How the Soulquarius Festival became the must-attend event of 2017

When the inaugural Soulquarius festival was unveiled recently, it sent a generation of R&B fans into pandemonium. Its lineup boasted so many of the acts that have defined the last quarter century of the genre that it seemed too good to be true.

Nearly every era of R&B is represented — from new jack swing and the genre’s ’90s golden age to neo-soul, hip-hop soul and current alternative explorations.

Headlined by R. Kelly and Erykah Badu, the lineup also features singular divas Brandy, Monica, Mya, Amerie and Kelis; hip-hop crooners BJ the Chicago Kid, Ro James, Lloyd, the-Dream, Baby Bash; throwbacks Jon B, Nina Sky, Pretty Ricky, Ja Rule and Ashanti; the youthful experimental sounds of Jhene Aiko, the Internet, Ari Lennox and Willow Smith; and a breadth of retro hip-hop acts including Too Short, DMX and the Pharcyde.

Billed as “an R&B Jam,” the festival is set for Feb. 18 at the Observatory Grounds in Santa Ana.

“It’s a dream lineup,” acknowledged Jeff Shuman, the festival’s promoter. “This is music that we’ve grown up on. It felt like the energy was there and the time was right to bring back a lot of these artists.”

In recent years, Shuman has turned the Observatory — an independent, all-ages venue — into a major player in the Southern California live scene by booking a mix of big-name and upstarts acts as well as utilizing the Observatory, and its surrounding lots, as a festival space (the Growlers Beach Goth Party and Burgerama were anchored at the Observatory).

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He booked a string of reunion concerts in 2016 by Ja Rule and Ashanti that quickly sold out. The response sparked an idea of tapping into the classic R&B and hip-hop he loved that has long been overlooked by major festivals.

“There was a lot of back and forth of texting with friends and asking, ‘If you could put any artists of the R&B/soul category who would it be?’” Shuman said. “We wanted to make this a show for the people. Reading the comments [after the announcement], it’s people’s dream show.”

After locking in acts he’s worked with extensively — Badu, Ja Rule and Ashanti, Too Short, Pharcyde — Shuman turned to agent Caroline Yim at ICM to help flesh out the bill, delaying the announcement by a few days in order to beef up the lineup. “She’s got one of the best ears for this music,” Shuman said, noting that Aiko, Smith and a handful of younger acts came aboard during those talks.

Shuman then sent the lineup to friends for feedback. “‘It’s great,’ they said. But that’s not the response I wanted. I wanted, ‘This is insane.’” Next, he turned to ticket buyers and polled them on who they wanted to see, while revealing only the festival’s name and artwork. An additional half dozen or so eleventh hour additions coming from crowdsourced suggestions. “We really wanted to nail this,” he said.

There has been a little bit of controversy, though. An online petition to replace R. Kelly because of his history of sexual assault accusations (he was acquitted of all criminal charges), caught steam following the festival’s announcement, a point of contention that Shuman is aware of. “We booked him based off the music,” he said in response.

Logistics are still in the works, but there are plans for an outdoor mainstage with secondary stages in the Observatory and its smaller Constellation Room.

Shuman would like Soulquarius to be an annual affair, but for now he’s focused on making February’s outing a success. And he admits it took a lot of persuasion to get a number of artists to sign on.

“A lot of the artists on the bill … they aren’t getting offers from trendy festivals,” Shuman said. “I think they thought this was some radio station R&B-type festival, and it’s like no, this is not some throwback festival. This is going to be the coolest. I don’t think they knew how relevant they are and how much anticipation and excitement is there.”

gerrick.kennedy@latimes.com
For more music news follow me on Twitter: @GerrickKennedy

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