Soul Dog Brings The Memphis Sound to The Hot August Blues Festival

Soul Dog recalls the heydays of Memphis Music and 60s and 70s Soul, such as Sam & Dave, The Temptations, Al Green, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, James Brown and others. They'll bring their trip down Soul Music's memory lane to the Hot August Blues Festival Saturday, August 25^th, at Kenlake State Park at Aurora, Kentucky.

Soul Dog has been together for 8 years, but the origins of the band started 40 years ago in Russell, KY. That’s when songwriter and lead guitarist David Booth began teaching his then teenaged brother-in-law Kevin Qualls how to play guitar. Some of the songs in Soul Dog’s repertoire are songs that were part of those early music lessons. Soul Dog has had various band members in the past 8 years, but David and Kevin have been constant members.

David Booth has been musically active his entire life. While in college at the University of Kentucky, David played Lexington venues with his band, “The Tungsten Trio.” Kevin’s sister was the vocalist. David has produced three albums of original music. “Worker In The Harvest” and “The Light Album” are soulful praise and worship CD’s. “Loose Ends,” his first album, consists of secular originals that reveal many of David’s musical influences, many of which are now covered in Soul Dog set lists. His CD’s are available on iTunes and CD Baby.

Kevin Qualls turned his attention to bass guitar in 2010 after complications for a surgery resulted in nerve damage to his left hand. In an effort to regain better use of his hand he tried playing guitar, but switched to bass because he could better feel the larger strings. It worked. David and Kevin began playing music together again. Other musicians joined along the way.

Vocalist Ron Coleman joined Soul Dog in 2014. Ron is a classically trained vocalist with an impressive range. He can sing everything from Italian opera to James Brown. In the 70’s, Ron sang with soul bands in Philadelphia.

Saxophonist Chuck Haney joined the band in 2013. Chuck adds a touch of jazz to the band’s sound. Drummer David Frensley has played with many bands in western Kentucky for decades. He was Soul Dog’s original drummer in the early days of band rehearsal, but work travel kept him from performing with the band until two years ago. David has experience in many genres of music and is proving especially adept at soul.

Soul Dog has continued for several years for simple reasons. They play music they love, it is recreational rather than vocational with their principal ambition to just have fun playing music. Their Facebook page is called, “PaducahSoulDog.” They are listed under the same name on Reverbnation, where several recordings are available.

The Kenlake Hot August Blues Festival is set for Thursday through Saturday, August 23-25 at Kenlake State Park in Aurora, Kentucky. Discount tickets are available at KenlakeBlues.com.

Charities which will benefit from this year's Hot August Blues Festival include The Shriners, who will be operating festival shuttles with all tips and proceeds going to the Shriners' Childrens' Hospitals, and the Knights of Columbus.