Thee Sacred Souls bring California sweet soul to The Greek Theatre
Thee Sacred Souls arrive in Berkeley at a stage in their career when they are no longer merely a cult name among fans of modern soul. Over the course of several years, the San Diego band has gone from the viral response to the song "Can I Call You Rose?" to major international tours, festival stages and concerts where their retro sound attracts an audience that often did not grow up with the records their music aesthetically draws upon.
The concert at The Greek Theatre takes place on August 15, 2026. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the program begins at 7:00 p.m. Alongside Thee Sacred Souls, LA LOM and The Womack Sisters have been announced, making this an evening with a considerably broader musical range than a traditional show with one short opening act. The event is open to all ages.
Berkeley is one of the stops on the current The Constellation Tour, on which Thee Sacred Souls appear with LA LOM and The Womack Sisters on a large number of dates. The California date comes after performances in the Pacific Northwest and the northern part of the state, and before the tour continues toward the interior of the United States and later dates across the country.
Interest is already very high: the concert is currently marked as sold out. Tickets for this event are clearly in demand, so it is worth checking availability before making final transportation or accommodation reservations.
Why Thee Sacred Souls sound familiar even when you hear them for the first time
The foundation of Thee Sacred Souls' sound is sweet soul - a softer, romantic form of soul in which melody, vocal harmonies, rhythm and feeling matter more than aggressive production. Their music contains traces of American soul from the 1960s and 1970s, but the band does not function as a retro reconstruction. The songs are their own, the production is carefully shaped, and an old musical language is used for themes and emotions that very easily cross generational boundaries.
The core of the group consists of Alejandro Garcia, Salvador Samano and singer Joshua Lane. Lane's tenor in particular gives the songs their recognizable softness, while the rhythm section often works with very few elements: deep bass, measured drums, guitar and arrangements that leave enough space for the voice.
The first album, "Thee Sacred Souls", was released in 2022, after the band's early songs had already attracted major attention. "Can I Call You Rose?" and "Weak for Your Love" remained among the most recognizable titles from their early period, but the band has since built a catalog broad enough that its live show no longer has to rest on only a few well-known singles.
Their music can therefore be particularly appealing to:
- listeners of classic soul and R&B who enjoy warm analog production
- audiences following the newer California soul scene and the so-called "souldies" sound
- fans of slower songs, vocal harmonies and romantic songwriting
- listeners who enjoy concerts where the band and vocals remain more important than major production tricks
"Got A Story To Tell" expanded their sound
The second album, "Got A Story To Tell", released in 2024, brought 12 new original songs and showed how Thee Sacred Souls were developing after a long period of touring. The material was created after their debut album, while the band members were simultaneously living through the rhythm of travel, concerts and private life that constantly had to adapt to life on the road.
The result is a more emotionally complex album. Love songs and the characteristic slow groove are still present, but the arrangements reach more deeply into rocksteady, girl-group pop and other styles that shaped classic soul.
"Lucid Girl" is one of the key examples. The song rests on powerful bass and drums, while the vocal section tells the story of a woman who refuses to remain trapped in other people's expectations. "My Heart Is Drowning" goes in another direction, combining a slower Jamaican rocksteady feel with soft backing vocals and a story of regret after a lost relationship.
"On My Mind" further demonstrates just how wide-ranging their references are. While creating the material, the band also drew on Brazilian music, classic vocal groups, Jamaican performers and lesser-known soul recordings, rather than simply repeating one recognizable formula.
The album ends with "I'm So Glad I Found You, Baby", which restores a warmer feeling after the more emotionally difficult sections of the record. That arc also explains well why their songs work in concert: the rhythm can shift from slow and intimate to more dance-oriented while the evening still sounds like a unified whole.
The band continued releasing new music in 2026
The Berkeley concert is not merely a continuation of the promotion for the 2024 album. Throughout 2026, Thee Sacred Souls continue to release material and new versions of songs.
In April, "Any Old Fool" was released, a song characterized by firmer bass and drums and a more pronounced dance-oriented character. Interestingly, the track had already appeared at their concerts before its release, making it a good example of the way the band sometimes develops material in front of an audience before it receives a final release.
