Veteran soul group LMT Connection has been turning music fans into full-blown funkateers for more than 33 years, playing over 6500 shows, helmed by a front man on the cusp of his 76th birthday. True masters of their craft, they’ve toured internationally and released seven self-produced albums independently, without the support of a record company.

Born in Atlanta and raised in Detroit, singer/guitarist Leroy Emmanuel was not only an active member of Motown’s thriving music community at its height, supporting the likes of Marvin Gaye, Bohannon, and Bettye Lavette, but an influential artist in his own right, earning a significant cult following with his group The Fabulous Counts (Westbound Records). Not long after a serendipitous relocation to Niagara Falls, Canada, Emmanuel founded MT Connection with drummer Mark Rogers and bassist John Irvine. The year was 1989 and the newly formed trio hit the ground running.

Right from the start, they adhered to a philosophy of playing every show with stadium concert intensity, regardless of attendance. This mantra manifested many opportunities for the band along the way, sharing the stage with Al Green, Tower of Power, jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco, and blues legend BB King on his 80th birthday tour. In time, their original music found its way into the hands of producers, promoters and distributors in Europe, which opened new doors overseas, and connected MT with the world-renowned Chops Horns.

The New Jersey-based horn section already had an impressive resume of their own; they had just come off the road with Alicia Keys and were known for having played with The Police, The Rolling Stones, and George Clinton’s Parliament- Funkadelic, to name a few. In 2005, they joined MT Connection for a month-long tour of Europe, adding keyboardist Joel Parisien to the mix, and doubling the original line-up to a now expanded six-piece. (As another note of interest, the same personnel, with Parisien up front, would go on to form a highly successful side project called Newworldson, garnering four Juno@ nominations – the Canadian equivalent to a Grammy© – for Gospel Album of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013).

For LMT Connection, funk is truly the final frontier; the expedition progresses unabated, and the borders continue to be explored and re-drawn.