Monophonics Bring Heavy Soul and Psychedelic Rock Back to the Knick

Monophonics Bring Heavy Soul and Psychedelic Rock Back to the Knick Oct. 3, when the San Francisco band returns to Westerly with the kind of music that can make a modern club feel like somebody just opened a forgotten door into 1971.

If you haven’t heard Monophonics before, start with the ingredients.

Take the emotional weight of classic soul, add the deep grooves and horns of funk, layer in psychedelic guitars and vintage keyboards, and put Kelly Finnigan out front with a voice that sounds remarkably at home in another musical era.

The result isn’t a tribute act and it isn’t a band simply reproducing old records. Monophonics write contemporary songs using a musical vocabulary built from late-’60s and early-’70s soul, psychedelic rock and R&B.

That’s also what makes the Knick Music Lab an especially good room for them.

Old Soul Without Becoming a Museum Piece

Monophonics formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-2000s, but the band’s defining era began when singer, songwriter, producer and keyboardist Kelly Finnigan joined the group.

Finnigan helped push Monophonics toward the sound that has become its calling card: big analog textures, emotionally charged vocals, horns, psychedelic flourishes and arrangements that can move from intimate soul ballads to explosive funk-rock.

There are plenty of historical reference points.

You can hear echoes of Curtis Mayfield and the cinematic side of soul, the psychedelic experiments of late-’60s Motown, vocal groups such as the Delfonics and the expansive pop of bands like the Zombies.

But Monophonics don’t treat those influences as artifacts.

The songs themselves deal with recognizable subjects — love, loss, perseverance, isolation and the messy business of trying to get through life — while the production deliberately reaches backward to an era when records sounded warm, imperfect and human.

That combination helped songs including “Last One Standing,” “It’s Only Us,” “Chances,” “Lying Eyes,” “Promises” and their interpretation of “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” find audiences far beyond the retro-soul scene.

If You Want to Know What They Sound Like, Check Into the Sage Motel

Their 2022 album Sage Motel may be the best introduction to the Monophonics world.

It’s a concept album built around an imaginary motel that supposedly began as a roadside stop in the 1940s, became a bohemian destination during the 1960s and ’70s and then slowly deteriorated.

People pass through its rooms carrying dreams, broken relationships and turning points in their lives.

Musically, it gives Monophonics room to blend heavy soul with psychedelic rock and cinematic arrangements, with Finnigan’s voice holding the stories together.

By that point the band had already developed a substantial following. Its previous album, It’s Only Us, accumulated tens of millions of streams, while Monophonics built its reputation the old-fashioned way as well: touring.

The group has performed across the United States and in cities throughout Europe and beyond, including London, Paris, Amsterdam, Athens and Istanbul.

And live performance matters with this band.

The Horns Are Coming Too

The current Monophonics lineup is constructed to deliver considerably more than a stripped-down touring approximation of the records.

Finnigan handles vocals and keyboards, backed by drummer Austin Bohlman, bassist Max Ramey and guitarist Aquilles Magaña.

Then comes the horn section, led by trumpeter Ryan Scott with Jason Cressey on trombone.

That’s important because the horns aren’t decorative in this music. They’re part of what gives Monophonics its scale, moving between tight rhythmic punches and sweeping soul arrangements while the rhythm section provides the groove underneath.

The UNITED describes the band’s live performances as energetic, and years of international touring have made the stage as important to Monophonics’ identity as the studio.

For people who like soul but don’t necessarily want a nostalgia show, this is where the distinction becomes clear.

Monophonics aren’t pretending it’s still 1970.

They’ve simply decided that some of the things musicians knew how to do in 1970 were worth keeping.

A Big Sound in an Intimate Westerly Room

Saturday’s concert isn’t inside the UNITED’s main theater.

It’s at the Knick Music Lab, the performance space at 35 Railroad Avenue that continues the musical life of Westerly’s historic Knickerbocker Music Center.

That should put Monophonics considerably closer to the audience than a traditional theater presentation would.

The night also includes support from Taylor Williams, with doors opening at 7:30 p.m. and music beginning at 8.

Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 on the day of the show, with fees included. The concert is open to all ages.

For anyone whose record collection wanders through classic soul, psychedelic rock, funk and modern artists who still believe a horn section and a deep groove can solve an awful lot of problems, this is one worth investigating.

And if you’ve never heard Monophonics, give “Last One Standing” a few minutes before deciding.

Seven minutes later, you’ll have a much better idea of what Saturday night in Westerly is going to sound like.

More information is available at the Event Website link below. To purchase tickets, click the Event Ticketing link below.

Details

Event: Monophonics
Date: Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026
Doors: 7:30 p.m.
Show: 8 p.m.
Venue: Knick Music Lab
Address: 35 Railroad Ave., Westerly, RI
Admission: $30 advance; $35 day of show, inclusive of fees
Age: All ages
Support: Taylor Williams
Seating: General admission
Food & Drink: Prepackaged concession snacks and soft drinks available for purchase; limited bar with prepackaged beer, wine and canned cocktails
Ticket Policy: Tickets are nonrefundable and nonexchangeable

 

 

Featured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people, location, or activities shown.