Performatist
    Hip-Hop/R&B

    Carlton Jumel Smith & the Whole Thing

    Illustration for Carlton Jumel Smith & the Whole Thing

    Thursday, July 16, 2026

    8:00 PM

    The Bitter End

    147 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012

    Scheduled

    About This Event

    Carlton Jumel Smith brings his project Carlton Jumel Smith & the Whole Thing to The Bitter End, with Smith fronting a group that emphasizes interplay over showmanship. Their set moves between guitar-driven rock and pop structures, rooted in retro-soul phrasing and grooves with touches of acid jazz, jazz-funk and fusion-adjacent arrangement. Smith's recent trajectory includes the 2020 Soul Seeders release Make It Happen and later collaborations that steered his work toward a band format.

    About the Artists

    Carlton Jumel Smith & the Whole Thing

    Carlton Jumel Smith & the Whole Thing

    retro soul

    Carlton Jumel Smith fronts a rock/pop project billed as Carlton Jumel Smith & the Whole Thing, drawing on retro-soul instincts within a band format. In New York City, the group appears at The Bitter End, a room that favors direct musicianship and close listening.

    Carlton Jumel Smith

    Carlton Jumel Smith

    retro soul

    In 2020, the release of the album "Make It Happen" by The Soul Seeders and a Parisian Carlton concert canceled for health reasons led to a virtual meeting and discussions related to soul music. The desire to create together was immediate. In 2022 Carlton collaborated...

    the Whole Thing

    the Whole Thing

    acid jazzjazz funkjazz fusionsoul jazz

    the Whole Thing is a group heard in New York City settings such as The Bitter End, where they’ve appeared alongside Carlton Jumel Smith under the billing “Carlton Jumel Smith & the Whole Thing.” Though often framed in a Rock/Pop context, their recorded footprint also points toward acid jazz, jazz-funk, and fusion-adjacent grooves.