What do you get when you combine vibrant vocals with funky horns and a booming percussion section? The answer is the band “Rug Burn.” 

Rug Burn is a local cover band with a dynamic group of vocalists including the lead singer, Vicky, who has a striking resemblance to Kirsten Dunst.  The band has two local NK residents, Johnny (keyboards, vocals) and Paul (drums). 

I spoke to Johnny briefly at the session break and the impression he gave me was that the band loved playing great music and making people dance and feel good. Fitting since the overall mood of all of us was obviously focused on the terrible tragedy that had just occurred that day, Friday December 14.  Johnny even stopped after a song to pay his own respects for the fallen. Despite the sadness of the day, “Rug Burn” performed with a spirited set and a ton of enthusiasm.  

After a few opening songs, “Rug Burn” brought out a very impressive horn section with a trumpet and two sax players.  This horn section provided a ton of depth to the already groovy, smooth sounds the band was pumping out.  Their set list consisted mostly of groove, funk type songs with some pop hits from “No Doubt” and “The Who” mixed in. The band’s spokesperson, Johnny, mentioned that they have some original material having been together for roughly seven years. 

This night at the Narragansett Café was all covers, however, and the beat kept getting better every song they performed.  Vicky would continually go into the crowd and dance with the men and women on the dance floor.  They even invited a crowd member up to the stage to play percussion on a Zydeco rubboard, which looked like a suit of armor with a washboard strapped to it.  That part of the show really got the crowd into the music and made for a really cool connection between band and audience.  I really enjoyed the music of “Rug Burn.” And I thank them for letting their music begin to heal the wounds my soul suffered as a result of the events of that day.