Hot 8 Brass Band—CANCELED

Hot 8 Brass Band have canceled their upcoming tour due to illness.

We are sorry for any inconvenience. 

“No outfit has done more than the Hot 8 to recast the long tradition of New Orleans marching music for modern times….infusing the strut of Crescent City brass with funk and hip-hop and offering tart commentary on their beleagured home town.”—Guardian (UK)

Bringing the strutting “second line” traditions of New Orleans brass bands up to date, the Hot 8 Brass Band put the fun into funk with their joyous sound. Hometown favorites, their rowdy-yet-elegant jumble of jazz and soul, boisterous brass band traditions, and unmistakable hip-hop attitude make up a spicy musical mix that could only have come from The Big Easy.

The Hot 8’s crowd-pleasing covers, such as Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing,” contrast with selections that take on pointed messages—their version of the Specials’ ska-inflected “Ghost Town,” for example, with its reflections on post-Katrina New Orleans. The band made essential contributions to Spike Lee’s documentary When the Levees Broke (2006), and the follow-up, If God Is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise (2010), as well as HBO’s hit television series Treme.

In concert—where you’re likely to hear them juxtapose roof-raising originals with fresh versions of Snoop Dogg, Stevie Wonder, or Basement Jaxx tunes—the Hot 8 Brass Band are a good-time juggernaut, as they have amply demonstrated at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, in the city’s local Zulu Parade, or on the road at the South by Southwest and Glastonbury Festival in the UK. As band leader Bennie Pete puts it, “Hot 8 music is feel-good music…music with a message. It’s life music.” Come step out and celebrate the Wexner Center’s 25th Anniversary Season in fine style with the Hot 8 Brass Band.