Bands
Carter Minor Band
Friday Night Band
Carter Minor Band is a collaboration of four musicians with over a century and a half of experience playing Blues and other African American Music.
The group is lead by the legendary lead vocalist and harmonica player Carter Minor, who has delighted audiences across the Southeast and much of the rest of the US for more than half a century playing Blues, R&B, Soul, Gospel, and Rock.
On lead guitar and vocals is Charlley Ward, a Blues Lover who both plays, dances, and tells stories of the music and the southern region. He also has more than fifty years of musical experience playing Blues, Rock and Pop.
Sam Obie, who anchors the group on organ, also has more than five decades of experience playing Blues and Gospel. Obie served for years as musical director for the world-renowned Gospel singer, Shirley Caesar.
The group is rounded out by drummer Lorry Taylor, another dancing musician who has become one of the most in demand drummers for Blues bands in the Southeast.
With decades of experience and a wide ranging repertoire of Blues and love of dance, Carter Minor Band keeps audiences moving from the first to the last note of their shows!
Chelsea Reed and the Fair Weather Band Feat. Najwa Parkins
Saturday Night Band
Chelsea Reed is a jazz and blues vocalist, arranger, composer, and bandleader living in Philadelphia. In October 2012, she invited a few friends over to play for some dancers in a South Philly living room. Since that fateful day, she's been singing and playing for audiences all over the world and adding band members along the way as the leader of the Fair Weather Band.
With four albums and a decade of touring under their belts, Chelsea Reed and the Fair Weather Band continue to bring the soul of a dance to any show--whether at a jazz club, backroom blues bar, or festival stage. They have shared a bandstand with trumpeter Terell Stafford and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, who is featured on their 2017 release Spreadin’ Rhythm Around. Their 2020 release, Carolina Lullaby showcases original songs steeped in jazz, blues, and folk traditions where Reed’s soaring vocals and swing musicality shine. In 2023, she released The Christmas EP, a collection of swinging holiday standards with her mini big band, the 10 piece orchestra Chelsea Reed and the Fair Weather Nine. Reed and her bandmates draw upon the intensity of powerhouse vocalists, the ingenuity of 20th century composers, and the soul of the dance floor. They are silly, passionate people who love playing this music. And that’s all there is to it.
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Reed currently teaches Jazz History and Performance at Temple University.
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​Najwa Parkins is a Philadelphia-based vocalist, educator, and songwriter/composer. Her voice has often been described as smooth, smoky, and soulful— with a profound range of emotion. With a B.M. In Jazz Studies and Vocal Performance from Temple University, Najwa specializes in performing and teaching within the jazz idiom, but is a multi-disciplinary vocalist, seamlessly transitioning between many genres including blues, RnB, pop, and folk styles (and for those who still need this credential, yes, she has undergone many years—before, during, and after college—of classical training). Najwa has been praised for her lyrically and musically engaging compositions. True to the spirit of multi-potentiality, Najwa also has a background as a dancer and a competitive gymnast, and can also be seen performing in the Philadelphia area as an aerialist from time.
She leads several of her own bands to support the multi-dimensional nature of her vocal stylings and musical interests. Najwa also works as a vocalist with groups led by others, including the South Philly Big Band. She is also the featured vocalist on the 2013 release, New Celebration, by Phil Woods and the Festival Orchestra. As a recovering perfectionist, Najwa cannot tell you precisely when to expect releases of new music, but has several projects and recordings in the works that she aims to release in the near future. As an artist and performer, Najwa believes in the importance of connecting with audiences by telling stories through music. She draws on life experiences in writing her own music and lyrics as well as in her interpretation of the music and lyrics of others.
Josh Lee and the Extended Family Feat. Chelsea Reed
Sunday Night Band
Josh Lee and the Extended Family is a Philadelphia based ensemble that authentically celebrates the music and the dance of the swing era. Composed of the brightest young musicians in the city, the Extended Family strives to further the 100 year tradition of big band music while honoring its pioneers—Moten, Basie, Lunceford, Fletcher Henderson to name a few. Josh is a grammy winning saxophonist, composer, and arranger, as well as a member of the Count Basie Orchestra and faculty at Temple and Villanova Universities and a 2025 Downbeat Rising Star on the baritone saxophone.
The Extended Family plays regularly around the East Coast with appearances at the International Lindy Hop Championships (Harlem), the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), the MAD Jazz Festival (Virginia) and regularly at Dizzy’s Club at Lincoln Center in New York City. They recorded their debut album “Introducing Josh Lee and the Extended Family” in summer of 2024 and will soon be released.
Founding Members: Chelsea Reed (vocals) Sam Harris (bass) Silas Irvine (piano) Patrick Hwang (drums) Jacob Kelberman (guitar) Fareed Simpson Hankins, John Meko, Andrew Esch (trumpets) Sean McCusker, St Clair Simmons, Jasyn Brazoban (trombones) Adam Abrams, Mogi Taylor, Dylan Band, Josh Lee (saxophones)