Joe Gelini is New Orleans drummer and songsmith perhaps best known for his work with the Grammy-nominated Mardi Gras Indian funk band Cha Wa. The Berklee-trained drummer honed his chops with New Orleans legends ranging from Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and Cyril Neville to Ande... Read more

Joe Ashlar is a versatile jazz organist and pianist who can be found performing around the world and in New Orleans with The Joe Ashlar Organ Trio, Good Enough for Good Times, YYRP, and a host of other groups. Ashlar incorporates New Orleans funk, the spirituality of Dr. Lo... Read more

Jason Neville comes by his musical talent naturally, as the son of Aaron and brother of Ivan Neville of the famous first family of funk. His FunkySoul Band combines the best of the Nevilles’ traditions of funky rhythms and grooving melodies, like on the recent single, “Hit ... Read more

Grammy-winning singer Irma Thomas had her first hit in 1959, and over the course of a six-decade career has earned the title, “Soul Queen of New Orleans.” Born in 1941 in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Thomas was raised in New Orleans, singing in school and in church choirs, wher... Read more

The Hot 8 Brass Band brings a younger funk style to the brass band scene, incorporating influences ranging from the Dirty Dozen to bounce, hip hop, and R & B. The Grammy-winning ensemble offers up energetic, horn-driven original tunes interspersed with crowd favorites. A pr... Read more

Ed Wills & Blues 4 Sale feature New Orleans native Ed Wills’s honest, enduring guitar stylings on traditional and more contemporary tunes from the blues canon. The self-taught Wills, who learned slide from his aunt when he was just 8 years old, weaves the sounds of BB King,... Read more

Don Vappie is perhaps best known as a virtuosic banjo player, but he is also a gifted guitarist, bassist, singer, teacher, and composer. He is fluent in funk, contemporary jazz – indeed, most genres of the day – but his heart lies with the traditional New Orleans music he c... Read more

David Boeddinghaus is a classically trained pianist with a traditional jazz soul, accomplished in bringing to life the sounds of classic artists like Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Waller. The veteran entertainer has worked around the world, from touring with Pete Fountain to a... Read more

Derrick “Smoker” Freeman is a man with many hats: drummer, songwriter, and leader of the soul-funk Soul Brass Band, the hip-hop Smokers World, the power trio MFG, and the Band of Freeman. He performs with a kaleidoscopic cast of New Orleans musicians ranging from Angelika “... Read more