The Midnight Disturbers are a threauxdown, funky, drummer’s horn band; an occasional gathering of some of the city’s finest artists that results in top-drawer, driving, jazz-inflected brass band music. The group was the brainchild of two rock-solid New Orleans drummers, Stanton Moore (Galactic) and Kevin O’Day (all the other bands), who ended up as roommates after Hurricane Katrina and who asked themselves why they didn’t have a group together. They started calling up their friends and soon ended up with an all-star lineup: Matt Perrine, Ben Ellman (Galactic), Skerik, Mark Mullins (Bonerama), Big Sam Williams, Trombone Shorty, Shamarr Allen.

The Midnight Disturbers debuted at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to great acclaim, adopting the signature look of black T-shirts printed in red type, each with an order to “Listen to…James Black,” “Listen to…”Brian O’Neill,” “Listen to …“Smokey Johnson,” and others, each honoring the New Orleans mentors and musical forebears upon whose shoulders they stood. The Disturbers became Jazzfest regulars, and irregulars the rest of the year, playing when schedules and random forces of the universe allowed, with a rotating cast of all-stars.

The band (and the city’s musicscape) suffered an irreparable loss in the spring of 2022 when O’Day died unexpectedly. The T-shirts changed to read “Listen to…Kevin O’Day” as the community mourned the prolific, versatile, and well-loved drummer. The Disturbers regrouped, however, and continue to blaze through sets at Jazzfest and at the occasional local venue.