{"id":261765,"date":"2026-04-10T22:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T22:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/261765\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T22:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T22:34:09","slug":"a-rousing-st-paul-and-the-broken-bones-takes-the-sound-to-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/261765\/","title":{"rendered":"A rousing St. Paul and the Broken Bones takes The Sound to church"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. Paul & The Broken Bones<\/a> delivered a powerful message one day before Easter, filling The Sound<\/a> on April 4 with one of its fullest houses in recent memory. From the opening chords, the eight-piece band tapped into a higher power, and it clearly resonated with the crowd. <\/p>\n

After an extended instrumental jam, the first of several throughout the night, frontman Paul Janeway emerged in a white suit, black shirt and eye-catching sequined slip-ons. He stepped to the mic and launched into \u201cNothing More Lonely,\u201d a midtempo treat that immediately showcased the bespectacled singer\u2019s extraordinary voice. <\/p>\n

By the second song, Janeway\u2019s playful personality was on full display. Looking more like a substitute math teacher than a soul man, he shuffled and swayed through \u201cFlow With It (You Got Me Feeling Like),\u201d teasing the crowd with a grin and tantalizing: \u201cNot yet!\u201d<\/p>\n

A native of Chelsea, Alabama, Janeway nearly followed in his father\u2019s footsteps to become a preacher, hence the nickname \u201cSt. Paul.\u201d Instead, he found his calling behind a mic and started sharing the gospel another way. And thank God that he did, because that he took The Sound to church. <\/p>\n

On the bluesy \u201cOoo-Wee,\u201d one of many songs they\u2019d play from the group\u2019s excellent self-titled sixth studio album released last year, Janeway \u201csaw the light\u201d and strutted across the stage. The song culminated with a searing solo from guitarist Browan Lollar.<\/p>\n

The resplendent \u201cFall Moon\u201d underscored the band\u2019s tightness. From keyboardist Al Gamble\u2019s jaunty intro and drummer Kevin Leon\u2019s steady backbeat to a three-piece horn section that could give Earth, Wind & Fire a run for their money, the ensemble shined. <\/p>\n

Revisiting their gospel roots, St. Paul breathed new life into the plaintive \u201cCall Me,\u201d from their 2014 debut, \u201cHalf the City.\u201d With Janeway chanting, \u201cI need, I need, I need, I need you, baby!\u201d it sounded like a lost Al Green classic finally unearthed from the vault. <\/p>\n

Approaching the heart of the 17-song set, Janeway brought the room to a hush with the soul-stirring ballad \u201cGrass is Greener,\u201d also from the first album. The singer had already shown us his control and command; this song put the spotlight on his formidable range \u2014 stretching from a tender croon to a towering, sustained note that stopped time. <\/p>\n

Dropping to his knees, he sealed the moment with a moving falsetto finish. Leaning into \u201cSushi and Coca-Cola\u201d \u2014 the neo-soul vibe akin to Teddy Swims that gave the band its first No. 1 hit \u2014 Janeway was all smiles, joyously dancing to the catchy groove and brass flourishes. The moment was a testament to how far they\u2019d come.<\/p>\n

Forming in Birmingham in 2012, St. Paul & The Broken Bones blend Janeway\u2019s gospel background with classic R&B, soul, blues and rock to forge a powerhouse octet. To date, they\u2019ve released\u00a0six studio albums and four live collections, including February\u2019s \u201cLive at Southern Grooves.\u201d For more than a decade, they\u2019ve built a reputation on delivering high-energy, uplifting live performances and tonight was no exception.<\/p>\n

Donning a shimmering silver robe for the final stretch, Janeway shifted from preacher to prophet. Highlights included \u201cStars Above\u201d and the set-closing \u201cApollo,\u201d a space-age love song from 2018\u2019s \u201cYoung Sick Camellia.\u201d Like the earlier \u201cGotItBad\u201d from the same album, the disco-infused dance track roused the crowd. <\/p>\n

Janeway teased one more song, telling the congregation he felt the need to join them. Followed by a stagehand carrying a tall ladder, he made his way to the center of the throng and climbed to his perch, where he closed the 90-minute set with the slow- building spiritual \u201cSanctify.\u201d <\/p>\n

Bathed in diffused white light, robe cascading over the rungs, Janeway appeared to hover above his flock. <\/p>\n

With arms reaching for the heavens, he belted, \u201cLet me sanctify ya, baby! and the room erupted in rapturous hoots and hollers. As the final notes lingered, something deep had taken hold, and the feeling hung in the air. <\/p>\n

Janeway proved you don\u2019t need a pulpit to raise spirits \u2014 just an ethereal voice, a dynamic band and a space full of willing followers. <\/p>\n

Donovan Roche is a longtime music writer\u00a0and regular contributor to Times of San Diego.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St. Paul & The Broken Bones delivered a powerful message one day before Easter, filling The Sound on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261766,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[330,74,76,75,115056,25016],"class_list":["post-261765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-music","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-st-paul-and-the-broken-bones","tag-the-sound"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}