After Hours, Nancy Dunkle, and Gunk Explore Genres at Funk ‘n Waffles

Incredible artists delved into numerous genres at Funk n Waffles on February 22 to bring a new and energetic feeling to the crowd.

Words By Karina Nieves / Graphic by Lily Greco

On February 22nd, After Hours, Nancy Dunkle, and Gunk showed how completely different music genres such as 80’s Rock, Pop, Indie, and Jazz can combine to make an incredible set of tunes on a night full of incredible performances all around.

After Hours started things off strong, bringing in the 80’s crowd with the song “Gimme Gimme” by ABBA, immediately followed by “Call Me” by Blondie. These songs featured amazing vocals that captured the essence of the 80’s sound, along with a stellar guitar and drum solo that gave the songs much more amazing musical intensity. It was awesome being able to see the talents of every single band member shine through as all of them performed a solo performance allowing them time in the spotlight all by themselves.

After Hour’s high energy and magnificent solos increased the audience’s excitement, getting them ready for the performances to come. People were screaming along to their lyrics and excitedly swaying their heads to the music throughout the set.

Nancy Dunkle followed with her equally talented band members, giving the night a more relaxed feel by playing songs like “Give Me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman. Not only that, but Nancy and her band brought some more local artistry to the night with original songs such as “Human Condition” and “Symptoms” which is set to be released in April. You could feel how much these songs meant to not only Nancy but everyone on stage — it was practically like seeing all their pure raw emotion being put right in front of you.

At this point, even more people began to dance, taking strangers by the hand and showing each other a good time, even forming a dance circle for those who wanted to go all in and dance their souls out, which many did.

Gunk finished the night off with a bang, playing two jaw-dropping sax solos that wowed the audience, bringing out the jazz from within the hearts of the people. They performed great songs all around, with lead singer Ania Kapllani demonstrating the power of her voice and mixing it perfectly with the super-talented band. With all their talents put together, they gave a stellar performance, giving their jazzy twist to multiple different genres. To conclude their performance, Gunk poured their soul out onto the stage with an incredibly upbeat performance of “Sunny'' by Boney M that had the crowd swinging each other around to the bright, ecstatic song.

These incredible performances were not the end of the night but the beginning, being the perfect pre-night out boost anyone could ask for. Everyone was excited and assuredly had a good time after the three Funk ’n Waffles performances.