The Suffers Return with a Funky New Single

A terrific eight-piece soul, funk and R&B group out of Houston, the Suffers just released “Take Me to the Good Times,” their first single since the release of their acclaimed 2018 album Everything Here. The funky track speaks to our troubled times. 

“A little over two months ago, life as we knew it came to a halt. Our tours were cancelled, and the world as we knew it changed,” explains singer Kam Franklin in a press release about the tune. “As a band, we honestly thought that last year would be the hardest we’ve ever had to push through. It brought us the loss of our two founding members, our trailer, and 40k worth of instruments getting stolen, on top of all the other ups and downs life has to offer.”

And yet, the band chose to enter the recording studio last fall with the hope that bigger things were on the horizon.

“This song is a reward to us for the hard work we put in, but it also serves as a love letter to the road, while offering a promise to return back to it,” says Franklin. “[On the song,] I only had time to shout out just a few of the cities we can’t wait to visit or go back to, but I could have kept going and going. The last five years of touring have taken us to some of the most incredible places. We put a lot of love into this one, and we hope that love is felt as it comes through your speakers.”

We love you, and we can’t wait to come back and play in your city.

Franklin admits that releasing music during the current state of the world feels strange. But he also thinks it’s “absolutely necessary.”

“To us, Black Lives have always mattered, but as the rest of the world begins to learn and understand this, we will continue doing what we do best,” says Franklin. “Leading, listening, and creating with love. June is black music month. June is when we celebrate Juneteenth, and after sharing this song with all you, June will hold yet another special memory for us. A memory where we pushed through it all to deliver a little piece of joy to the masses. We encourage you to donate to this list of Black trans-led organizations compiled by Brittany Packnett Cunningham.”

“Take Me To The Good Times” was engineered and mixed by Matt Pence at Tthe Echo Lab studio in Denton, TX and was produced by Pence, Jason Burt and the Suffers. 

Over the years, the Gulf Coast Soul group has toured with Thievery Corporation, Galactic, and Lake Street Dive, and has performed at Newport Folk Fest, Austin City Limits, Afropunk, Xponential Music Festival, and NPR’s Tiny Desk.

Photo credit: Patty Lennon