Photo by Michelle Montgomery

Aaron and The Spell kicked off the XPoNential Music Festival on the Marina Stage this evening. The local R&B outfit welcomed the quickly-growing crowd with songs off of their most recent album Sing (released last August) as well as several new tracks.  Accompanied by a trumpet player, tenor sax player, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, drummer and two back-up singers, the set was a smooth ride of uplifting and sometimes funky soul songs that had the audience singing and swaying along on the breezy hillside.  New track “Bleed Me Dry” was a standout, with Aaron Brown easing in on his acoustic guitar before some gospel-esque “oohs” and organ filtered through and a rousing electric guitar solo got the crowd clapping.  See photos of the performance in the gallery below, read the setlist after the jump, and listen to the set in its entirety here (via the WXPN media player).

Setlist

Don’t Cry
By My Side
Greatest Day
Believe in You
Maria Full of Grace
Bleed Me Dry
Somewhere Around