Our Story: Bringing Back The Funk

Out of Austin, Texas, The Capitol leads the funk back into the popular music landscape. The Capitol sound is a mix of old and new; a rebirth of the glory age of the funk of the 1970s when large ensembles like Earth Wind & Fire and Tower of Power dominated the nation’s airwaves. The Capitol’s brand of funk is tailored to today’s listener through careful attention to pop-inspired songwriting while paying mind to the modern influence of hip-hop, r&b, and neo-soul.

January 2020, the band’s long awaited debut single “Vaporize” landed on all major streaming platforms. Recorded and mixed at Antimatter Studios, the release was celebrated with a headlining date at the legendary Antones Nightclub in downtown Austin. The success of “Vaporize” led The Capitol to be accepted as an official performer for the 2020 South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival before the fest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

February 2021 saw the release of the group’s second single “Let’s Dance.” Recorded with Emmy winning audio engineer Matt Parmenter at Ice Cream Factory Studios.  The band celebrated the release with a co-headline at Empire Garage alongside Flyjack and 2019 and 2022 Austin Music Awards winner for “Best Horns”- Big Wy’s Brass Band. 

The band has enjoyed many exciting opportunities such as performing alongside well-respected funk & soul artists such as: A-Town GetDown, The Nightowls, Tomar and the FC’s, and Brownout. In 2021, The band enjoyed collaborating and performing alongside budding L.A. guitar player Angela Petrilli.  Their 3rd single “Summer Rain” was released in October of 2021, and was followed by the band’s brief cameo performing “Vaporize” live on the Season 6 finale of the popular Netflix original program “Queer Eye” which was released worldwide on December 30th of 2021.

2022 brought new milestones for the band. Highlights include being official artists for both the 2022 SXSW and Pecan Street festivals, the band collaborated again with Angela Petrilli in the summer before highlight performances at 3TEN ACL Live and Purple Bee TV. July, 2022 saw The Capitol open for Grammy Award winners Rebirth Brass Band, followed by a sold-out performance at another legendary Austin venue The Continental Club. The fall season of 2022 showcased some of The Capitol’s first successful shows on the road, including highlight performances in Plano, and San Antonio where The Capitol now has a home-base at the popular nightclub, LUNA. The capitol completed its first residency in this period as well, opening for the nationally acclaimed Grooveline Horns. The band finished the year strong with the release of their 4th single, “Protection” which also debuted the band’s first music video. The release was celebrated with a headlining show at Antones Nightclub. To-date, the music video “Protection” has received a positive response, closing in on 50,000 plays on Youtube, while the band’s instagram and spotify following have grown over 300% and 800% respectively.

Most recent highlights in 2023 include a 2nd sold out show at The Continental Club in January, followed by a repeat residency opening for Grooveline Horns that was completed in February. Right now, The Capitol continues to perform around the central Texas area with appearances already booked during the 2023 SXSW season. There are plans for new material to be released before the turn of the year, and we’re very excited to write this chapter of our story! More to come!  Stay funky y’all.