Danny Bedrosian & Secret Army Bring P-Funk Pedigree to The Merry Widow Oct. 16

MOBILE, Ala. — After a weekend of canceled plans and storm prep, downtown Mobile has a funk show to make up for it. Danny Bedrosian & Secret Army play The Merry Widow on Friday, Oct. 16, with doors at 7 p.m., bringing a band with deep ties to Parliament-Funkadelic to one of the city’s busiest small stages.

Presale tickets are $15 through the venue’s website.

A weekend to make up for

Many Gulf Coast residents spent last weekend watching the forecast instead of going out, as Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Fla., and brought wind, rain and power outages to Mobile and Baldwin counties. Festivals and events across the region were canceled or postponed, and recovery is still underway in some communities.

With much of the area getting back to normal, Friday’s show is a chance for music fans to reclaim a night out downtown.

Who is Danny Bedrosian & Secret Army?

Bedrosian is the driving force behind the group. The band credits him as its lead vocalist, keyboardist, producer, chief songwriter, arranger and publisher, which makes Secret Army very much the product of one musician’s vision.

He does not carry it alone. Bassist Lige Curry and drummer Benjamin “Benzel” Cowan round out the core of the band, and both have played with Parliament-Funkadelic, the sprawling funk collective led by George Clinton. That pedigree matters. P-Funk, as fans call it, is one of the foundational acts of the genre, known for long, loose, groove-heavy live shows, cosmic stage concepts and a rotating cast of world-class players. Musicians who come out of that world tend to bring its feel for rhythm and improvisation with them.

From neo soul to psychedelic funk

Secret Army’s sound pulls from many decades at once, blending older influences with modern production. At its base, the band leans toward neo soul, the warm, groove-centered style that grew out of classic R&B and soul in the 1990s.

From there, the songs travel. A track like “Clanny & Dip” looks back to the smooth jazz of the 1990s, when digital keyboards such as Yamaha’s Clavinova line were a staple of the sound. Other cuts, including “Radio Flyer” and “Detka/Regenator,” push into psychedelic funk, with layered, spiraling arrangements.

That range is part of the appeal for a live audience. A band that moves easily between styles in the studio tends to stretch out even further on stage, and anyone who enjoys the recordings should expect the live versions to wander in new directions.

The Parliament-Funkadelic family tree

To understand why the P-Funk connection matters, it helps to know what that name means in funk history. George Clinton led two overlapping bands in the 1970s, Parliament and Funkadelic, that shared many of the same musicians. Parliament leaned toward polished, horn-driven funk with science-fiction themes, on albums such as “Mothership Connection,” while Funkadelic mixed funk with heavy, guitar-driven psychedelic rock on records like “One Nation Under a Groove.”

Together the bands became known as Parliament-Funkadelic, or simply P-Funk, and their grooves were later sampled heavily by hip-hop producers, carrying the sound to new generations. Parliament-Funkadelic was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Over the decades, dozens of musicians have passed through the collective, and many have gone on to lead their own projects. Secret Army is part of that extended family, and its mix of funk, soul and psychedelia reflects the same freewheeling spirit.

What is neo soul?

Neo soul emerged in the mid-to-late 1990s as artists blended the warmth of 1970s soul with elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop. The style favors live instruments, rich keyboard textures and relaxed, groove-based rhythms over polished pop production. It is a natural foundation for a keyboard-led band like Secret Army, and it gives the group room to drift toward jazz on one song and full-blown funk on the next.

Who should go

The show should appeal to a wide slice of Mobile’s music fans:

• Funk fans, especially anyone who follows the Parliament-Funkadelic family tree
• Jam-band listeners who like extended, improvised sets
• Jazz and soul fans drawn to the band’s neo soul and smooth jazz side
• Keyboard lovers, since Bedrosian’s playing sits at the center of the band

About The Merry Widow

The Merry Widow, at 51 S. Conception St., is one of the anchors of downtown Mobile’s live music scene, along with Soul Kitchen and Callaghan’s Irish Social Club in the Oakleigh Garden District. The room regularly books touring acts across genres; in recent weeks it hosted a two-night run by bluegrass band Shadowgrass, and funk legend George Porter Jr. of The Meters played there in early 2025.

The venue sits a short walk from Dauphin Street’s restaurants and bars, so it is easy to turn the show into a full evening downtown.

A busy week for live music

Friday’s show is part of a crowded stretch on Mobile’s music calendar. Sister Hazel plays Soul Kitchen on Thursday, Oct. 15, and singer-songwriter Dylan LeBlanc brings his new family band to Callaghan’s on Sunday, Oct. 18. The annual Greek Festival at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church also runs through Saturday, Oct. 17.

Tips for the show

• Buy the presale. The $15 price is for advance tickets through the venue’s website; prices at the door may differ.
• Arrive with the doors. Doors open at 7 p.m., and arriving early is the best way to find a good spot in a small room.
• Plan for a late night. Bands with jam and funk roots often stretch songs out, so leave room in your evening.

If you go

• Who: Danny Bedrosian & Secret Army, with bassist Lige Curry and drummer Benjamin “Benzel” Cowan
• When: Friday, Oct. 16; doors at 7 p.m.
• Where: The Merry Widow, 51 S. Conception St., downtown Mobile
• Tickets: $15 presale through the venue’s website
• Sound: Neo soul, psychedelic funk and jazz, with roots in Parliament-Funkadelic