The Lost Tribe feat. Movement of the People Dance Company
Hopgood/Lord Summer Music Series
Bushnell Park
Hartford
June 19, 2025
Juneteenth 2025 featured some wonderful celebrations of African American culture around the Capital city, but few were as impactful as hearing the past, present and future of African American music performed by the Lost Tribe in Bushnell Park.
The concert was part of the Hopgood/Lord Summer Series, which began on June 5.
The Lost Tribe describes itself as “a drum-centered Afro-funk fusion ensemble.” It features nine regular members, including band leader Jocelyn Pleasant, who is a multi-talented percussionist. The Lost Tribe is reminiscent of the big band style of decades past, particularly the funk-era bands of the 1960s and 70s like Kool and the Gang and Earth, Wind and Fire, as well as more contemporary multi-member bands like The Roots.
The depth of the ensemble allows for layered music that takes much longer than the three to four-minute pop songs we’re familiar with to build to crescendo. A song that begins with Pleasant on the drums could end with Nathan David’s trombone. The next could feature Michael Carabello’s fingers flying across the keyboard, until it transitions into DJ Stealth on the wheels of steel. There was a sense of the unknown in every song, as the audience waited to see where the band would lead us.
Take the song “Kalatamori.” The song has its roots in New Guinea in West Africa, where it is played as a shout-out to teachers. It begins with the flute as the primary instrument, with the various percussion instruments setting the rhythm for the song. The guitar, played by band regular Douglas Wilson, comes in without fanfare as a member of the accompaniment. As the song continues, the flute and guitar begin dancing with each other, performing a kind of call and response. After about a minute, Wilson’s guitar took over the lead, and the song transformed into something tropical-sounding.
The transitions of each song, from contemporary to Caribbean to African, was a poignant reminder of the interconnectedness of music across the African diaspora.
“Colonial Mindset,” a cover of a song by Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, showed the interconnectedness of music and political action. The lyrics of the song are a challenge to the current status quo of American politics, but also the place that African Americans find ourselves in. Our battle isn’t so visceral and clearcut as fighting against overt systems of oppression like Jim Crow. So when I‑Shea says, “What does freedom look like now?”, he’s asking how we define freedom not only for ourselves, but for a host of marginalized groups who find themselves under attack today.
Later in the evening, the Lost Tribe invited guest dancers from Movement of the People Dance Company (MOPDC). It added yet another layer to the intricate performance, as the dancer’s motions traced the musical notes in the air, giving them a visual representation that almost made me feel like I could see the music, the interactions of all the instruments and performers on stage.
The convergence of the Hopgood/Lord Summer Series and Juneteenth was a perfect match, and gave the audience in Bushnell Park a chance to both relax and contemplate. There’s no better use of music.
NEXTThe Hopgood/Lord Summer Series continues on Aug. 7 with the Isaac Monts Collective.
Jamil heads to Pratt Street to hear more summer sounds.
