Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Summit City Soul Club was formed in 2020, right before the pandemic changed everything. Since then they’ve been beefing up their record collection and working towards holding their first show.

I recently was able to interview Betsy and Scott from SCSC.

How many people are involved with SCSC and how did the idea for it first arise?
Summit City Soul Club was founded by myself and my dad a short time after first discovering Northern Soul.

How did you get into soul music?
We’ve always been fans of Motown and soul music. It was a coincidence that we came across the term ‘Northern Soul’ while exploring online. We quickly realized how great the music and culture were and didn’t look back.

How did you get into the ‘Soul Club’ scene?
We attended the Keystone State Soul Weekender on a whim. It was such a blast; we’ve attended every year since! Soulfinger Dance Party, Slow Fizz Northern Soul Club, Windy City Soul Club and others in the scene set the bar high and really inspired us to get SCSC going.

Are you aware of any other regular soul nights in the Fort Wayne area, either in the past or more recently?
From what we know, we are the first soul club in the history of Fort Wayne

Do you have a goal for when you want to put on your first show?
Hoping to have our first show on the books this upcoming year.

Are there any specific records you really look forward to playing in front of a crowd?
‘Big Bird’-Eddie Floyd
‘There Is’- The Dells
‘Just Look What You’ve Done’- Brenda Holloway

Are you aware of any soul music that came out of the Fort Wayne area in the ‘60s or ‘70s? If so, do you plan to play anything that came out of that scene?
Sonny Charles and Checkmates, Ltd. was an R&B group founded in Fort Wayne. One of their known hits, ‘Black Pear’, was produced by Philly’s Phil Spector.

Are you involved in anything else music-wise, besides SCSC?
We love to visit and support our fellow soul clubs and events they put on, be it in person or online.

You can keep in touch with SCSC through the following:
Instagram