Con Funk Shun
Yoshi’s
510 Embarcadero West
December 21, 2026
‘Twas the week before Christmas, and that meant that Con Funk Shun was wrapping up another year of touring with their 5th annual Home for the Holidays celebration in Oakland.
“This is something that I look forward to every year,” singer Felton Pilate told me during a post-sound check sit down at Yoshi’s.
With a bright smile on his face, he said that the yearly tradition is “a chance to do something different.” By different, he meant a mix of the band’s soulful classics and some holiday songs from their 2024 album Home for Christmas.
The multiple night run in late December, billed as “a soulful reunion gift wrapped in rhythm, nostalgia, and pure holiday joy,” has always fit that exact description.
Named after a song by the Nite-Liters, 70s hit makers Con Funk Shun was formed by friends from high school in Vallejo: Guitarist Michael Cooper, drummer Louis A. McCall Sr., bassist Cedric Martin, keyboardist Danny "Sweet Man" Thomas, trumpeter Karl Fuller, woodwinds player Paul "Maceo" Harrell, and Pilate on vocals and trombone.
The current lineup includes three remaining original members (Cooper, Pilate, and Fuller), accompanied by Grammy and Oscar-award winner Kurt “KC” Clayton on keys, Ron Moton on sax, Brian LaTour on bass, Aaron Green on drums, and Rene Escovedo on percussion. Escovedo’s aunt, Sheila E, was the band’s first percussionist.
Earlier this year, to honor a musical legacy which spans over five decades, the band’s hometown named a street after them and gave them a Key to the City. Previously, drummer McCall had a street named after him in his birth city of Alameda.
Though they have some iconic slappers in their catalog, Con Funk Shun’s signature sound is low-end driven, slow groove, smooth funk with vocal harmonies. Put simply, Con Funk Shun is baby-makin music that stood out in the heyday of baby-makin music.
Accordingly, the Yoshi’s audience was grown. My tablemates, a couple from Vacaville, were in their 70s and 90s, and claimed to be long-time fans. Despite the gentleman’s burgundy suit and matching felt fedora, they didn’t really stand out too much in this crowd.
The band members at the front of the stage were wearing matching sequined red sport coats over black pants and black shirts. Rocking matching red sparkled loafers, they busted choreographed dance moves throughout the night. Though Pilate and Cooper were the main vocalists, everyone sang.
They mostly played their classic hits, of which there are many to choose from: Chase Me, Shake and Dance With Me, Got to be Enough, and Ffun, to name just a few. Despite the holiday theme, only two Christmas songs were mixed into their regular set.
Green and Escovedo were given extended solos midway through the performance, and Latour was featured during a closing medley of funk cover songs.
Pilate had told me that playing at Yoshi’s is “incredibly special,” specifically noting the intimacy of the venue. Sure enough, he left the stage and walked through the audience during the performance, continuing to sing as he interacted with people.
“It’s always a joy,” he said about ending the year at Yoshi’s. “Every time we play here it feels like home.”
“Oakland holds an extremely significant place in our hearts,” Pilate added. Apparently, it’s where their musical careers really took off. He told me a story about a time when he and Cooper snuck into a The Soul Children show in Oakland and met the band’s management. The manager remembered them from a previous show at the Henry J. Kaiser Center (Con Funk Shun was named Soul Power back then), and allegedly fired Soul Children’s backup band and hired Soul Power that same night.
Soul Children were signed to Stax records at that time, and that proved to be a life-changing opportunity for the kids from Vallejo. Three months after that meeting in Oakland, Soul Power backed up Rufus Thomas at Wattstax, then moved to Memphis, changed their name to Con-Funk-Shun, and the rest is history.
In the 1980s, after his time in the band, Pilate became the producer and songwriter for M.C. Hammer. In addition to Hammer, Pilate also helped launch the career of rapper E-40.
With so many deep roots in the East Bay, Con Funk Shun coming home to Oakland for the holidays is an annual must do for fans of the funk. When LaTour is thumping the bass, and Cooper is strumming his strings, these are a few of my favorite things.
