard that is equally percussive and melodic that lights up the show with every electrifying note she plays. She is on a meteoric rise, frequently sharing the stage with pillars of the rock, funk, and jazz scenes. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Andy Frasco & the UN, Big Something, Cris Jacobs, Doom Flamingo, Sunsquabi, lespecial, and the Magic Beans are a few of the artists Natalie has played with recently.
Natalie’s artistry thrives in the space between vulnerability and fire. With her new full-length album, Measured in Moments, arriving October 10, 2025 the Maryland-based pianist, vocalist, and bandleader reveals her most fearless work yet. A bold, expansive statement that charts her path from quiet, ear-trained prodigy to commanding frontwoman, composer, and collaborator.
The album’s opening singles offer two distinct windows into her evolving sound. “Sometimes” featuring Cris Jacobs, released September 9, 2025 is a groove-forward meditation on life’s dualities. Led by her soulful vocals and anchored by the lyric: “sometimes change is what I am, sometimes I’m better off running.” The track builds in intensity, slipping into a jazz-soaked breakdown before she unleashes a fiery organ solo. Baltimore rock luminary Cris Jacobs answers with a spellbinding improvisation of his own, pushing the song into uncharted terrain.
“Hands” takes a decidedly different route. An urgent jazz-fusion composition that rides a staccato motif into a soaring chorus that is both sultry and celebratory, the track embodies Natalie’s invitation to the dance floor, complete with tension-building bridges and moments of release that capture her instinct for drama and motion.
For Natalie, these tracks are snapshots of a larger journey. “Pretty much always been piano,” she recalls. “I started when I was five, and just was always in lessons. I did quit lessons in middle school, which is when I picked up really learning by ear, which I think is where a lot of the creativity really started happening.” The shift from the page and toward instinct proved to be the vital catalyst cementing the foundation of her artistry.
Her evolution hasn’t been linear. Classical training gave way to a “brutal learning curve” in jazz, years of attending metal shows fed into her love of grit and volume, and eventually vocals entered the frame. “Vocals were a completely different approach. I was actually very quiet my whole life… singing has actually been a really big challenge. I finally, secretly, started going to voice lessons and not telling anybody when I was 25,” she says. What began as therapy — “being okay with being loud and being heard” — has transformed into a defining strength.
When she first stepped into the role of bandleader, six months before the pandemic, Brooke was hesitant. The forced pause became a turning point. “When I first started my band, I was still a little shy being the front woman. Then during covid was when I decided that I can get back out there, I’m gonna not hold back. I’m gonna rip it up.” That commitment shows up not just in her stage presence—often wielding a keytar bought on impulse (“I wish I had a better story… I just bought the keytar”)—but in the way she runs her band. “I really like grit, and I really like when people like to be pushed and when they like to also push me… we always want to be hurtling forward, creating something new, and not getting stagnant.”
Her debut solo EP, Wicked and Wonderful (2024), hinted at this alchemy of sounds, combining instrumentals, piano-driven experiments, and genre-bending curiosity. The forthcoming album pushes further, weaving fusion, funk, and rock energy with moments of intimate storytelling. On stage, Brooke favors high energy, while in the studio she leans into narrative and nuance. “I like to go into the studio to really tell a story and honestly get things out that I can’t get out live,” she admits. The result is a body of work that honors both sides of her identity: the explosive live performer and the reflective songwriter.
Ultimately, Natalie Brooke’s story is one of reinvention, perfecting the art of learning to be heard, to lead, and to trust the creative tension that comes with pushing boundaries. The release of Measured In Moments captures that arc in full, cementing her place as one of the most compelling new voices in modern jazz-fusion and beyond.
George Porter Jr. & Runnin' Pardners
w/ Natalie Brooke Saturday, March 28th, 2026 Charleston Pour House Main stage 7:30pm doors /8:30pm show
*By purchasing a ticket, you agree to receive emails from ARTIST and PROMOTER.
*Show is 21+. Attendees under the age of 21 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Attendees under 21 will be subject to a $5 surcharge. The surcharge must be paid in cash at the door on the day of the event.
*By purchasing a ticket, you agree to receive emails from ARTIST and PROMOTER.
* Show is 21+. Attendees under the age of 21 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Attendees under 21 will be subject to a $5 surcharge. The surcharge must be paid in cash at the door on the day of the event.
