It was a Sunday and there was singing, shouting and clapping, but it wasn’t quite church. However, those gathered at Songbyrd Music House in the early afternoon on Super Bowl Sunday were there in the name of music, specifically the monthly meeting of The R&B Club.
Founded by Marcus K. Dowling, Justin Tinsley, Julian Kimble, and Ashley-Dior Thomas in February 2018, the club was created as a “monthly book club-style meetup” with themes that over the years have ranged from classic R&B albums and artists’ catalogs to rhythm and blues producers, and, most recently, in an ironic nod to Valentine’s Day, “Songs about Cheating.”
“We came back after the pandemic strong,” said Ashley-Dior Thomas in an exclusive “Let’s Talk” interview. “We do a different theme every month, and [February], usually reserved for love, will feature a little twist with our theme being R&B songs about cheating.”
During the event, while hosts Tinsley, Kimble, and Thomas played songs from a co-curated Spotify playlist on stage, with the help of a roving microphone, club members discussed songwriters’ motives, the quality of artists’ renditions, music video plots, and, of course, sang along.
For many, the event, which is purposefully not streamed, is also about fostering community.
Tori Collins, 44, who lives in Southeast D.C.’s Navy Yard neighborhood, has been attending The R&B Club since 2018.
“The pandemic kind of shut it down for a period, but as soon as it started back, I was here,” said Collins. “It’s a family, right? It just gives you the time to talk about artists and producers. Just really delve into the music, and it just really feels good because you meet people.”
While the R&B Club founders weren’t able to play snippets from all the songs on their 11-hour Spotify playlist, some of the songs that excited the crowd and prompted word-for-word singalongs included The Persuaders’ “Thin Line Between Love and Hate,” (1971), George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” (1984), Allure’s “All Cried Out, (1997) ” Kelly Price’s “Friend of Mine,” (1998) and Monica’s “So Gone” (2003).
For Kimble, ensuring the conversation is historically grounded is important.
“One of the reasons we do a lot of our events chronologically is to show the progression of the genre,” said Kimble. “We might start in the 50s if it calls for it and work all the way up to the present day.”
Kimble also pushes back against the notion that R&B music is dead and celebrates how it has grown over the years.
“I don’t think R&B is dead at all. I think it’s changed. What happens is people get attached to their era of R&B music, and I understand that. You have to be willing to find the new stuff; there are so many avenues and channels to find music now. You’ve got to be willing to look for it.”
Ernest Hall, 65, of Silver Spring, Maryland, attended the event in support of his son-in-law Justin Tinsley and has been to several of the club’s events, including their 2023 event in Brooklyn featuring R&B artist Lloyd as a guest.
“They’re making sure that the R&B torch is carried,” said Hall. “A lot of songs they played today, most of the people in there weren’t even born when those songs came out, but yet they were singing them. They knew them [and] they were moved by them. So it’s just good to see that legacy, a generational legacy for R&B music.”
Enjoyable event for all ages.