The Band of the State Correctional System

The Powhatan Correctional Center was a hellish place: overcrowded, underfunded, and known for its rampant violence. So how were Neal, Jamal, and Cupcake able to create and perform such soulful, life-affirming music? As America’s prison population began to skyrocket in the late 1970s, the musicians explain how the prison band room gave them the will to make it through their sentences. This is where Edge of Daybreak is born.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Om Podcasten

A+E's Soul Incarcerated podcast is the story of Edge of Daybreak, the best ‘70s soul band you’ve probably never heard about. They recorded their lone masterpiece, Eyes of Love, when they were locked up at a rural Virginia penitentiary at the height of America’s prison boom. Journalist Jamie Pietras traces the story of young musicians who grow up under segregation, face convictions for armed robbery, and find each other through a prison music program. Pietras puts the group’s music into context and helps navigate their attempt at a comeback more than 40 years later.