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Funky Friday – Episode 46: Winter Soulstice

Updated: Dec 21, 2025

🎧 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on KDOG 9 AM Pacific Time→ Here

🎧 Listen live on KCSM HD2 9 PM Pacific Time→ Here (On mobile, scroll down to the KCSM HD2 player)


📆 Add to Calendar — Funky Friday (Weekly):

• 9 AM KDOG

• 9 PM KCSM HD2


🎶 Catch the Replay → Here

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here


Episode Teaser



Airdate: 12.19.25 - 9 AM Pacific Time on KDOG & 9 PM Pacific Time on KCSM HD2


Happy Funky Friday, Renegades of Funk!


For Episode 46, we arrive at the turning point of the season — the longest night of the year, where winter stops advancing and quietly begins to reverse course.


The air is still.The darkness is deep.And the groove… finds its balance.

This is Winter Soulstice: a solstice-night set built on effortless glide — warm standards, steady momentum, and soul and funk that know how to move with the season instead of fighting it.


No cold shock.

No holiday noise.

Just timeless records carving clean lines through the longest night.


Meaningful. Grounded. Smooth.


❄️ SETLIST + RENEGADE NOTES


Act I — At the Top of the Hill


A gentle push-off into the night.


Earth, Wind & Fire – “Getaway” (1976)

Personnel: Maurice White – vocals/drums | Verdine White – bass | Philip Bailey – vocals

Renegade Note: A confident start. Bright but controlled. The moment the skis catch the slope and the run begins with intention.


Stevie Wonder – “Another Star” (1976)

Personnel: Stevie Wonder – vocals, synths, drums, bass

Renegade Note: Forward motion with a smile. Stevie’s groove stretches toward the horizon — joyful, patient, and endlessly warm.


The Isley Brothers – “Between the Sheets” (1983)

Personnel: Ronald Isley – vocals | Ernie Isley – guitar | Chris Jasper – keys

Renegade Note: Silk in winter. A later-night glide with polish and poise — smooth enough to slow the world without stopping it.


Act II — Clean Carves

The groove locks in. Balance achieved.

Sly & The Family Stone – “If You Want Me to Stay” (1973)

Personnel: Sly Stone – vocals, bass

Renegade Note: Perfect pocket funk. Nothing rushed. Nothing forced. A masterclass in staying exactly where the groove wants you.


Roy Ayers Ubiquity – “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” (1976)

Personnel: Roy Ayers – vibraphone, vocals

Renegade Note: Winter sunlight. Warmth without irony. Proof that the season doesn’t cancel joy — it reframes it.


Chaka Khan – “I’m Every Woman” (1978)

Personnel: Chaka Khan – vocals | Ashford & Simpson – writing

Renegade Note: Centered, powerful, radiant. Chaka brings grounded confidence to the middle of the run — steady hands on the poles.


Act III — Mid-Slope Glow

Stars overhead. Momentum uninterrupted.


Herbie Hancock – “Watermelon Man” (1973)

Personnel: Herbie Hancock – keys | PBennie Maupin – sax | Paul Jackson – bass | Harvey Mason – drums | Bill Summers – percussion

Renegade Note: Ritual funk. Elemental and grounded. The sound of breath, water, and rhythm working together — a perfect solstice moment. This version of “Watermelon Man” reconnects funk to its roots, letting groove feel ancient, cyclical, and alive beneath the winter sky.


Parliament – “Mothership Connection (Star Child)” (1975)

Personnel: George Clinton – vocals | Bootsy Collins – bass | Bernie Worrell – synths

Renegade Note: Cosmic without chaos. Funk floating just above the snowline — expansive, joyful, and controlled.


Prince – “I Wanna Be Your Lover” (1979)

Personnel: Prince – everything

Renegade Note: Light-footed swagger. Early Prince glides through winter with ease — playful, warm, and unmistakably alive.


Act IV — The Long Glide Home

No tricks. Just a beautiful finish.


Zapp – “I Can Make You Dance” (1983)

Personnel: Roger Troutman – talkbox, vocals

Renegade Note: Bounce without aggression. A controlled descent — movement that never breaks balance.


Lonnie Liston Smith – “Expansions” (1975)

Personnel: Lonnie Liston Smith – keys | Donald Smith – bass

Renegade Note: The perfect solstice glide-out. Wide horizon. Deep breath. A calm landing after the longest night.



❄️ WHY WINTER SOULSTICE?


Because the solstice isn’t about darkness winning —it’s about direction changing.


Winter Soulstice honors:


  • effortless momentum (Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire)

  • warm standards that endure (Isley Brothers, Roy Ayers)

  • cosmic glow without chaos (Herbie Hancock, Parliament, Lonnie Liston Smith)

  • balance over force (Sly Stone, Chaka Khan)


Where Snow Grooves explored winter’s hush,Winter Soulstice marks the quiet turn —the moment where the longest night gives way to return.


No fanfare.

No announcement.

Just the groove continuing… steadily.


This is funk for the turning point.

For the calm center.

For carving clean lines through the longest night of the year.


The solstice has arrived.

The glide is smooth.And the groove never freezes.



🔗 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on KDOG 9 AM Pacific Time→ Here

🎧 Listen live on KCSM HD2 9 PM Pacific Time→ Here (On mobile, scroll down to the KCSM HD2 player)


📆 Add to Calendar — Funky Friday (Weekly):

• 9 AM KDOG

• 9 PM KCSM HD2


🎶 Catch the Replay → Here

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here



❄️Funk Facts❄️


🎿 Stevie Wonder’s “Another Star”

Recorded during the Songs in the Key of Life sessions, “Another Star” is one of Stevie’s most joyful long-form grooves. Its forward motion and buoyant rhythm make it a rare example of funk that feels both expansive and grounded — perfect for a solstice glide rather than a sprint.


🌙 The Isley Brothers’ “Between the Sheets”

Originally intended as a quiet late-night groove, this track became one of the most sampled slow-burn funk records of all time. Its restrained tempo and polished warmth defined the sound of early ’80s after-dark soul — intimate, unhurried, and built to last.


✨ Roy Ayers & the Science of Warmth“Everybody Loves the Sunshine”

The song was built around vibraphone tones chosen specifically for their warmth and sustain. Ayers understood that winter funk doesn’t need aggression — it needs glow. Few tracks capture that balance better.


🍉 Herbie Hancock’s Post-Headhunters Era“Watermelon Man”

The Head Hunters version of “Watermelon Man” is rooted in ritual and rhythm. Bill Summers’ opening water-blowing percussion nods to African musical traditions, grounding the track in breath, pulse, and elemental sound. It’s funk stripped to its essentials — cyclical, physical, and timeless — making it a perfect fit for the solstice moment.


🌌 Lonnie Liston Smith’s “Expansions”

A cornerstone of spiritual jazz-funk, “Expansions” was designed to feel infinite. Its steady pulse and cosmic openness make it an ideal solstice closer — music that doesn’t end the night, but gently turns it toward morning.

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