What better way to spend a relaxing Sunday afternoon than sipping mimosas and grooving along to a smooth live band? That’s exactly what local acoustic soul/funk act Allensworth will do this weekend at the new Commonwealth Lounge in Newport Beach.

The six-piece group — which at times expands to eight or 10 players — has been trying out new material during afternoon stints at the club. Vocalist/guitarist Jamie Allensworth says they’ve seriously been digging the vibe.

“It’s a cool little spot and it’s exactly what our music is, just relaxing and chilling,” he says during a recent phone chat. “Some of the lyrical content might be a little heavier, but the vibe of all the songs is still more to the chill point. It mixes well because we start out slow, since it’s a Sunday, but as people start getting those mimosas and get a little saucy, we crank it up a bit to get people dancing.”

Allensworth, obviously titled after its bushy and bearded leader, came together four years ago, comprised of musicians who split time in multiple soul, funk and blues acts locally, including Breakestra, Soul Hustlers, Nafro, the Rebirth and Leparis Nervosa, to mention a few.

“I’ve been playing with a majority of these cats since 1996,” Allensworth says. “We’ve been together in a bunch of bands and we play around a lot, so each guy in this group came from a different outfit. This just happens to be my solo thing, but everyone is super-talented and everyone has their own things going on, too.”

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