An intimately soulful night with Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe performs in Harrah’s Lake Tahoe’s South Shore Room. Photos: Larry Sabo

January 2025

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe brought their funky stuff to the stage of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe’s South Shore Room on a very snowy evening on the evening of Saturday, January 25th .

Opening performer, Roge’ kicked off the evening. Roge’ is a Brazilian solo guitarist and played a captivating jazzy kind of samba which moved easily into a reggae beat. Notable about Roge’s music was his being a co-writer for the 2016 Olympic games theme song which were held in his native country.

Hailing from San Diego, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe consists of seven band members. Karl plays tenor and alto saxophone as well as a flute. In addition to his band, Danielle Barker accompanied the musicians onstage. The most recent addition to the crew, Barker is a powerhouse vocalist with a very soulful side. Her contributions to the sound were striking!

Denson’s musical career has taken him from playing with The James Brown Band, to Parliament-Funkadelic, to The Greyboy Allstars, to this current project which began in 1998. Since 2014, Denson has also played sax with the Rolling Stones.

Upon taking the stage Denson welcomed the audience and mentioned that he hoped those in attendance had brought their dancing shoes! They opened the show with a very funky, jazzy tune “Steamed Water”, before seguing into “How Fine is That,” and following that with ” Supernatural Slide” which included an extended jam, featuring a guitar solo from Ricky Giordano. The song reached peak levels, with the group’s amazing sense of interaction with the crowd. Roge’ returned to the stage to join in the fun, adding his guitar to the band for the song ”Stop This Flame.”

Denson concluded the night with “Crisco” and “Rabbit Hole” including a great jam with everyone on stage crescendoing the night’s performance, dancing and enjoying their time there!

Always a memorable performer, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe gave Lake Tahoe another night to remember.

Karl Denson performs on baritone sax.
Powerhouse vocalist Danielle Barker elevated the night’s performance.

View Larry Sabo’s full photo gallery here.

Check out more on Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe:

ABOUT Marcia Schultz

Picture of Marcia Schultz
Marcia Schultz is a longtime Tahoe resident who has followed the music scene for many years. She has enjoyed different music genres from the West Coast to Nashville. She has been working with Tahoe Onstage since 2019.

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