The Third Coast Kings is a seven member funk and soul band from Ann Arbor.
Sean Ike is the front man of the band. When he’s on stage, he commands your attention. You will almost always see him jumping and dancing around his microphone, dressed in a brightly colored suit, shooting deep stares to the audience and occasionally wiping the sweat that drips off his shaved head with a hand towel he keeps nearby.
“If you give us five or six songs, if you are at least not tapping your foot, they should check your pulse or we’re doing it wrong,” Ike says.
Not only do the Third Coast Kings draw people to the dance floor across Michigan, they also have a large following in Japan.
While the band has been playing in Michigan for about 7 years, it wasn’t until 2012 that they realized they also had a following in Japan. That’s the year they got invited to the Fuji Rock Festival and performed in front of thousands of people.
Ike describes the Fuji Rock Festival as being similar to music festivals like Coachella or Lollapalooza in the US, except in the mountains of Japan.
The Third Coast Kings next performance will be at Cliff Bells in Detroit on New Year’s Eve.
