Music City Soul Club is a newer soul club out of Nashville, Tennessee. DJ Marco C and DJ Wes Rob put on a monthly ‘Soulgalore’ night, so far hosted at No Quarter on the city’s east side. I recently was able to interview DJ Wes Rob.
Who is involved with putting on MSSC and how long has it been going?
Marco Colombo and myself started the club in 2022. We met on some local record collecting Facebook groups and realized we shared a love of northern soul.
When MSSC started, were there any other regular soul nights in the Nashville area?
There has been a “Motown Monday” event here for a while but to our knowledge there had never been an event that played rare and northern soul until we started.
How did you get into soul music?
We both grew up with soul music in our households. My dad was an avid soul fan and also played drums in a local Nashville soul cover band in the 1960s playing dances.
How did you get into the ‘Soul Club’ or ‘Northern Soul’ scene?
Marco has been a mod since the 80s but I’m not sure how he got into northern soul. I discovered NS through a compilation about 20 or so years ago and just went from there with exploring.
Do you have any relationships with others putting on regular soul nights in North America?
We have had a member of the Philly club spin with us and chat with folks from other cities.
Are there any specific records where you can’t wait to unleash them on the crowd?
For me, I absolutely love dropping Danny White’s “Natural Soul Brother”. One of Marco’s faves is Benny Troy “I Wanna Give You Tomorrow”.
Are you aware of any soul music that came out of the Nashville area in the ‘60s or ‘70s? If so, do you play much that came out of that scene?
Oh, we are very aware and we play a lot of it. There are some absolute classics that came out on Sound Stage 7, Excello, Dial, HIT, Hickory, etc.
Have you had a chance to meet any of the artists whose records you spin? If so, what do they think about their music being played in clubs so many years later?
Judy Street lives here locally and we’ve corresponded with her on FB and invited her to come out, but she’s not been able to make it yet. Jimmy Church is also still around and living in Nashville but we’ve not got a chance to meet him.
So much obscure or forgotten soul has been reissued by labels such as Numero, Kent, Soul Jazz, etc in the past two decades. Do you feel like you’ve dug into everything that’s out there or are you still stumbling upon and discovering soul you were unfamiliar with?
I think there are always some new gems to discover.
Have you had any part in contributing to any reissues or compilations over the years?
No.
Have you noticed any changes in the crowd that attends since MSSC began?
The crowd can vary, but we have a pretty strong base of local skinheads and general music lovers.
Are you, or have you been, involved in anything else music-wise, besides MSSC?
We’ve both played in bands over the years. I think we both got burned out on having band mates and enjoy just DJing these days.
Lastly, what are your goals for MSSC in the future?
We’d love to continue to grow and get some younger folks into our scene.
You can keep in touch with MSSC through the following:
The Coldest Zine 