TANK AND THE BANGAS
Tank and The Bangas don’t go anywhere quietly. Sitting around a dimly lit room in London’s neighborhood of Camden Town, vocalist Tank Ball, bassist Norman Spence, drummer Joshua Johnson and saxophonist Albert Allenback can’t go mere minutes without bursting into play fights, or talking over one another, or laughing from their deepest guts. They are a beacon of life. And it’s that life that you hear in their music. That’s what makes this fivepiece one of the most thrilling, unpredictable and sonically diverse bands on the planet; a unit where jazz meets hip-hop, soul meets rock, and funk is the beating heart of everything they do. Their new album Green Balloon is on the horizon, and it’s their first release now they’re signed to major label Verve Forecast – a deal that came after they won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2017, beating out hundreds of other acts. They admit that it was a moment that has entirely changed their lives. This resulting record is set to prove their pizazz and their staying power. It’s everything they’ve worked so hard for so far.
HANS WILLIAMS
Hans Williams is an independent singer-songwriter from Norwich, Vermont. First releasing music in third grade when he would hand out CDs after school, Hans fell in love with songwriting as a means of finding comfort and relief. After uploading a couple of songs on Spotify in high school, Hans quickly amassed a strong community of listeners before graduating. Fast forward to 2022, Hans' latest release "Willows" sees the free-flowing confidence Hans has
developed in himself and his music.
EDDIE 9V
"As far back as he can remember, Capricorn Studios was calling Eddie 9V. As a kid scanning the sleeves of his favorite vinyl records, this fabled facility in Macon, Georgia, was always the secret ingredient, adding a little grit and honey to every song born on its floor. Capricorn and the bands who blew through it urged the Atlanta guitarist to ditch school at 15, play his fingers bloody throughout the south, and turn apathy into acclaim for early albums Left My Soul in Memphis (2019) and Little Black Flies (2021)."
SAXKIXAVE
Since touring the world together and bonding over a shared love of hip-hop, humor, and performance,New Orleans rapper Alfred Banks and Grammy-nominated saxophonist/producer Albert Allenback (of Tank and the Bangas) have teamed up to become SaxKixAve. Albert’s left-of-center, jazz and R&B-inflected production provides the perfect base for Banks’ brashly witty, emotionally reflective, finely-tuned lyricism.
CHA WA
""New Orleans brass band-meets-Mardi Gras Indian outfit Cha Wa radiates the energy of the city’s street culture. 'My People,' the band’s follow-up to their Grammy-nominated album 'Spyboy,' feels like pure joy, a distillation of generations of New Orleans expression. But it also never fails to remind us how hard-won that joy was and still is: not least in the tense, funky, and explosive title track, with its declaration 'My people, we’re still here.'"
HONEY ISLAND SWAMP BAND
“Think The Band’s Big Pink album and add a splash of hot sauce with Willin’ by Little Feat – this group of New Orleans vagabonds nails it. New Orleans, LA or San Francisco, CA– From the pristine waters of the Honey Island Swamp, to the vibrant streets of New Orleans, to the hazy corner of Haight-Asbury in San Francisco, this band has endured devastation, relocation, and revitalization. A group whose sound has been tagged ‘Bayou Americana,’ the Honey Island Swamp Band takes the hammer to the nail with the help of producer Luther Dickinson, and presents Demolition Day to the world April 29 on Ruf Records.”
THE RIES BROTHER
"The Ries Brothers are a rock and roll duo from St. Petersburg, FL who have been full time touring since 2018. After many years spent on the road as an opening act, The Ries Brothers completed their first national headline tour last year and are about to embark on their second this summer! TRB has toured with rock, jam, and reggae acts such as G Love & Special Sauce, Iration, Galactic, and two tours with New Orleans native David Shaw of The Revivalists. TRB are ready to rock festival stages throughout the Spring and Summer."
APRICOT JAM
"Apricot Jam is a funk/rock jam-band started by guitarists Zach Goodman and Ben Froman in November of 2021. Taking inspiration from artists like Phish, The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, and The Meters, the band plays both covers and original music with long extended improvisational jams. The band has gained traction in the local Tulane/Loyola college band scene playing numerous house parties and frat shows, as well as at venues like Carrollton Station, DMACs, Neutral Ground Coffee House, and Tipitina's. The band is made up of five Tulane sophomores: Zach Goodman and Ben Froman on guitar, Silas Casertano on bass, Jackson Shaeffer on drums, and singer Ciara Rooke."
