Cyril Neville, Omari Neville & The Fuel, And King Youngblood Team Up For THE SOUL JUNCTION TOUR

Cyril Neville will hit the road this winter with Omari Neville & The Fuel and Seattle-based band King Youngblood on The Soul Junction Tour, a Mardi Gras–season run that brings together generations, regions, and musical traditions. The tour begins February 5 at the Villar Center in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

“This is really the Magical Musical Medicine For the Soul Tour,” Neville said. “Traveling with my son Omari is a dream. Cameron is a brilliant artist, activist, and leader. It is an honor to work with him and his band. Mentoring my guys on tour is the best possible way we can all celebrate Mardis Gras across America this February 2026.”

The collaboration grew out of connections formed at the 2025 Black & Loud Fest, where Neville first worked closely with King Youngblood founder Cameron Lavi-Jones. That relationship deepened with the launch of Black & Loud New Orleans in April 2025 at the House of Blues New Orleans, featuring Neville alongside Omari Neville & The Fuel and marking King Youngblood’s New Orleans debut.

Neville enters the tour amid renewed momentum in his career. A founding figure of New Orleans’ signature funk, soul, rock, and jazz sound, he is a two-time Grammy winner and recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He is set to release a new album, Don’t Wait Til I’m Gone, on April 17, 2026, produced by Neville and trumpeter Shamarr Allen. The album includes “Lemonade,” written by Allen and Neville; “Sunrise on the River,” written with Irvin Mayfield; and the title track, co-written with Neville’s brother Aaron Neville.

King Youngblood is also entering a new phase, with the February 2026 release of Afrothunda II, described as the soundtrack to the band’s Afrothunda comic book series. Led by Cameron Lavi-Jones, the group has built its reputation on high-energy live performances and a commitment to expanding the space for Black artists working outside traditionally defined genres.

“This Soul Junction Tour—the first Black and Loud branded tour—is the logical next step for King Youngblood and the Neville family’s alignment,” Lavi-Jones said. “Cyril, Omari and I wrote a song called ‘Soul Junction’ at Black & Loud Fest Seattle 2025. After that, we just said: more of this.”

Neville added that the pairing reflects his own musical roots. “My roots are just as much in rock as they are in the funky soul sound of the Neville Brothers, The Meters, The Uptown Rulers, and the Wild Tchoupitoulas,” he said, noting that “Soul Junction” will serve as the tour’s finale.