Roosevelt Collier, the pedal steel guitarist who carried the sound of South Florida's sacred steel churches onto festival stages worldwide, brings his power trio to Dunedin Brewery's Moon Tower this Saturday. The show pairs Collier with bassist Matt Lapham and drummer-vocalist Anthony Cole, a rhythm section he has worked with for well over a decade.
As reported by Creative Loafing Tampa, tickets were still available ahead of the August 22 concert, with prices starting at $25. According to Dunedin Brewery, advance tickets for the Moon Tower show were priced at $25, with door prices set at $30 for anyone who waits until showtime.
Collier is a longtime member of The Lee Boys, the family sacred steel group that introduced this once-insular church music to secular festival crowds across North America. He learned to play in Perrine, Florida, under the guidance of his grandfather, Rev. Robert E. Lee, according to the Reilly Arts Center.
A Tradition Born in Florida's Pentecostal Churches
Sacred Steel developed in the late 1930s inside African American Pentecostal House of God churches, where electric steel guitars took the place of organs during worship, per Florida Memory. Florida hosts more than 40 House of God congregations, more than any other state, making it the historical center of the sound Collier now performs on festival stages far beyond the church walls.
Collier played the Gasparilla Music Festival at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park on February 18, with the performance captured by photographer Taylor Ysanne, per Creative Loafing Tampa's report. That festival appearance sits alongside a résumé that includes stints as a four-time Grammy-nominated pedal steel player and frequent “Artist at Large” selection at major festivals, where he has sat in with The Allman Brothers Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Buddy Guy, according to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
Bandleader Duties With Jelly Roll
Beyond his own trio dates, Collier has spent many days leading Jelly Roll's band, serving as music director and bandleader for the country-rap star's touring ensemble, per Creative Loafing Tampa's reporting. That role has put Collier on national television broadcasts including Saturday Night Live and the CMA Awards, the Dr. Phillips Center notes, a mainstream platform that runs alongside his intimate club tour dates like Saturday's Dunedin stop.
Collier's reach extends into world music as well. He is a co-founding member of Bokanté, the international group whose 2018 album What Heat, recorded with the Metropole Orkest, earned a 2020 Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album, according to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. He released his debut solo album, Exit 16, in April 2018 on GroundUP Music, produced by Snarky Puppy founder Michael League, per MusicMarauders.
A Long-Running Rhythm Section Anchors the Trio
Saturday's lineup features Lapham, of Shak Nasti, and Cole, of JJ Grey & Mofro, a pairing that has performed with Collier since at least 2013, according to JamBase. The trio has frequently toured concept sets such as “Jimi Hendrix Meets Funk,” a format that draws on the chemistry the three musicians have built over more than a decade of shared stages. Both Lapham and Cole are well-regarded Central Florida session and touring players in their own right.
Florida's Oldest Craft Brewery Sets the Stage
The venue itself carries its own history. Dunedin Brewery, established in 1995 with its first commercial keg delivered in 1996, is Florida's oldest operating microbrewery and now anchors a downtown district that hosts nine craft breweries, according to Dunedin Brewery. The Moon Tower is the brewery's signature performance space, and Collier has appeared there before as part of what the venue has billed as a visit from a Grammy-nominated pedal steel master.
Collier's guitar-world standing extends to his gear and collaborations as well. He partnered with Emmons Guitar Co. to create a signature “Sacred Steel” pedal steel guitar and joined blues legend Buddy Guy on guitarist Eric Gales' 2022 album track “Somebody,” according to Collier's official website. Hoodline previously covered a free Roosevelt Collier Trio show at Miami's Wynwood Yard back in December 2018, part of a touring history that has only grown since.
