New Orleans funk band Galactic plays St. Petersburg

One of the things that makes Galactic such an interesting band is that it performs songs but doesn't have a singer.

For more than 20 years now, the New Orleans funksters have eschewed having a lead singer. Instead, they get just the right singer for each song, and provide some powerful and dance-inducing backup.

Galactic's reputation is so solid that a lot of great singers are eager to perform with the band. Mavis Staples has toured with the band and performed on album tracks. Macy Gray performs on the latest Galactic album, last year's "Into the Deep." So do JJ Grey, David Shaw, Maggie Koerner, Charm Taylor of the Honorable South. The Galactic guys also love finding new singers that they think might be on the verge of hitting it big, including a Jamaican guy that Galactic discovered name One-String Brushy.

There's no word on who will be fronting Galactic when the band plays at Jannus Live in St. Petersburg Friday, but the band -- whose music encompasses rap, rhythm and blues and New Orleans brass band jazz, all with solid funk underpinnings -- will be lots of fun even if they perform nothing but instrumentals.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22, Jannus Live, 200 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg. Tickets: $24 plus service charge. Information: 727-565-0550, jannuslive.com.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 5:47 PM with the headline "New Orleans funk band Galactic plays St. Petersburg ."