As much A Tribe Called Quest as it is The Dap Kings, West End Blend is a beautiful amalgam of funky soul, R&B, and hip-hop. And although it gets lumped in under the jam band idiom, this 10-piece kick-in-the-butt from Hartford, Connecticut, is infinitely more cool and rockin'. It'll get under your skin and into your bones.

West End Blend plays with Upward Groove, and Matt O'Brian on Saturday, November 19, at Flour City Station, 170 East Avenue. 9 p.m. $10. flourcitystation.com; westendblend.com.