Brass Queens Take New Orleans
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I had simply THE BEST TIME in New Orleans over the last week with Brass Queens! We played 4 shows in 3 days and they were all a blast. I thought we played really well and the New Orleans audiences really know how to turn up. Everyone on and off stage had one gear: full send.
As you can see from the picture above, I was really down to get into the Mardi Gras spirit, as Carnival season was in full swing during our trip. There were multiple parades every day we were there and it was so cool to see all of the floats and dressed up folx as well as many amazing brass bands.
Our first show was at Zony Mash, an incredible brewery in Mid-City. We opened for the legendary Cha Wa band. I had never seen them before and I was blown away. The music was amazing and I learned a lot about the history of the Mardi Gras Indians.
I didn’t take any pics at our second show which was at The Rabbit Hole. That venue had one of the coolest backyards I had ever seen, complete with a neon dinosaur. I unfortunately didn’t take any pictures of it, or the backline drum set which was in excellent condition. All of the backline kits I used down there were in much better shape than the ones here in NYC.
The next show was definitely my highlight of the trip: Mardi Gras brunch at Music Box Village. I had been eyeing up this spot since they opened up a few years ago.
From their website: The Music Box Village is a place where play, imagination, experimentation, collaboration, community and hard work come together as a whimsical village of artist-made interactive “musical houses.” Each installation is inspired by the unique musical and architectural culture of our home city of New Orleans, and represents a collaborative process between artists based here and abroad. Our one-of-a-kind art site hosts intensive artist residencies, performances, panels, and welcomes visitors for exploration and play.
Let’s just say the brunch drinks must’ve been pretty strong because the audience was going NUTS for us. It was the best possible way to start the day!
After Music Box, I mostly took it easy and napped for the rest of the day as we then played from 9pm-2am (!) at Favela Chic on Frenchmen Street. Even with the napping I was still pretty tired but we once again had an amazing audience to carry us through. Here I am with percussionist Caitlin Howe at 1am on Frenchmen with my first beer of the night:
After surviving the insane Saturday schedule, I got to spend Sunday and most of Monday hanging around town with my wife. Enjoy some of those pictures as I continue to detox off of butter:
