The Sound of Philadelphia comes to London with songwriter, musician, arranger, orchestrator, and Grammy Award–winning producer Dexter Wansel
For the first time ever in the UK, Dexter will take the stage with a 33-piece string and horn ensemble recreating and celebrating the full MFSB Experience alongside original Philadelphia International Records soul legends Jean Carn (“Don’t Let It Go To Your Head”), Shirley Jones (of The Jones Girls) ”Nights Over Egypt”, and—making her first appearance—Terri Wells (original vocalist on“The Sweetest Pain”), plus full band and special guests.
His 1975 instrumental “Theme from The Planets” opened with a drum break that became one of the most sampled beats in hip-hop history—heard in tracks by Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Drake, Rick Ross, J. Cole, Ice-T, and many more. A pioneer of synthesizer–orchestral fusion (dubbed cosmic funk), Wansel created a distinct “space-soul” sound.
For over five decades, he has helped shape the worlds of soul, disco, dance, jazz, and hip-hop becoming Philly soul music royalty in the process. Even space has felt his influence: his composition “Rings of Saturn” was used by NASA in the promotional video for the Voyager mission in 1977, enhancing the visual storytelling of humanity’s journey to the stars.
<<Tickets are on sale here>>
April 2026
London, Eventim Apollo – Sun 12th
