Voodoo Visionary

Hailing from the Dirty South musical mecca of Atlanta, GA, Voodoo Visionary’s improvisational funk dance music balances a tight, grooving rhythm section with soulful organ, funky clavinet, singing synthesizers, masterful guitar licks, and moving vocals to create a sound the group calls psychofunk. Influenced by a wide array of artists from Parliament Funkadelic and the Meters to the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band to Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, Voodoo Visionary has a uniquely blended sound that’s guaranteed to put the 'oogie in yo boogie.

Founded in 2013, the band has gone through several lineup changes over the years, reflective of different periods of the band’s growth and development. The current lineup is Austin Cobb (vocals), Dennis Dowd (keyboards), Trent Gilson (bass), Jose Rivera (percussion) Mac Schmitz (drums), and Mike Wilson (guitar). These players have built a unique chemistry that allows for exceptional improvisation during live shows.

Voodoo Visionary released their debut album, Spirit of the Groove in March 2015 and their sophomore album Off The Ground in February 2017. While playing across the country over the last several years, the band has been direct support for Col. Bruce Hampton, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe featuring Jimmy Herring, TAUK, DJ Logic, Big Something, Zach Deputy, Earphunk, Roosevelt Collier, Jerry Joseph, The Main Squeeze, Futurebirds, Fruition and more. In May 2015, they made their major festival debut at Counterpoint Music Festival near Rome, GA. Since then, they have excelled further into the national music scene with festival performances at Suwannee Hulaween, Sweetwater 420 Fest, Imagine Festival, Backwoods Music Festival, Funk Fest, Purple Hatters Ball, Great Outdoors Jam, and Hookahville.

“Voodoo Visionary… synthesizes elements of funk, jazz, disco, and rock ‘n’ roll into their unique improvisational sound.”
– Live For Live Music

“A mix of psychedelic southern funk, Michigan soul, and gulf coast flavor.” - Relix

"Vooodoo Visionary is the next generation of Atlanta funk bands." - Seth Weiner, Inside Out WTNS

“If this band had been around in the early ‘70s out of Atlanta, they would surely have been scooped up in a heartbeat by Capricorn Records... Repeated listenings reveal layer upon layer of elements. This is simply a superb recording, in terms of composition, performance, and sound.”
– Scott Hopkins, MusicFestNews.com

“Spirit of the Groove refuses to confine the band to a single genre and takes listeners on an adventure through sound and time... Voodoo Visionary has embraced and harnessed this epic blend [of influences], resulting in a truly amazing studio record.”
– Randy Harris, Live Music Daily

“While genre conventions are clearly upheld, driving rhythms, blistering lead guitar, and gospelesque lyrics, Voodoo Visionary escape the generic and create their own space, capitalizing on what works within funk as a genre. These guys will no doubt jam easily into the college bar scene, keeping the waning hippie contingent well fueled with healthy servings of funk. For that matter, Voodoo Visionary maintains the spirit of bump and sway in an otherwise monolithic universe of EDM. Before robots usurped dance music, this was what you dropped doses to. This is what outer space looked like from fifty thousand feet.”
– Jon Litten, The Artifact Magazine

Background photo courtesy: Bonnie Moret

Band: Voodoo Visionary

Venue: Variety Playhouse (Atlanta, GA)

Home Page photo taken by Jess Philips at Suwannee Hulaween 2017