Arthur Thomas and the Funkitorium brings a full-on dance party to the XPNFest River Stage

I’m not sure what a Funkitorium is exactly, but if Arthur Thomas and his band are any indication, it consists of eight wildly talented employees, all donning uniforms which can only be described as a full display of all the clothes this writer has no chance of pulling off, hammering out some of the most boisterous funk you can imagine. 

To call this band a crowd-pleaser would be to do a disservice to the way they quickly energized the eager XPoNential Music Festival crowd into a full on dance party. When a band has as much fun performing as Arthur Thomas and company the audience has no choice but to join in and that is exactly what happened.  Limbs were flying around the River Stage not long after the band burst into their opener, the endlessly quotable “Fried Chicken”, and continued till the set’s final note. 

It’s almost unfathomable, given the show they put on, to discover the fact that this band is very much in its infancy. Formed in March of 2019 right here in Philadelphia, The Funkitorium maintain such an effortless, cohesive groove you just picture the hours long jam sessions that must make up their practice time. They brought all of that camaraderie and much more to River Stage on Friday afternoon, highlighted by their single “How You Like Me Now” – think a more fully realized version of Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak’s Silk Sonic project. Whatever goes on at a Funkitorium, count me in for a tour as soon as possible. 

Listen to an archive of their performance and check out a photo gallery below.

Setlist
Fried Chicken
Put It In Drive
Money Man
How You Like Me Now
Minding My Business
B Train