Charlotte guitarist Stefan Kallander has helped keep funk alive in his hometown. Kallander has deep Charlotte roots, having grown up in the city with family and friends who kept him from ever feeling the pull to relocate for music elsewhere. For over a decade, he’s been a fixture of the local scene, including a long run with the funk band Bubonik Funk, whose sound draws on the influence of George Clinton, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bobby Womack, and D’Angelo. Today, he’s known around town as a guitarist, songwriter, producer, and educator working in the funk, soul, and R&B space.

That love of groove led him to create House of Funk, the monthly series he’s led at Middle C Jazz almost since the venue opened its doors. Conceived by Kallander as a night for Queen City funk lovers to move to classics and deep cuts, the series began in early 2019 and has grown into one of Middle C’s signature nights. Each show, Kallander leads a rotating cast of Charlotte’s finest musicians, plus monthly sit-ins and features from the deep well of local funk talent, turning the stage into an open reunion for the city’s funk community.

So what makes funk worth building a whole series around? At its core, funk is about the pocket that tight, syncopated groove between bass, drums, and guitar that makes a room move before anyone even notices they’re dancing. It’s a genre built on rhythm as melody, where a single guitar chop or bassline can carry as much weight as a horn section. House of Funk leans into that legacy hard, with nights dedicated to the sounds of P-Funk, Prince, Rick James, James Brown, and other timeless funk legends, alongside Kallander’s own original groove music woven in with the classics.

If you’ve never caught a House of Funk night, it’s worth putting on the calendar. Whether you’re chasing a Wednesday night out or discovering funk for the first time, Kallander and his band prove that Charlotte’s funk scene is alive, well, and still finding its groove one monthly show at a time. Your next opportunity is Wednesday, August 12th, where House of Funk takes us on a trip down the West Coast funk highway! “Funk of California” brings to life legends like War, Tower of Power, Sly & the Family Stone, and Maze.