The Commotions

CENTRE STAGE
SATURDAY 5:00pm-6:00pm

LONDON BREWERIES STAGE
SUNDAY 12:45PM-1:30PM

Take a blazing five-piece horn section, throw down some bombastic drums, pepper in piano and guitar, then stir in vocals (from Rebecca Noelle and Jeff Rogers) – shifting from sweet to soulful to sultry quicker than you can hop onto the dance floor. It’s the jumpin’, jiving 12-piece Ottawa powerhouse called The Commotions and the taste is soulicious! Musical director and tenor saxophonist Brian Asselin gleaned valuable experience for the sound that would soon come to define his band when touring with Motown legends The Funk Brothers.

The Commotions are ready to win over TD Sunfest ‘23 audiences with brassy beats and smooth ballad treats, all in the interest of reviving the spirit of those super soul sounds of the ‘70s and the irresistible Motown rhythms that once had them dancing in the streets.

In 2018, Asselin told Ottawa Life Magazine, “I have studied music most of my life and keep coming back to the sounds that move me the most – soul! I really wanted to make a record (Two titles have already dropped) that would make people think they could go back in time – to when music was about the music and nothing else. My time with the Funk Brothers brought that connection to soul music even closer.”