Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas

Mardi Gras Mambo

Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 8:00pm at SOPAC

Mardi Gras Mambo is the Dirty Dozen Brass Band PLUS Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas - two great NoLa bands in one night!

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is arguably the most influential ensemble to emerge in New Orleans over the last 25 years. Its sway on the brass band scene has been staggering, spawning bands like the ReBirth, New Birth, Hot 8, Li'l Rascals, Soul Rebels and just about ever other young brass ensemble presently performing. - Offbeat Magazine

Formed in 1977, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band are the pioneers of the modern New Orleans brass band movement, recognized worldwide as an unstoppable musical machine whose name is synonymous with genre bending romps and high octane performances. They have been featured guests both in the studio and on stage with artists including Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Widespread Panic, Modest Mouse, Dave Matthews Band, The Black Crowes and many others.

Nathan Williams plays zydeco, the fast and furious accordion-driven dance music of the Creole people of South Louisiana. With its trademark rubboard percussion, electric guitars and R&B influences, zydeco is one of the most expressive sounds in roots music. Nathan's down-home parables are delivered with surprising musical turns and a distinctive Caribbean lilt that reaches back to the very beginnings of Creole culture in Louisiana.

In the world of contemporary African-American music, roots styles are easily categorized as old music, good for sampling maybe, but not music that relates to the lives of mainstream American people. Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas might make us think twice about this assumption, for here is uplifting new music that remains connected to its place in history. If you haven't heard what's happening in zydeco lately, here's your chance!

Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas

Mardi Gras Mambo

Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 8:00pm at Landmark on Main Street

Mardi Gras Mambo is the Dirty Dozen Brass Band PLUS Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas - two great NoLa bands in one night!

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is arguably the most influential ensemble to emerge in New Orleans over the last 25 years. Its sway on the brass band scene has been staggering, spawning bands like the ReBirth, New Birth, Hot 8, Li'l Rascals, Soul Rebels and just about ever other young brass ensemble presently performing. - Offbeat Magazine

Formed in 1977, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band are the pioneers of the modern New Orleans brass band movement, recognized worldwide as an unstoppable musical machine whose name is synonymous with genre bending romps and high octane performances. They have been featured guests both in the studio and on stage with artists including Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Widespread Panic, Modest Mouse, Dave Matthews Band, The Black Crowes and many others.

Nathan Williams plays zydeco, the fast and furious accordion-driven dance music of the Creole people of South Louisiana. With its trademark rubboard percussion, electric guitars and R&B influences, zydeco is one of the most expressive sounds in roots music. Nathan's down-home parables are delivered with surprising musical turns and a distinctive Caribbean lilt that reaches back to the very beginnings of Creole culture in Louisiana.

In the world of contemporary African-American music, roots styles are easily categorized as old music, good for sampling maybe, but not music that relates to the lives of mainstream American people. Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas might make us think twice about this assumption, for here is uplifting new music that remains connected to its place in history. If you haven't heard what's happening in zydeco lately, here's your chance!

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band with special guest Cha Wa

Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 8PM at Landmark on Main Street

It's party time!

Celebrating over 40 years since their founding in 1977, New Orleans-based Dirty Dozen Brass Band has taken the traditional foundation of brass band music and incorporated it into a blend of genres including bebop jazz, funk and R&B/Soul.

This unique sound, described by the band as a 'musical gumbo,' has made the Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a world famous music machine whose name is synonymous with genrebending romps and high-octane performances.

New Orleans brass band-meets-Mardi Gras Indian band Cha Wa radiates the fiery energy of the best features of the city's street culture. Not that you need a firm understanding of Indian or brass band culture to feel the dance-ready vibrations of Cha Wa's new music. "It's dance music so I think people are attracted to it. Even if people have no idea what the history is, it's automatically infectious," they explain. 

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band with special guest Cha Wa

Friday, February 22, 2019 at 8PM at SOPAC

Dirty Dozen Brass Band

Celebrating over 40 years since their founding in 1977, New Orleans-based Dirty Dozen Brass Band has taken the traditional foundation of brass band music and incorporated it into a blend of genres including Bebop Jazz, Funk and R&B/Soul.

This unique sound, described by the band as a ‘musical gumbo,’ has allowed the Dirty Dozen to tour across 5 continents and more than 30 countries, record 12 studio albums and collaborate with a range of artists from Modest Mouse to Widespread Panic to Norah Jones. Forty-plus years later, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a world famous music machine whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high-octane performances.

In 1977, The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club in New Orleans began showcasing a traditional Crescent City brass band. It was a joining of two proud, but antiquated, traditions at the time: social and pleasure clubs dated back over a century to a time when black southerners could rarely afford life insurance, and the clubs would provide proper funeral arrangements. Brass bands, early predecessors of Jazz as we know it, would often follow the funeral procession playing somber dirges, then once the family of the deceased was out of earshot, burst into jubilant dance tunes as casual onlookers danced in the streets. By the late ’70s, few of either existed. The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club decided to assemble this group as a house band, and over the course of these early gigs, the seven-member ensemble adopted the venue’s name: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Cha Wa

From the funk-laced beats and bass-heavy sousaphone blasts that kick off their album Spyboy to the gritty warmth of singer J’Wan Boudreaux’s voice, New Orleans brass band-meets-Mardi Gras Indian outfit, Cha Wa radiates the fiery energy of the best features of the city’s street culture.

Dating back to the late 1800s, the Mardi Gras Indian tradition began when African-American men first marched in Native American dress through the streets of New Orleans on Mardi Gras day. The tradition, which includes a host of songs shared among the various tribes, has been kept alive for over a century and today is as vital as ever. Mardi Gras Indians have influenced the biggest names in New Orleans music: The Meters, Dr. John, the Marsalis family, the Neville Brothers, Trombone Shorty and others. The most prominent Mardi Gras Indian today is Monk Boudreaux and his grandson J’Wan Boudreaux, who is stepping up with Cha Wa to propel their culture forward.