Brothers United In Music: Trombone Shorty and Lukas Nelson Headline The Big Orange Music Festival
The Big Orange Music Festival scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 3rd, in Punta Gorda FL is proof positive that when music comes from the heart, there is no wrong mix of genres. Headliners Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real couldn’t be more different in their musical styles — yet so alike in myriad ways.
One is synonymous with New Orleans funk and soul, and the other is blazing a trail in Southern rock and country. Both execute their craft with the passion and heart of men on fire producing no-holds-barred performances that knock the stuffing out of audiences everywhere.
Descended from music dynasties, both carry the DNA of the legendary musicians who came before them. Trombone Shorty was born Troy Andrews in the Crescent City’s historic Treme neighborhood to a family deeply rooted in the city’s culture and music. He is the grandson of singer/songwriter Jessie Hill, younger brother of trumpeter and bandleader James Andrews, and cousin of award-winning trombonist and singer Glen David Andrews.
Lukas Nelson is the sixth of seven children born to country music outlaw Willie Nelson, who along with his younger brother Micah started touring with his famous dad as a teenager, playing guitar and honing his vocal skills. Nelson’s sisters, folk singer and ukulele player Amy Nelson and country singer Paula Nelson, are also accomplished musicians.
Despite their youth (Andrews is 32, and Nelson is 29), they have racked up an impressive list of accomplishments that could fill volumes. Andrews picked up the trombone when he was four and played with rock pioneer Bo Diddley that same year at the 1990 New Orleans’s Jazz & Heritage Festival. Since then, he has played with countless music industry luminaries including The Neville Brothers, Lenny Kravitz, Jeff Beck, The Foo Fighters and U2, earned a Grammy nomination for Backatown released in 2010, and performed at The White House. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue also close out Jazz Fest, a coveted position held by The Neville Brothers for two decades until Andrews and his band were awarded the honor in 2013.
Nelson picked up a guitar at age 10 and knew he would make music his life by age 11. He shared the road and the stage with his legendary father throughout his teens and formed his own band, Promise of The Real, in 2008. Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real would continue to tour with Willie Nelson off and on as his opening act and would join Neil Young as his backup band in 2015. Lukas and POTR also appear in the current remake of A Star Is Born with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.
Andrews and Nelson also lead two of the fiercest bands ever assembled anywhere, ever. Andrews met his band mates in high school at The New Orleans Center For The Creative Arts, whose graduates include Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr. and John Baptiste. The band includes Mike Bass-Bailey on bass guitar, Pete Murano on guitar, Dan Oestreicher on baritone sax, Joey Peebles on drums, and BK Jackson on tenor sax, along with Trombone Shorty, who also plays trumpet, tuba and drums, blasting audiences sideways with something they have dubbed “Supafunkrock.” It’s a powerful, richly layered sonic experience that is a mix of driving funk, hip hop, rock, R&B, soul, and improvisation, with a nod to the horn-heavy jazz that makes New Orleans unique to the world.
Formed in 2008, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real includes Nelson on lead guitar and vocals, Corey McCormick on bass, Tato Melgar on percussion, Anthony Logerfo on drums, Jesse Siebenberg on steel guitar and organs, and Alberto Bof on keyboards. Switching effortlessly among country melodies, Southern rock and filthy blues, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real deliver a high-energy show where their feet barely touch the stage. Part Tom Petty, part Bruce Springsteen, part Neil Young and, of course, part Willie Nelson, Lukas Nelson & POTR have the advantage of youth coupled with monstrous talent. They are definitely a little outlaw themselves whose star power promises to cement their place in music for the long haul.
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real will be joined on the Big Orange Music Festival lineup by The Honey Island Swamp Band, Ben Sparaco & The New Effect, Sean Chambers Band, Whey Jennings, and Michael Haymans & His Hibiscus Band. With The Big Orange Music Festival less than two weeks away, tickets are 75% sold out but can still be purchased by clicking on the links below.
