Join us for a special birthday party for Houston’s own Mark C. Austin!

This celebration includes live music and silent auction with all proceeds benefitting Life Gift of Houston.

Performances by:
Dumpstaphunk
DJ Sun

Dumpstaphunk stands out among New Orleans’ best as one of the funkiest bands to ever arise from the Crescent City. Born on the Jazz & Heritage Festival stage, and descended from Neville family bloodlines, these soldiers of funk ignite a deep, gritty groove that dares listeners not to move. Their performances combine ingenious musicianship and complex funk and jazz arrangements with soulful melodies that are simple enough for anyone to enjoy. In Big Easy tradition, dueling baselines from Tony Hall and Nick Daniels III set off one of the dirtiest rhythm sections on the planet, while Ivan Neville lights up the Hammond B3 keys and cousin Ian Neville’s funky guitar riffs send the groove into overdrive. The band recently welcomed their newest member, Alvin Ford Jr. to the quintet, a New Orleans born and raised powerhouse drummer. Dumpstaphunk tosses around lead vocals and four-part harmonies the way Sly & the Family Stone did, but with three studio albums under their belt, Dumpstaphunk stands on the merit of their own material. Songs like “Dancin’ To The Truth” off their latest record, Dirty Word (July 30, 2013, Louisiana Red Hot Records), offer an escape into the funky sublime, sharing the true spirit of New Orleans with every note.

LifeGift offers hope to the thousands of people in Texas and beyond who need lifesaving organ transplants, and to countless others who need lifesaving tissue transplants.

Rooted in a multicultural upbringing in Rotterdam and Suriname, DJ Sun’s work and his creative edge are steeped in the diverse musical influences of his childhood. His album “One Hundred” which has been described as music with “organic breaks seemingly borrowed from the back rooms of the finest vinyl archives are plentiful” lends credence to the musical diversity of his upbringing. DJ Sun’s 2016 release, “Qingxi,” stretches beyond the typical as a soundtrack to a multimedia event that was inspired by an ancestral quest to China.