At the end of July 2026, a collaboration with Victor Axelrod also appeared. "Waiting on the Right Time" and "One and the Same", songs connected with the album "Got A Story To Tell", received reggae versions that Axelrod created with the group The Inversions. This makes it even clearer how closely Jamaican rhythms are connected with the musical world of Thee Sacred Souls.
That does not mean those versions will be performed in Berkeley. The repertoire for that concert has not been announced in advance, and it would be wrong to assume a particular set list. The new releases nevertheless provide useful context for the moment in which the band arrives on The Constellation Tour: their catalog continues to change instead of the tour relying exclusively on the two already released albums.
What previous concerts tell us about their live performance
The documented concert at London's Roundhouse in February 2025 shows how broadly Thee Sacred Souls were drawing from their own catalog at the time. The repertoire included songs from both albums, including "Lucid Girl", "My Heart Is Drowning", "Waiting on the Right Time", "Weak for Your Love", "Live for You" and "Can I Call You Rose?".
At the same performance, they also played songs that had not yet been released at that point, including "Any Old Fool" and "We Don't Have to Be Alone". This confirms that their concert is not necessarily simply a reproduction of their studio albums in a familiar order.
For Berkeley, only a general expectation can be drawn from this, not a set-list prediction: the audience can expect a band that combines earlier favorites with newer material and builds its songs around vocals, rhythm and the dynamics of the full ensemble.
A report from their 2025 performance in Dublin particularly highlighted the audience's reaction to the band's entrance and Lane's stage presence. That fits into the broader picture of their live reputation. The intensity does not come from pyrotechnics or large stage effects, but from the contrast between very gentle songs and moments when the entire band intensifies the groove.
That approach is especially well suited to an audience that comes to a concert to listen to the details of the performance. In a song such as "Weak for Your Love", a small rhythmic shift or a more pronounced bass line can carry as much weight as a big chorus at a conventional pop concert.
LA LOM brings a completely different kind of California sound
LA LOM is not an addition that should be viewed merely as something filling the time between entering the venue and the main performer. The Los Angeles trio builds an instrumental sound in which surf guitar, cumbia and other Latin American influences meet.
That combination creates an interesting contrast with Thee Sacred Souls. Both groups use a retro musical vocabulary, but from different traditions. While Thee Sacred Souls start from soul, R&B and rocksteady, LA LOM relies on instrumental guitar, Latin American rhythms and California musical history.
Audiences have already been able to hear that combination at previous shared performances. At the 2025 concert in Dublin, LA LOM performed before Thee Sacred Souls, and a report from the evening particularly highlighted their blend of surf rock, cumbia and Peruvian influences.
For the audience at The Greek Theatre, this means arriving at the beginning of the program makes sense even if Thee Sacred Souls are the main motivation.
The Womack Sisters connect the evening with the great history of soul
The third name on the program, The Womack Sisters, further deepens the soul character of the evening. BG, Zeimani and Kucha Womack perform as a vocal trio combining R&B, soul and gospel.
Their family musical history is exceptionally strong. They are the granddaughters of Sam Cooke, daughters of Cecil and Linda Womack from Womack & Womack, and nieces of Bobby Womack. They grew up around professional music and touring, and later also performed as backing singers during Bobby Womack's final tours.
As a result, the entire program gains an interesting intergenerational thread. The Womack Sisters carry a direct connection to one of America's great soul families, while Thee Sacred Souls show how a new generation of songwriters can continue that musical language without simply copying the past.
The Greek Theatre is not an ordinary concert venue
The William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre is located on the UC Berkeley campus at 2001 Gayley Road. It opened in 1903 and was modeled after the ancient theater at Epidaurus, with additional Roman architectural elements.
UC Berkeley lists a capacity of 7,200. It is an open-air amphitheater built on a natural slope above the campus, so a concert here differs significantly from a performance in an indoor arena or club.
The venue is large enough for Thee Sacred Souls to perform in front of thousands of people, but the amphitheater layout visually directs the audience toward the stage. For a band whose music depends on vocal nuances and a tight rhythm section, such a space represents an interesting transition from a club atmosphere to a large summer concert.
For more than a century, The Greek Theatre has not served music alone. Speeches, university ceremonies, theatrical performances and concerts by many generations of performers have been held there. In more recent musical history, artists from very different genres have appeared on its stage, making it one of the recognizable concert venues in the San Francisco Bay Area.
