Free Nationals are an American R&B band formed in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The group consists of José Ríos (lead guitar, backing vocals), Ron "T.Nava" Avant (keyboard, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Kelsey Gonzales (bass guitar, bass synth) and Callum Connor (drums, percussion, backing vocals). They frequently accompany Anderson .Paak as his

backing band A backup band or backing band is a Band (music), musical ensemble that typically Accompaniment, accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a Studio recording, recording session, and the ...

History

Guitarist José Ríos and keyboardist Ron Avant met Anderson .Paak while studying at

Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...

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in the late 2000s. Bassist Kelsey Gonzalez and drummer Callum Connor joined them soon after and they formed the Free Nationals. The band went on to produce for Anderson and frequently tour with him. The idea for their name came from their mentor Shafiq Huisayn. Free Nationals is a term which means the first settlers of America before Columbus came, the people indigenous to the land. They took their own interpretation of this, being 'indigenous to the music' by paying homage to the influential musicians before them. Their performance with Paak at his

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in August 2016 is possibly their most significant appearance to date. The YouTube video has amassed over 104 million views so far, making it the 3rd most popular video in the Tiny Desk series. The band released their debut single "Beauty & Essex" featuring

Daniel Caesar Ashton Simmonds (born April 5, 1995), known professionally as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After independently building a following through the release of two EPs, ''Praise Break'' (2014) and ''Pilgrim's Paradise'' (2015) ...

and

Unknown Mortal Orchestra Unknown Mortal Orchestra (also known as UMO) is a New Zealand psychedelic rock band from Auckland and now based in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon. Fronted by multi-instrumentalist Ruban Nielson, assisted by his brother The Mint Chicks, Kod ...

on October 9, 2018. Their second single "

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" featuring

Mac Miller Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known by the stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper. He began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop music, hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of 15. In 2010, he signed ...

and

Kali Uchis Karly Marina Loaiza (born July 17, 1994), known professionally as Kali Uchis ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Her accolades include a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award, an American Music Awards, American Music Award, two Billboard Music Awar ...

, released on June 12, 2019, was the first official posthumous song from Miller since his death in September 2018. On December 13, 2019, they released their self-titled debut album through OBE and

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. It was nominated for Best Progressive R&B album at the

63rd Annual Grammy Awards The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 201 ...

Musical style and influence

Their music has been described as having a "future retro, funky and soulful sound". The band state that they 'stay indigenous to the funk' by paying tribute to their inspirations who include legendary musicians

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

and

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

Members

* José Ríos – lead guitars, backing vocals * Ron "T.Nava" Avant – keyboards, synthesizers, talkbox, rhythm guitars, lead and backing vocals * Kelsey Gonzalez – bass guitar, bass synth, backing vocals * Callum Connor – DJ, drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Guest appearances

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

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References

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External links

Official website

Free Nationals documentary
Musical groups from Los Angeles American contemporary R&B musical groups