Annie & The Caldwells

• Gent Jazz
  Tuesday 7•July•2026
  16:45•

"It's a family affair," Sly & The Family Stone sang in 1971. For years, they were considered soul and funk’s 'first family’ — but Annie & The Caldwells are giving them serious competition. Centred around singer and matriarch Annie Caldwell - see also Staples Jr. Singers - a tight family bond developed: husband Willie Caldwell on guitar; daughters and niece blending their backing voices in harmony; sons as a razor-sharp rhythm section. For more than two decades, they steadily built up a funk and soul-driven gospel sound, earning them devoted local acclaim. That changed in 2025 with the release of Can’t Lose My (Soul), the album that carried their story far beyond Mississippi and out into the wider world.

Though deeply spiritual in content — recorded in their own church in West Point, Mississippi — the album pulsates with an earthy groove. The guitar is fuzzy, the solos almost psychedelic. Their collective vocals are exciting, and their call-and-response sparkles with wit. Chaka Khan, Bootsy Collins and The Gap Band are unmistakable inspirations. Live, the family is nothing short of revelatory. Their appearance at Le Guess Who? was hailed as a showstopper, and widely praised as one of the absolute highlights of the Dutch concert year. This is more than a performance: it is a collective experience where faith and groove merge.

For fans of: Sly & The Family Stone, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Mavis Staples