Behind the Beat: 27 Years of Doing Something Different

Eric Easley’s R&B Soul Series Rolls Through West Virginia This Fall — With a Major Anniversary Celebration and a Little Black History Mixed In

If you’ve been to an R&B Soul B!ngo night, a Good Morning Groove or a Soul Cookout anywhere between Beckley and Huntington this year, there’s a good chance Eric Easley and Do Something Different (DSD) were somewhere behind the scenes.

For nearly three decades, Easley, affectionately and notoriously known as E2, has been one of West Virginia’s most dedicated promoters and good-time ambassadors.

He started hosting and promoting parties and events while attending Marshall University in the 1990s. Twenty-seven years later, he’s still doing it.

This fall, Easley is celebrating 27 years in West Virginia’s entertainment community, including a full day of anniversary events in the Charleston area on Sept. 19.

His latest chapter, Do Something Different, is the culmination of decades spent creating parties, mixers and social experiences with Black West Virginians in mind.

Over the past several years, DSD has built a recurring Black music event circuit across West Virginia, bringing together a rotating lineup of DJs, venues and formats — from brunch-time grooves to R&B bingo and late-night dance floors.

The events all orbit around a simple idea: soul, R&B and funk deserve a real night out in West Virginia, not just a playlist.

Black Music History Meets R&B Soul B!ngo

This fall, Black By God is partnering with DSD to add a little West Virginia Black music history to select R&B Soul B!ngo nights.

Between rounds, BBG will bring trivia questions highlighting the Black West Virginians who helped shape music here at home and across America.

Here’s one to get you started:

Before writing classics like “Lean on Me” and “Ain’t No Sunshine,” legendary singer-songwriter Bill Withers was born in a small West Virginia coal-mining community. What was the name of his hometown?

Answer: Slab Fork, Raleigh County, West Virginia.

It’s a small addition to nights that are already doing something bigger: giving Black West Virginians a consistent, recurring reason to gather, dance, celebrate and be seen — across the state’s largest cities and smaller communities alike.

DSD Fall 2026 Events

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 19 — The Big 27th Anniversary Celebration | Charleston & Dunbar

Good Morning Groove
10 a.m.–2 p.m.
With DJ Special K
Café Appalachia, Downtown Charleston

R&B Soul Cookout
5–10 p.m.
With DJ T. Period × DJ iLLSPIN × DJ No Chill
Phat Daddy’s, Charleston

Official 27th Anniversary Afterparty
10 p.m.–2 a.m.
Kaye’s (formerly Scoobies), Dunbar

Sept. 25 — H.E.R.D. Homecoming Experience Reunion & Dance
With Woody Woods
Fat Patty’s, Huntington

Sept. 26 — Homecoming Takeover
With DJ Actright
Comfort Inn Event Center, Huntington

OCTOBER

Oct. 1 — R&B Soul B!ngo
Kel’s Tavern, Ashland, Kentucky

Oct. 17 — Good Morning Groove
10 a.m.–2 p.m.
With DJ Special K
Café Appalachia, Downtown Charleston

Oct. 17 — R&B Soul B!ngo Pink Party
With DJ T. Period
Soul’d Up, Beckley

Oct. 18 — R&B Soul B!ngo Brunch: Pink Out
11 a.m.
Kel’s Tavern, Charleston

Oct. 30 — All Hallow’s Eve Celebrity Look-Alike Costume Party
With DJ Empty Beats, Mya’s official tour DJ
Fat Patty’s, Huntington

Oct. 31 — College Cash Costume Contest
With DJ No Chill
Fat Patty’s, Huntington

Oct. 31 — R&B Soul B!ngo Costume Party
With DJ T. Period
Sumthin Good Soulfood

Full event details, updates and ticket information are available through Eric Easley’s event pages.B