Sons of Kemet
Sons of Kemet

London jazz group Sons of Kemet released 'Your Queen is a Reptile' (listen), touring

Led by Shabaka Hutchings, London’s Sons of Kemet blend jazz, dancehall and other Caribbean styles with fiery politics and decidedly punk rock rock attitude. Their new album, Your Queen is a Reptile, was released at the end of March via revived Verve imprint Impulse! (which was home to John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Pharoah Sanders, and others). It’s a condemnation of the British monarchy, with each of the nine songs offering up a better choice for Queen. Providing vocals and lyrics on a few tracks are poet Josh Idehen on “My Queen Is Ada Eastman” and “My Queen Is Doreen Lawrence,” and Congo Natty on the album’s most dancefloor friendly track, “My Queen Is Mamie Phipps.” You can stream the whole album below.

Sons of Kemet were in NYC for Winter Jazz Fest and will return to North America for a fall tour, including a new NYC show at Elsewhere Hall on September 26 (tickets). Dates wrap up with their appearance at Desert Daze in California. They’ve also got European dates as well — all are listed below.

Sons of Kemet – 2018 Tour Dates
APR 25 Centre Paul-Bailliart Massy, France
APR 26 Jazzkaar Festival Tallinn, Estonia
APR 30 Beursschouwburg Brussels, Belgium
MAY 03 Europa Jazz Le Mans, France
MAY 04 Le Petit Faucheux Tours, France
MAY 06 Mithra Jazz Festival Liege, Belgium
MAY 10 Biko Club Milan, Italy
MAY 11 Deposito Pontecrovo Pisa, Italy
MAY 12 Bronson Ravenna, Italy
MAY 18 Inntone Festival Diersbach, Austria
MAY 25 Centre Paul-Bailliart Massy, France
MAY 31 Green Hours City JAZZ Fest Bucharest, Romania
JUN 01 Brockwell Park Brixton, United Kingdom
JUN 02 Brockwell Park Brixton, United Kingdom
JUN 26 Imperial Vancouver, Canada
JUN 28 Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park Chicago, IL
JUL 02 L’Astral Montréal, Canada
JUL 31 L’ASTRADA Marciac, France
SEP 23 Longboat Hall at The Great Hall Toronto, Canada
SEP 25 Brighton Music Hall Allston, MA
SEP 26 Elsewhere Brooklyn, NY
SEP 27 Songbyrd Music House Washington, DC
SEP 29 Aisle 5 Atlanta, GA
OCT 07 Barboza Seattle, WA
OCT 08 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR
OCT 12 Moreno Beach Lake Perris, CA
OCT 25 Belgrave Music Hall Leeds, United Kingdom
OCT 26 The Hare And Hounds Birmingham, United Kingdom
OCT 27 Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, United Kingdom
OCT 28 Band On The Wall Manchester, United Kingdom
OCT 29 The Fleece Bristol, United Kingdom
OCT 30 Komedia Brighton, United Kingdom
NOV 13 Alte Feuerwache Mannheim, Germany