For the weekend, a funk mix from modern greats

Welcome to the latest installment of our series Guest List, where we ask artists, bands, and industry folks to share a 10(ish)-song playlist, along with a few words about the mix. Everything is fair game, whether it's on-the-road jams, a curated mood soundtrack, or their pre-show mix.

What a treat to have the funk group Ghost-Note for our latest Guest List. Founded in 2014 by Robert "Sput" Searight and Nate Werth, members of the Grammy-winning jazz-funk collective Snarky Puppy, Ghost-Note makes percussion-forward funk informed by a kaleidoscope of musical influences. Their current band features instrumentalists equally remarkable in their own right, having collaborated with the likes of Prince, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, and Kirk Franklin between them.

Ahead of their performance at the Mill Valley Music Festival this weekend, Ghost-Note has created a playlist for Gazetteer SF of their funk inspirations.

From Ghost-Note’s Dominique Xavier Taplin — their Oakland-born keyboardist who has performed with legendary and rising acts like Prince, Toto, and Snoh Aalegra:

It’s good to get on the same page when it comes to inspiration. We can all hear something different every time. Through all our different vantage points, we end up learning together. We do that just as much as we live and laugh together.

Ghost-Note will be performing at Mill Valley Music Festival on May 10. Tickets for the festival are available here. Stream Ghost-Note's latest album, Mustard n’Onions, on Spotify.