Shalamar

Shalamar bring their smooth R&B and soul-funk to York Barbican in York on 2 July 2026. Born out of the TV show Soul Train in mid-70s Los Angeles, the group first appeared as a studio project with the medley Uptown Festival before evolving into the vocal trio of Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniel and Howard Hewett under SOLAR Records with producer Leon Sylvers III. From the disco sheen of Uptown Festival and Disco Gardens to the tight, club-minded grooves of Big Fun and Three for Love, Shalamar shaped stacked harmonies, elastic basslines and hooks built for the dancefloor.

In the early eighties, Friends and The Look steered them toward a sleeker, more electronic R&B, balancing slow jams and uptempo cuts while Jeffrey Daniel’s performances helped spread new street-dance styles in the UK. Later releases like Heartbreak, Circumstantial Evidence and Wake Up trace the group’s shifts in lineup without losing their core blend of funk and pop. On stage today, Shalamar draw across this catalogue, moving between ballads and uptempo tracks shaped by the late-70s and early-80s club sound.