Meet  The Band

Julie is no stranger to the stage. Singing and playing the piano since the age of 5, she studied Vocal Performance at The Crane School Of Music. Upon graduation, she put these chops to good use opening up for such acts as Three Dog Night, The Village People, and Roberta Flack with Rochester's very own Nik and the Nice Guys. Julie's influences include Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and Susan Tedeshi. Most recently, Julie has performed in Frank's Rat Pack covering such greats as Peggy Lee, Judy Garland and Keely Smith. She's been the lead singer of The Uptown Groove since 2015 and loves the talented funk and soulfulness of this great band!

Laris is one of the most talented drummers in all of Upstate NY. He has a unique approach to percussion that brings any ensemble with whom he performs to another level of musicianship. Laris has played with acts like the Rhthym Dogs, The Marvin Gaye Show and Hard Logic.

Harold has become a staple on the Rochester music scene. He has sung with many local and regional acts performing everything from smooth jazz to classic rock and from soul to current pop. Harold brings abounding experience and unique talent to this band!

A native of upstate New York, Paul DeLoria would make his mark in the Rochester area at a very young age on piano and saxophone. After college, Paul would form his first original group "The Banchees" who played the NYC area, sharing the stage with members of Spyro Gyra. Leaving NY in 1995 with a degree in Music, Paul went on to Nashville to pursue a degree in Recording Engineering at Middle Tennessee State. In Nashville he would meet jazz pianist Walt Scott and form the group Freedom Jazz Planet. This group toured the Nashville region with guest artists from all areas including Nioshi Jackson, and Reggie Wooten of the Wooten Brothers. Jamming in Nashville clubs with members of Take Six, Joseph Wooten of the Steve Miller Band, Jack Pierson, JD Blair (Drummer for Shania Twain), and Keith Horne (Bassist for Trisha Yearwood). Storming the live club scene with his fiery sax style and his upfront stage presence, Paul has made a name for himself. Upon his return to Rochester, The Uptown Groove has welcomed his talent and explosive playing with open arms!

Sean graduated from the Crane School of Music with his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education. Sean has studied jazz with great teachers including Bob Stata, John Viavattine and Bret Zvacek. He has had the pleasure of playing with numerous groups in the Rochester area. Sean has opened for national acts in the northeast such as Average White Band, Little Feat, Sonny Landreth and the Subdudes. His musical influences include Jaco Pastorius, Victor Wooten, Frank Zappa, Stanley Clarke, Jerry Garcia, Charles Mingus, etc. In addition to performing, Sean teaches bass, guitar, piano, drums, brass and music theory privately in the Rochester area.

Seth has been playing guitar for over 30 years. He has been a member of various Rock, Jazz and Groove Rock Bands in Rochester over the past 25 years. Although "brought up" on Rock and Roll, Seth enjoys studying/performing Jazz. Jazz influences include Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Ed Bickert, Sonny Rollins, Paul Desmond, Bill Evans, Chet Baker, etc. Seth has played with local acts such as Nik and the Nice Guys, The Sky Coasters, Silver Arrow Band, The Half Ton Horns, Up 2 Somethin' and the Al Chez Brothers of Funk Big Band.