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George Porter Jr. & Runnin' Pardners
George Porter Jr. is an award-winning bassist, songwriter and vocalist. He is a founding member of New Orleans’ seminal funk band, The Meters and widely recognized as one of the greatest bass players of all time. Formed alongside Art "Poppa Funk" Neville, Leo Nocentelli and Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste, the pioneering R&B funk outfit hit the scene on the streets of the Crescent City in the 1960s, to ultimately become one of the progenitors of the funk music genre. The groundbreaking collective carved out syncopated polyrhythms and grooves inherited from New Orleans’ deep African musical roots. Porter’s heavy pocket and fat notes formed the rubbery bass lines behind funk classics like their signature “Cissy Strut,” the now classic 1969 funk instrumental released as a single from their eponymous debut album, which reached No. 4 on the R&B chart and No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively. While the group rarely enjoyed massive mainstream success, they are widely heralded alongside James Brown, Sly Stone, and George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic as the founding fathers of funk. The Meters have been nominated four times for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (most recently in 2017), and were presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in 2018.
At the outset of his young career, Porter developed his signature style on sessions in his hometown New Orleans, with early musical pioneers Johnny Adams, Irma Thomas, Snooks Eaglin, Eddie Bo and The Lastie Brothers. While Porter developed his pedigree, The Meters were gaining notoriety, soon becoming the house band for Allen Toussaint’s recording label, backing classic records from Dr. John, Lee Dorsey and Earl King, while later supplying the musical foundation for classic hit albums and singles from modern artists Robert Palmer, Paul McCartney, Tori Amos, Taj Mahal, not to mention Patti Labelle’s No. 1 R&B hit “Lady Marmalade.” George and The Meters toured with the Rolling Stones in '75, were embraced by Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, and became primary influences to modern artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Beastie Boys. Porter’s rhythmic work with drummer Modeliste also became the building block behind primary samples used by the most relevant hip-hop artists of the 1980’s and 1990’s, including A Tribe Called Quest, Run DMC, N.W.A. and Queen Latifah.
Porter has accompanied the stage as a band member or special guest with the likes of David Byrne, Dead & Company, Jimmy Buffet, Warren Haynes, Widespread
Panic, Tedeschi Trucks Band, John Scofield, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart and various members of Phish, to name a few.
He continues to be the bandleader of current projects, George Porter Jr. and Runnin' Pardners and George Porter Jr. Trio; with both incarnations still playing often locally, and touring prolifically, garnering respect not only as quintessential New Orleans' bands, but also as major national attractions within the jam band and festival scene. On special occasions, Porter still anchors Foundation of Funk, a current Meters "reinvention" with original drummer Zigaboo Modeliste, boasting a rotating line-up which has featured members of Widespread Panic, Medeski Martin & Wood, Dumpstaphunk and 2018's now infamous Lockn Festival sit-in by Bob Weir, John Mayer and Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, the latter of whom George played with in the popular side project, The 7 Walkers.
Currently, Porter still maintains a healthy touring schedule with his trio and Runnin’ Pardners projects with a cast of seasoned and talented musicians including long-time collaborator Michael Lemmler (keyboards), Terrence Houston (drums) and Chris Adkins (guitar). George and his Runnin' Pardners recently released their highly acclaimed first new studio album in six years, Crying For Hope in March 2021. The album garnered national coverage with Billboard, Tidal, MOJO, Premier Guitar and Bass Player, along with Porter's hometown publication, Offbeat, which declared:
"While the title cut harkens back to the social commentary lyricism of some of the best Meters songs and references the déjà-vu all-over-again experiences of Black America in these fraught times, the rest of the album remains emotionally upbeat and hopeful. For a band that is known for its stop-on-a-dime tightness when performing live, this album proves over and over that with the right musical ingredients the magic can actually be bottled."
During the course of his career spanning more than four decades, Porter has made a deep impression as an elite player; acknowledged as one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s 50 Greatest Bassist of All Time. At 74 years young, George Porter Jr. plans to keep a smile on his face and often says, "I feel like I am working towards something that will be remembered."
Natalie Brooke
Natalie Brooke is a rock star. A virtuoso funk / rock keys player leading her powerhouse 4-piece band from the Baltimore area. The explosive act is fronted by Natalie on keys, synth, keytar, and vocals and backed by drummer Nathan Shulkin, Nester on the bass, and Luke Walker on the guitar.
