Article Contributed by David Burton
Published on 2026-10-15
FUNGKSHUI - photos by David Burton
As New York City was kicking off the weekend, FUNGKSHUI modestly took the stage for a 7 p.m. show at the intimate Club Groove on October 9. Waiters brought guests to their candlelit tables as the band quietly checked their mics before dropping into the first notes of music.
From there, there was very little that was modest about FUNGKSHUI’s performance.
The opening song, “Moon Honey,” and its accompanying jam captured my attention right away. “Orange Cadillac” followed with a rhythmic, melodic groove and a catchy tune. As the set unfolded, those accessible melodies gave way to darker, spacier exploration, showing how much ground the band could cover in a 90-minute performance.
The room was small, but FUNGKSHUI made an immediate statement: this band deserves your attention.
Based in Asbury Park, New Jersey, the group consists of four members: Jack Reed (guitar/vocals), Max Vitale (guitar/vocals), Jon Scheps (bass), and Bobby Reilly (drums). Though some fans may have discovered them more recently through shows alongside Dogs in a Pile and Pink Talking Fish, their history stretches back more than a decade.
Jack and Jon formed the band shortly after finishing high school, playing their first show in July 2016 at the now-defunct Brighton Bar in Long Branch, New Jersey. FUNGKSHUI performed as a trio for a few years before adding Max in 2021 and Bobby in 2023, forming the current lineup.
2023 was also a landmark year for FUNGKSHUI. A four-night run alongside LaMP brought them to Asbury Park, Albany, and Burlington, where they played two nights at Nectar’s. Those shows helped the band build a following in new markets and gain momentum toward their first headlining show at the Stone Pony in March 2025. For a band rooted in Asbury Park, headlining the iconic hometown venue was a particularly meaningful milestone.
---
In true improvisational fashion, FUNGKSHUI is hard to predict. Their show at Groove took numerous turns that left the audience without knowing which direction the band would take next. Their songs and sounds blended genres ranging from rock, reggae, metal, and even hip-hop.
The blend of musical styles is no coincidence. As a modern-day jam band, major bands like Grateful Dead, Phish, Widespread Panic, and particularly Umphrey’s McGee played a big role in their musical inspiration. However, each band member grew up surrounded by different forms of music that blend into their style today.
Drummer Bobby Reilly is a fan of jazz and hip-hop, while Jon (bass) and Max (guitar) grew up on a lot of punk and metal music. Guitarist Jack Reed, on the other hand, listened to folk music and classic rock, in addition to a heavy jam influence from the likes of Grateful Dead, Santana, and the Allman Brothers Band.
A critique of many young jam bands is that they try to emulate the success of bands like Phish by replicating the model of what they think a jam band typically does. However, the true model that bands should be pursuing is how they can be creative in their own unique way.
FUNGKSHUI does not try to be Phish, or Goose, or the Grateful Dead. They are their own thing, making music in their own way, blending their different musical styles and influences together to put on a show that is unique to them. There was no better example of this than the closing song from their performance at Groove being “Bombtrack,” a cover from Rage Against the Machine that blends hip-hop, punk, metal, and funk into one.
At Groove, those influences felt like parts of a shared musical language. The melodic pull of “Orange Cadillac,” the darker stretches of improvisation, and the force of the “Bombtrack” closer all had a place within the same set. FUNGKSHUI’s identity came through in how naturally they brought those sounds together.
While FUNGKSHUI’s creativity stands out, so does their pure musical talent. Each band member made clear that they have the ability to take jam segments to an impressive level. While at moments throughout the show each member took charge to lead parts of jams, there were others where the band showed how well they click together and form music in unison.
What also stands out about FUNGKSHUI is the name itself.
The term “feng shui” is a Chinese practice that is focused on the arrangement of different things to bring harmony to them. Add some “funk” to that, and you have exactly what FUNGKSHUI is all about. The group brings together different people with different musical backgrounds, different tastes, different abilities, and rather than trying to make one thing work, they bring harmony to the different pieces that they are composed of.
The name originated when Jack played around with the words and concepts surrounding feng shui, funk, and fungi.
“At first I thought it just sounded cool and worked as a band name, but as time goes on I feel like the combination of those three perfectly represents us as a band,” Reed says. “Harmony, Rhythm, and Psychedelic exploration.”
Going forward, FUNGKSHUI hopes to headline larger venues, tour out west, and perform alongside more prominent acts in the jam scene. They also plan to write, record, and release more music, with studio work scheduled to begin later this year and an eye toward an official release afterward.
In the meantime, you can catch FUNGKSHUI on tour the rest of the year with shows throughout November and December. Tour dates include a trip south to stop in Asheville, Nashville, and Roanoke.
They close the year with shows in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, before wrapping up back home for another show at the Stone Pony on December 12.
