Watch Brittany Howard’s New Hardcore Band Kumite Play Their First Show
Elemental blues-rock howler Brittany Howard released her second solo album What Now last year. Last month, Howard and her old band Alabama Shakes played a surprise reunion show in Tuscaloosa, their first performance in seven years. And now, Howard also has a damn hardcore band. They’re called Kumite, and they played their first show in Nashville on Sunday night.
The idea of Brittany Howard fronting a hardcore band is both strange and intriguing. How would this thing sound? Would Howard’s towering voice make any sense in a context where “good singing” is almost entirely beside the point? What kind of hardcore would it be, anyway? Well, now we have our answers. Kumite is a straightforward chug-and-crunch Southern metallic hardcore band, and Howard isn’t even trying to sing like she does on all her other projects.
Kumite’s first show, announced back in November, was on a bill with Snõõper, Inner Peace, and Second Spirit at Nashville’s Basement Inn, and it was a benefit for Nashville Launch Pad, the Second Harvest Food Bank, and Southern Movement Committee. Before the gig, Howard wrote a note on Instagram, talking about the importance of raising money and awareness in different communities. She added, “Sunday night is about bringing people together who support a message of peace, love and inclusion. To be honest, it is less about a concert or making a statement musically and more about uniting people in a safe place during these crazy times we are living in.”
That community spirit is a huge part of DIY hardcore. So is coming up with a hard name for your band, and Kumite, presumably named after the underground-fighting tournament in Bloodsport, absolutely qualifies. In videos from last night’s show, Brittany Howard’s vocals are full-on dirty growl-roar, and she can do that really well. She also occasionally played guitar, and the band covered American Nightmare’s “AM/PM,” with one of her bandmates singing lead. (I don’t know who else is in Kumite yet.) The crowd seemed pretty sedate for a hardcore show, and the videos don’t capture any crazy pit action or Brittany Howard mosh calls. Still, a good start! Check out some fan footage below.
Grammy Winner Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes) new band Kumite covering “AM/PM” by American Nightmare. pic.twitter.com/eB1VPIZrwZ
— PJ Kinzer (@CivilWarSyndrom) January 13, 2025