She kicks off every show with a punch and never lets the energy drop - audiences move, dance, scream, jump, and ride the wild wave of the set with her and the band. Natalie’s music was once said to be a mashup of Rick James and Rush. She has an undeniably infectious vibe featuring a fiery blend of fast tempos and sloshy rock elements balanced with her transcendent jazz and classical roots. Natalie brings an exceptionally unique approach to the keyboard that is equally percussive and melodic that lights up the show with every electrifying note she plays. She is on a meteoric rise, frequently sharing the stage with pillars of the rock, funk, and jazz scenes. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Andy Frasco & the UN, Big Something, Cris Jacobs, Doom Flamingo, Sunsquabi, lespecial, and the Magic Beans are a few of the artists Natalie has played with recently.
Natalie’s artistry thrives in the space between vulnerability and fire. With her new full-length album, Measured in Moments, arriving October 10, 2025 the Maryland-based pianist, vocalist, and bandleader reveals her most fearless work yet. A bold, expansive statement that charts her path from quiet, ear-trained prodigy to commanding frontwoman, composer, and collaborator.
The album’s opening singles offer two distinct windows into her evolving sound. “Sometimes” featuring Cris Jacobs, released September 9, 2025 is a groove-forward meditation on life’s dualities. Led by her soulful vocals and anchored by the lyric: “sometimes change is what I am, sometimes I’m better off running.” The track builds in intensity, slipping into a jazz-soaked breakdown before she unleashes a fiery organ solo. Baltimore rock luminary Cris Jacobs answers with a spellbinding improvisation of his own, pushing the song into uncharted terrain.
“Hands” takes a decidedly different route. An urgent jazz-fusion composition that rides a staccato motif into a soaring chorus that is both sultry and celebratory, the track embodies Natalie’s invitation to the dance floor, complete with tension-building bridges and moments of release that capture her instinct for drama and motion.
For Natalie, these tracks are snapshots of a larger journey. “Pretty much always been piano,” she recalls. “I started when I was five, and just was always in lessons. I did quit lessons in middle school, which is when I picked up really learning by ear, which I think is where a lot of the creativity really started happening.” The shift from the page and toward instinct proved to be the vital catalyst cementing the foundation of her artistry.
Her evolution hasn’t been linear. Classical training gave way to a “brutal learning curve” in jazz, years of attending metal shows fed into her love of grit and volume, and eventually vocals entered the frame. “Vocals were a completely different approach. I was actually very quiet my whole life… singing has actually been a really big challenge. I finally, secretly, started going to voice lessons and not telling anybody when I was 25,” she says. What began as therapy — “being okay with being loud and being heard” — has transformed into a defining strength.
When she first stepped into the role of bandleader, six months before the pandemic, Brooke was hesitant. The forced pause became a turning point. “When I first started my band, I was still a little shy being the front woman. Then during covid was when I decided that I can get back out there, I’m gonna not hold back. I’m gonna rip it up.” That commitment shows up not just in her stage presence—often wielding a keytar bought on impulse (“I wish I had a better story… I just bought the keytar”)—but in the way she runs her band. “I really like grit, and I really like when people like to be pushed and when they like to also push me… we always want to be hurtling forward, creating something new, and not getting stagnant.”
Her debut solo EP, Wicked and Wonderful (2024), hinted at this alchemy of sounds, combining instrumentals, piano-driven experiments, and genre-bending curiosity. The forthcoming album pushes further, weaving fusion, funk, and rock energy with moments of intimate storytelling. On stage, Brooke favors high energy, while in the studio she leans into narrative and nuance. “I like to go into the studio to really tell a story and honestly get things out that I can’t get out live,” she admits. The result is a body of work that honors both sides of her identity: the explosive live performer and the reflective songwriter.
Ultimately, Natalie Brooke’s story is one of reinvention, perfecting the art of learning to be heard, to lead, and to trust the creative tension that comes with pushing boundaries. The release of Measured In Moments captures that arc in full, cementing her place as one of the most compelling new voices in modern jazz-fusion and beyond.
George Porter Jr. & Runnin' Pardners
w/ Natalie Brooke Saturday, March 28th, 2026 Charleston Pour House Main stage 7:30pm doors /8:30pm show
*By purchasing a ticket, you agree to receive emails from ARTIST and PROMOTER.
*Show is 21+. Attendees under the age of 21 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Attendees under 21 will be subject to a $5 surcharge. The surcharge must be paid in cash at the door on the day of the event.
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