The greatest of avant-garde bass playing - MonoNeon at the A38 Ship After last year's concert, MonoNeon, who was one of the last to work with Prince, is also a highly acclaimed solo artist, playing at the A38 Ship on 13rd December. He played in the Akvarium Klub last October, and a little over a year later, Dwayne Thomas Jr, MonoNeon, who has 26 albums and singles to his name, will be swinging on the Danube this time.
The sound of the songs, as well as his extravagant appearance, make the musician, who has created a lot of experimental R&B, soul, funk and jazz, completely unique and unmistakable. A prolific performer, he hasn't been bored in the past year, with 5 singles released in 2024, so we can certainly expect something new to come out of his performance last year. His prolific songwriting career is no coincidence, nor is the fact that he even met Prince's exacting standards and played together.
MonoNeon's work has already been rewarded with a Grammy Award for his contribution to Nas' 2020 album King's Disease.
MonoNeon was born in Memphis in 1990 and grew up in a family of musicians. His father also plays bass, but those who actively follow him have seen a duet with his grandmother too. Coming from a musical family, he was only four when he started playing the instrument, and by the age of 11 or 12 he was already on stage with the funk band Bar-Kays. At just 34 years old, the bass genius has worked with artists such as Mavis Staples, George Clinton, Pete Rock, Ne-Yo, Mac Miller, Georgia Anna Muldrow, Ghotst-Note and many others. His live performances are often described as otherworldly, and he has played at prestigious festivals such as the Newport Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Summer Camp Music Festival and Melbourne International Jazz Festival. His talents were perhaps best summed up by Rolling Stone Magazine, "When Flea refers to you as the world's best electric bassist, you know you're doing something right."
And if you're interested in what Dwayne Thomas Jr. is really good at, you can watch him live at the A38 Ship's on December 13rd. Tickets for the concert will be available first to registered Live Nation members from 11am on 25th June, with full ticket sales opening at 11am on 26th June.