Toussaint the Liberator, Johnny Trama and A Band of Killers aim to strike a chord with their socially conscious soul-rock

Several years ago Boston singer and activist Toussaint the Liberator started working on a song he was going to call “The Talk.” It was about the conversation he knew he would have to with his daughter about the realities of growing up Black in America. As the song developed, it was retitled “Illegal,” with lyrics that address the plight of those who find themselves labeled “illegal” for selling cigarettes on street corners or for crossing a border without authorization. The tune was recorded months ago with guitarist Johnny Trama and his A Band of Killers soul-rock collective.

Before “Illegal” was released, it gained additional relevance, as the story of the Venezuelan migrants who were flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard made headlines across the country. “That’s the thing about social commentary,” observes Toussaint. “It doesn’t matter when you write it, power will continue to be exerted in ways that are oppressive.”

In the 1960s and 70s artists like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye and the Staple Singers used rhythm and blues as a platform for both social commentary and self-reflection. The music made by Toussaint and Trama rekindles that sensibility both lyrically and musically. Ryan Taylor’s slide guitar and Darby Wolf’s keyboards recall the days when Duane Allman and Spooner Oldham could be found making soul hits at Muscle Shoals.

Trama’s usual routine finds him playing out nearly every night of the week. He’s a member of instrumental reggae masters Dub Apolcalypse, who have recently released a new album of their own, and play Sundays at Sally O’Brien’s, and the soul-jazz B-3 Kings, who play Tuesdays at the Plough and Stars — not to mention the twangy Silks and frequent appearances with soul-blues man Jesse Dee.

But Trama intends to use A Band of Killers for recording projects and occasional shows. Toussaint and A Band of Killers are releasing singles until their full-length recording comes out early next year and are performing on November 10 at Sally O’Brien’s for trumpeter Mark Coronado’s 50th birthday. A collaboration between A Band of Killers and local singer-songwriter Tim Gearan (which includes a contribution by blues superstar Susan Tedeschi) has a record in the can and will be playing a not-yet-announced January 2023 show in Boston.

“I’m all over the map with the bands I play with, but with these songs I’m trying to create a body of music to put out there, and it’s the music I really would want to listen to,” says Trama, who credits time spent at home during the COVID-19 shutdown for spurring his songwriting collaborations with Toussaint and Gearan. Along with Taylor and Wolf, drummer Tom Arey and bassist Marc Hickox round out the core studio version of A Band of Killers, which also features contributions by a large cast of other Boston-area heavy hitters. The Sally O’Brien’s show will include bassist Jesse Williams and vocalist Sonya Rae Taylor.

“There are no record labels anymore,” observes Trama, who early in his career played in The Rocket Band, one of countless Boston outfits who chased a doomed major label deal, “so all we can do is all help each other to create as much great music as we can and get it out there.”

Toussaint recalls that he first met Trama shortly after moving from Indiana to Boston in 2003. The first time they played together both were filling in on a blues gig. They’d soon be making reggae together as bandmates in Toussaint & The China Band, including a USO tour that included a surreal gig at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. “We’re a good mixture,” says Toussaint. “He plays these guitar licks, and I can then bring this energy out from those lyrics as we add in the words.”

Another searing Toussaint/Trama collaboration, “Break These Chains,” is “talking about personal freedom, and trying to get to that place where you can feel free even though you’re in the midst of the madness that we Rastas call Babylon,” says Toussaint. It’s a fitting anthem for two artists who’ve been through the wringers of the music industry and are still standing. “Even if I’m not commercially mainstream, I’m still able to live and create and breathe and do something meaningful,” says Toussaint, who this spring will be releasing a solo album he calls a “whole suite mixing all the different vibes that I’ve been working on: gospel, reggae, R&B.”

The group will be playing music with sharp-edged lyrics at venues and festivals whose audiences are there to party. Toussaint says that’s never been a problem. “I can’t help myself, every time we play ‘Illegal’ I do my little speech [about the song] and every time we sing it, no matter what the composition of the audience is, there’s always a really positive response.”

“My music has been attached to activism from the beginning,” adds Toussaint, “because I grew up as a very angry adolescent, and spent some time behind the walls. I’ve played with some other groups where they ask why can’t I just write party songs and not be so heavy all the time, but for me it is therapeutic to try to write something that is meaningful. And if it strikes a chord with me, maybe it will strike a chord with someone else, and they’ll be able to pause for a moment and think.”

Mark Coronado takes the stage at Sally O’Brien’s in Somerville on Thursday, Nov. 10, for his 50th birthday, featuring Toussaint the Liberator with Johnny Trama and A Band of Killers.