Few drum grooves intimidate working musicians the way the one in Rosanna does. The Low Darts take it head-on. The five-piece classic rock, pop, and soul band, fronted by keyboardist and singer Colman Connolly, filmed a live cover of the Toto landmark that honors every moving part of the original.
Toto built Rosanna as a clinic in groove and arrangement. The song opened the band’s 1982 album Toto IV and went on to win the Grammy for Record of the Year, so a faithful cover sets a high bar from the first bar.
Lock in the Rosanna shuffle
Drummer Jeff Porcaro created a half-time shuffle for the track that players now simply call the Rosanna shuffle. He blended a Bernard Purdie feel with a Bonham-style swing, stacking ghost notes between the backbeats.
A live band lives or dies on that pocket. Sean Byington carries the groove on drums while Luke Foote anchors the bottom end, and the two lock the feel so the song breathes the way the record does.
Stack the keyboard layers
David Paich and Steve Porcaro layered overlapping keyboard solos through the middle of the original using Minimoogs, CS-80s, and a Hammond organ. Those parts give Rosanna its shimmer.
On stage that texture falls to Colman and Sebastian Rodriguez, who split keys and vocals. Colman trained as an audio-production student and an Irish-trad piano accompanist, so the harmonic detail of a Paich arrangement sits squarely in his wheelhouse. You can hear the full arrangement across the band’s live performance catalog.
Watch the clip above, then dig into more Low Darts live covers of Toto. When you want a band that respects the source material as much as the crowd, book The Low Darts for your next event.
