Brother Wallace: Hill Country Live 2026

All hail the arrival of Brother Wallace! His heart-thumping, foot-stomping, soul-drenched sweep of gospel, funk and freewheeling joy lands powerfully on the Georgia-born musician's debut album, Electric Love. Chris Wallace, a former music teacher who is Brother Wallace in his recording guise, brought his brassy blast of euphoria to the Newport Folk Festival in July — and as a sneak preview in June, Wallace and eight bandmates took over the intimate stage of Hill County Live in New York for an FUV Marquee concert.

Leading a 100-member church choir by the time he was 14, Wallace was a natural mentor and chorus director, focusing on teaching music while concurrently pursuing a career in gospel. A chance meeting with British  rockers The Heavy enabled Wallace to forge a collaborative friendship with guitarist Dan Taylor. And while gospel figures into the foundation of Electric Love, so does Wallace's longtime admiration for the far more secular Little Richard or the versatile, gender fluidity of Johnnie Taylor.

At Hill County Live on the cusp of summer, it was a party on stage with Wallace, drummer Jordan Manley, guitarist Ian Newberry, bassist Travis Murphy, backing vocalists Alyssa Crayton and Chanequa Thomas, trumpeter Taylor Haas, tenor saxophonist Marquinn Mason, and saxophonist. Will Hollifield.

Grab a little bit of Brother Wallace's hip-swaying happiness via videos of three songs from his transcendent set: "You're the Man," "Who's That?" and "Electric Love."

[Recorded: 6/18/26. Engineered by Jim O'Hara, Holden Buckley, and Alessandro Badalamenti. Hosted by Alisa Ali. Produced by Diana Juarez, Gwen Taylor, and Heather Jones. Videographers: Dylan Duong, Danny Cifelli, and Alena Godas.]