Femi and the Foundation / 70 Lewis

FunkHip-HopJazzProg RockR&BSoulRockBlues

Jul 21

FOR FANS OF: The Roots, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour, Fishbone, Parliament-Funkadelic, Jamiroquai, G. Love & Special Sauce, The Fugees, Erykah Badu, Anderson .Paak, Infectious Grooves, Galactic, Ben Harper, Incubus, Santana, Rage Against the Machine, Sly and the Family Stone, Prince, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Tower of Power, The Meters, Vulfpeck, Lettuce, Snarky Puppy, Thundercat, D’Angelo, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Sublime, 311, Fishbone, O.A.R., Dispatch, Modest Mouse, The Police, Beck, Gorillaz, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Jurassic 5, Digable Planets, OutKast, Black Pumas, Lake Street Dive, and The Budos Band

July 18, 2026, at Mahall’s in Lakewood, OH

I showed up to Mahalls in Lakewood on a green hazy evening, thanks to the Canadian fires. I walk in during the middle of the opener, 70 Lewis’s set. They were fun and poppy yet progressive. Mike, the vocalist/keyboardist’s shirt featured an image of the bassist for Femi and the Foundation, Al Rodriguez, which is hilarious and I’m sure appreciated by Al considering he used to play bass for 70 Lewis.

70 Lewis formed in 2007 in Lakewood and they combine melodic songwriting, piano and vocal harmonies with a classic alt-rock feel. They released their debut album in 2010 after winning $3,000 in studio time from a battle of the bands competition, which is super cool. The super diverse crowd loved their music and their sound is very palatable to the masses.

Femi and the Foundation made their way on stage and I could see the excitement and anticipation in the audience’s eyes. At first glance, I look at their gear and know we’re all in for a treat. Two PRS silver skies, a PRS studio, PRS and Mesa amps, a Dingwall fanned fret 5 string bass, and Ludwig drum kit with Zildjian cymbals. I see a Fractal Audio Axe FX III, a line 6 Helix Stadium XL, as well as a Roland and Korg keyboard. These are some gear nerds. These are my people.

Femi and the Foundation (not Foundations like the Mahall’s sign implied) are from the DC area, having formed in 2022 and started making moves and progress in 2024 with their EP Build For Us. They released their debut album, “Wrong Side of the Sun,” in 2025 and it won a “Wammie,” which is a DC area music award. The band blends the genres Funk, Rock, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Soul, R&B, Blues and even some World music.

Olúfémi O. Táíwò (Femi), the vocalist, guitarist and keys player incorporates his Nigerian heritage into the music, blending African influences with many genres. His vocal style shifted from singing to rapping/spoken word and had a very unique swing of options to be entertained by. Al, the bassist and bandleader, helps organize arrangements, rehearsals and is said to keep the live performances tight. This man knew what he was doing. Sometimes I see a fanned fret bass but watch the player keep things relatively simple. Al utilized the full bass as the instrument deserved. I also spoke with Al about an incoming Jacob Umansky “sol” 6-string bass he has on the way. Talking about that led to Al stating has been taking lessons from Jacob for about 2.5 years, which is incredible. Jacob is one of the best bassists in the world at the moment in my opinion and if you don’t recognize his name, look him up (after you listen to Femi of course). Scott Wilbur is the lead guitarist, shredding a Midnight Rose-colored PRS Silver Sky with a maple fretboard. His solos were tight, clean and proved knowledge of music theory and he even played a solo while walking around the crowd, which always does well with fans. Ryan Malone is the Rhythm Guitarist, but in no way does that title discredit his playing and abilities. He made his Studio PRS sing all night providing chordal foundation for Scott and Femi’s playing. Finally, we have Chris Markiewicz, the drummer that made it look easy to create the rhythmic structure for the ever-evolving and changing set. He ducked in and out of funk, rock and hip-hop seamlessly and with confidence that every drummer should possess.

The set started out pretty explosive with a War Pigs cover, which was a fantastic way to warm up the crowd. Punchy, familiar, and showing vocal range before leading into their own tune, Walk on By. They then went into Build for Us, which is one of the band’s best-known songs from their debut EP and is the song in which a lot of people were introduced to them. They played “Ain’t No Love Song” next which got the crowd moving and grooving, including myself. They had some really cool segues throughout the set such as In the Air leading into Something to Hold and Hype Song into Letting Go (maybe my favorite of the set, so funky and groovy [dat bass tho {stank face}]). Followed was Señorita and Before I Go, which are some album favorites. They then played Feeling Right, which was created with the lead singer, CJ Johnson of Oh He Dead (DC funk/soul group). As soon as this song started, it was immediately familiar as if I’d heard it before, and maybe I have! This is the one that I think sticks in your head most from their set and it finishes with a fuzzy and fun guitar solo and guitar harmonies before the vocals come back in to ensure the chorus has hooked you. Next up was punchy and slightly aggressive cover of the Roots’ You Got Me. The vocals were nice and calm like the original, the verses were a shifted flow from Black Thought’s original, but the drums and guitars made for a more driving style. The set closed out with What If, but what if it didn’t… An encore of Wrong Side of the Sun wrapped up the set, which makes sense considering it’s their album’s title track. The song leaves the audience feeling a bit more emotional instead of having some normal high-energy closer. This song shows a lot of vocal range and pulls on the audiences’ heartstrings. The length of the set felt natural and progressive, never flat or boring, never getting old like many other funk/soul/rock bands.

If you like Femi and the Foundation’s music on their albums, you’ll love seeing them live because their tones and delivery were pretty spot on. At times, I wish the vocals were a little louder, especially during some of the rapping parts, but overall they killed it. I highly suggest checking them out when you get a second. Keep an open mind to genre-bending and you’ll enjoy yourself, guaranteed. I’m excited to see where this band goes and I’m excited to see what they come up with next. I will be seeing them anytime I can.

Follow these bands at @femiandthefoundation and @70lewisband to stay up to date on their next shows.

Images shot by Shane McNicholas @elsephoto with a Canon r5 and r6ii with an RF 10-20 f4, RF 24-105 f2.8 and RF 70-200 f2.8