If additional seats or returned tickets for Thee Sacred Souls become available, it is worth acting quickly. The current sold-out status of the concert shows just how high the interest in this date is.
Getting there is easier by public transportation than by car
Organizers specifically warn that parking spaces around The Greek Theatre are limited and recommend public transportation, bicycles or carpooling. On concert days, visitors should also expect heavier traffic.
The nearest BART station is Downtown Berkeley. From the station, it is approximately a 20-minute walk across the UC Berkeley campus to The Greek Theatre. The final part of the route leads toward the higher section of the campus, so it is wise to allow enough time, especially if you want to enter soon after the doors open.
For visitors who nevertheless arrive by car, it is useful to know that the nearest university garages, Lower Hearst and Upper Hearst, do not open for concert parking before 5:00 p.m. and have a very limited number of spaces. As an alternative, organizers recommend parking in the broader Downtown Berkeley area and continuing on foot across the campus.
The most important practical information:
- the venue is The Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Road, Berkeley
- doors for this concert open at 5:30 p.m.
- the program begins at 7:00 p.m.
- Thee Sacred Souls, LA LOM and The Womack Sisters are performing
- the event is open to all ages
- the nearest BART station is Downtown Berkeley
- allow approximately 20 minutes to walk from the station to the venue
- parking directly by the venue is very limited
An open-air venue also means thinking about the weather
The Greek Theatre is an open-air amphitheater, and concerts take place whether it is raining or the weather is clear. During the summer months, organizers advise visitors to dress in layers because cooler evening air and fog can appear in the Berkeley and San Francisco Bay Area.
This is particularly useful information for visitors who enter the venue at 5:30 p.m., while it is still daytime, and leave several hours later. The temperature and outdoor conditions can change significantly between the afternoon and the end of the evening.
The venue has no coat check, so it is more practical to bring clothing that can easily be put on or removed without additional equipment. There are also restrictions on cameras: small "point and shoot" cameras without interchangeable lenses are generally permitted, while professional cameras and recording devices are not.
Berkeley as a stop on The Constellation Tour
The Berkeley date falls in the middle of an intensive August stretch of The Constellation Tour. A few days earlier, the tour passes through Canada, Washington and Oregon before moving into California. After Berkeley, further performances follow toward Fresno, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and other parts of the United States.
That makes Berkeley an important California stop, but not the end of the tour. For Thee Sacred Souls, it is particularly interesting that they are performing relatively close to their own Southern California roots, while the tour also heads toward their hometown of San Diego later in August.
The Greek Theatre is also a venue large enough to demonstrate how much the band's status has changed since its first club concerts. Their self-titled debut album appeared only in 2022, and four years later they are the headliners of an evening in an amphitheater with several thousand seats, accompanied by two carefully chosen supporting groups.
For someone who knows Thee Sacred Souls only through "Can I Call You Rose?", this is an opportunity to hear how much their catalog has expanded. For longtime followers, the more interesting part of the story will probably be the relationship between the newer songs and the first album, and the possibility that material from 2026 will find its way into the concert repertoire.
The best reason to attend, however, is not the promise of any particular song or an unannounced surprise. The appeal lies in the combination of three performers, a historic open-air amphitheater and a band that currently finds itself between the established success of its first albums and the next phase of its own development.
If ticket availability opens again, it is worth securing them before adjusting the rest of the travel plan around the concert. For visitors who already have a ticket, the more important practical advice is to arrive early enough for LA LOM and The Womack Sisters rather than treating the beginning of the evening merely as waiting for the main performer.
Sources:
- The Greek Theatre - information about the concert, performers, door opening, program start, age restriction and ticket status
- Thee Sacred Souls - information about The Constellation Tour, current tour dates, the band's development and the album "Got A Story To Tell"
- Daptone Records - the band's discography and information about the releases "Any Old Fool" and the 2026 collaboration with Victor Axelrod
- UC Berkeley - history of The Greek Theatre, architectural context and venue capacity
- The Greek Theatre Parking and Directions - address, BART access, walking from Downtown Berkeley, parking and alternatives to driving
- The Greek Theatre FAQ - information about weather conditions, coat check, cameras and other venue rules
- setlist.fm - documented repertoire of Thee Sacred Souls at London's Roundhouse in 2025, used only as context for previous performances
- Mc Gig Music - report from the 2025 performance by Thee Sacred Souls and LA LOM in Dublin