Festive Funk!

... It might mean a bit more but those tend to be the key ones on telly and that.

On Saturday 22nd December this year, if you can drag yourself away from endless reruns of Home Alone and Jingle All The Way, might we suggest a trip to Tower Millenium Pier on the Thames? Yes the festive Funk & Soul Boat Party returns again and this year with a headline 2 hour DJ set from none other than BBC Radio 6's original soul man Mr Craig Charles (pictured) aboard the Mississippi paddle steamer the Dixie Queen. It doesn't get much simpler than that really. Funk, soul, paddle steamer, festive cheer, probably booze. There's also live brass band support from Riot Jazz, one of the tightest live acts around and electronic beatsmith Jon Kennedy providing some laidback class.

It sold out early last year so don't waste any time, hit the Soundcrash site and rub some funk on your festive season!

Also keep your eyes peeled on the Bearded Twitter over the next week or so as we'll be dropping links to 12 funk & soul gems as an added bonus! To start you off why not check Riot Jazz doing a bit of a live brass version of some classic Chemical Brothers? (No Really)

Find us on Twitter @BeardedMagazine, you can also find the man himself Craig Charles @CCfunkandsoul