Northern Soul from Akron: Wesley Bright & the Hi-Lites are packing dance floors, releasing a new record and getting raves in England.

The first thing you notice about a Wesley Bright & the Hi-Lites show is the dancing. This crowd is moving. They're doing the watusi, the mashed potato, the twist and then some. Young, old, white, black, dressed in jeans and dressed in suits, pumps and pearls, they're moving. Then your eyes are drawn to the man on stage, Wesley Bright himself, a honey-voiced frontman who's got the pipes and the moves to keep the crowd going all night. Then, of course, the band: a seven-piece Northern Soul group with a horn section straight out of the 1960s. Like Bright, they're clad in sharp suits.

Wesley Bright & the Hi-Lites, you see, are no typical Northeast Ohio band circa 2013. And a Wesley Bright and the Hi-Lites show is no ordinary gig. Since the band was formed in Akron in spring 2011 by bassist Bob Basone, drummer Nick Fritsch and singer Bright, the enthralling group has become one of the biggest draws in town.

It's rare for a weekend to pass without a Wesley Bright show somewhere in town, "but we turn down more gigs than we get offered," says Fritsch. "We're trying not to oversaturate people."

The band's rapid success was a bit of a surprise for Fritsch, a veteran of the Akron rock scene who had long been a fan of '60s soul and wanted to do something different live.

"I wasn't sure how it would work – the Northern Soul sound -- but I guess it worked in our favor. I didn't know if anybody would like it, or maybe it would just be an older crowd."

But, proving everything old is new again, the band quickly took off, often drawing sell-out crowds to the Happy Dog or the Beachland. Last weekend, they were the local headliners at Lakewood Music Fest, and this Friday, Aug. 30, the band headlines a record-release show at the Beachland Ballroom.

"Our younger audience has been amazing," says Fritsch. "More of our audience is in their early to mid-20s. I think a lot of that is because they've never seen anything like it before. Back in the '60s, if you could make your way to a James Brown show – that was brand new, and amazing. To some kid who sees us now, what we're doing is new.

"It's been long enough, and most of our young audience has never seen a soul band like us, so they're like, 'Wow, it's a band with a horn section and a really appealing lead singer with the dance moves.' "
The band's quick popularity – not to mention their fantastic chemistry -- is all the more surprising when you learn how a quirk of fate brought them together. Fritsch and Basone had played in several Akron bands over the years and shared an affinity for soul music. But it was a trip to the mall that connected them with Bright.

"I had to go to the Verizon Wireless store, and started talking to the guy working there," says Fritsch. "It came out that I was a musician, and he loved to sing but had never performed out. He thought it would be cool to try, so he came over my house later and we started hanging out and played with some buddies. It was great – he was a natural."

He, of course, was Wesley Bright. It's not exactly true that he had never performed before, though.

"I used to sing in the shower or around the house when I was alone," says Bright, "starting when I was about 14 or 15. . . . I sang a lot of Stevie Wonder or soul music. That's my music, that's what I grew up on."

Once connecting with Bright, Basone and Fritsch asked some friends from the University of Akron jazz department to round out the group.

"We started teaching them about soul music, and everyone in the band has grown to love it," says Fritsch.

In addition to discovering he was a natural with the mike, Bright also found out he loved being onstage.

"People are my thing," he says. "I feel good when I'm watching the crowd and interacting with them. It feels like a big party or celebration at every show."