In 2010 alone, 24-year-old New Orleans singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist and all-around musical powerhouse Troy Trombone Shorty Andrews has signed with Verve Forecast Records and performed on Good Morning America and ESPNs SportsCenter in the run-up to the Super Bowl. He has seen recordings he contributed to earn a Grammy award (Buckwheat Zydecos Lay Your Burden Down) and an Oscar nomination (Dr. Johns Down In New Orleans from the hit Disney film The Princess and the Frog). He has taped two appearances as himself for the upcoming HBO series Treme from The Wire creator David Simon, and played with his band Orleans Avenue as honored guests on Saints owner Tom Bensons float in a victorious post-Super Bowl Mardi Gras parade.
Hes just getting started.
On April 20, Verve Forecast will release Trombone Shortys new album Backatown, an explosive, homegrown combination of funk, rock, R&B and hip-hop he calls Supafunkrock. The album was produced by fellow New Orleanian Ben Ellman of Galactic and features fourteen songs, all but one of them written or co-written by Andrews. Guests on the album include Lenny Kravitz, Marc Broussard and Allen Toussaint, who contributes piano to a take on his own composition On Your Way Down, the albums lone cover.
Backatown is a local term for an area of New Orleans that includes the historic Treme neighborhood or 6th Ward from which Trombone Shorty hails. Home to Congo Square, birthplace of Louis Armstrong, it has been called the most musical neighborhood in Americas most musical city. A virtuoso prodigy trombonist, brilliant trumpet player, and soulful, charismatic singer, Shorty has been performing with some members of Orleans Avenue which includes Dwayne Big D Williams (percussion), Mike Ballard (bass), Joey Peebles (drums), Pete Murano (guitar) and Dan Oestreicher (baritone sax) since childhood. The group taps into these roots to create a streetwise, gritty sound all its own on Backatown.
Shorty, who possesses the presence of a rock star (NY Times) and has built his reputation on blistering, bold, exuberant and cutting edge (USA Today) live performances, is currently on tour with Orleans Avenue, and has already confirmed several major 2010 festival appearances, including one of the prestigious closing sets at Jazzfest, a triumphant return to Bonnaroo, a debut performance at the Hollywood Bowl for the Playboy Jazz Festival, and more.
Though 2010 promises to be Trombone Shortys breakout year, hes no stranger to the spotlight. In 2005, at age 19, he toured the world as a member of Lenny Kravitzs band (Shortys a genius, says Kravitz, he plays his ass off and hes a beautiful human being). In 2006, he joined U2 and Green Day for a rousing performance to reopen the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina (We were just mesmerized by him, U2s The Edge said after an earlier encounter with Andrews live show). And in 2008, he performed at the NBA All-Star Game with Harry Connick Jr., Kermit Ruffins and Branford Marsalis.
TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE TOUR DATES AS OF 4/8/2010
PROVIDED BY THE ROSEBUD AGENCY
For specific information regarding tickets, showtimes, addresses, directions etc., please check the local listing or contact the venues directly.
4/10/2010 Houston TX (Private Event)
4/11/2010 New Orleans LA French Quarter Festival
4/17/2010 New Orleans LA Tulane University Crawfest
4/19/2010 New Orleans LA Gambits Big Easy Awards River City Ballroom
4/22/2010 Knoxville TN Sundown in the City
4/23/2010 New Orleans LA House of Blues
Jon Cleary, Stooges Brass Band
4/24/2010 Nashville TN Vanderbilt University Rites of Spring
4/25/2010 Scottsdale AZ McDowell Mountain Music Festival
4/26/2010 New Orleans LA Tipitinas: Instruments A Comin Benefit
4/28/2010 New Orleans LA (Private Event)
4/29/2010 New Orleans LA Blue Nile
Dr. Gonzeau
5/1/2010 New Orleans LA Tipitinas
5/2/2010 New Orleans LA New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
5/8/2010 Birmingham AL The Nick
5/9/2010 Baton Rouge LA Sunday In The Park
5/14/2010 San Francisco CA Blue Bear School of Music Youth Benefit @ Bimbos 365 Club
Zigaboo Modeliste, Blue Bear Youth Bands
5/15/2010 San Luis Obispo CA Downtown Brewing Company
5/16/2010 Newport Beach CA Newport Beach Jazz Festival
5/19/2010 London ENGLAND Jazz Cafe
5/20/2010 Paris FRANCE La Boule Noir
5/29/2010 Atlanta GA Atlanta Jazz Festival
6/3/2010 New York NY The Beach at Governors Island
Michael Franti
6/4/2010 Hunter NY Mountain Jam Festival
6/5/2010 Hagerstown MD Western Maryland Blues Fest
6/8/2010 Boston MA Paradise Rock Club
6/11/2010 Manchester TN Bonnaroo Music Festival
6/12/2010 Los Angeles CA Playboy Jazz Festival
6/14/2010 Rochester NY Rochester International Jazz Festival
6/15/2010 Rochester NY Rochester International Jazz Festival
6/18/2010 Aurora IL Blues On The Fox
6/19/2010 Omaha NE Playing With Fire
6/24/2010 Ottawa ON CANADA Ottawa Jazz Festival
6/30/2010 Seattle WA The Out To Lunch Concert Series
7/1/2010 Eugene OR John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts
7/2/2010 Portland OR Waterfront Blues Festival
7/3/2010 Quincy CA High Sierra Music Festival
7/8/2010 Apple Valley MN Weesner Amphitheater
Tab Benoit
7/10/2010 Freeport ME Discovery Park L.L. Bean Summer Concert Series
7/11/2010 Madison WI La Fete de Marquette
7/16/2010 Sioux Falls SD Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Festival
7/17/2010 Toronto ON CANADA Beaches International Festival
7/31/2010 Niigata JAPAN Fuji Rock Festival
8/7/2010 Petaluma CA Petaluma Music Festival
8/8/2010 Salt Lake City UT Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre
Allen Toussaint, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
8/11/2010 Bethlehem PA Musikfest
8/12/2010 Bethlehem PA Musikfest
8/28/2010 Mount Snow VT The Vermont Blues Festival
9/4/2010 Mackinac Island MI Grand Hotel Labor Day Weekend Jazz Festival
9/11/2010 Bowling Green OH Black Swamp Arts Festival
9/16/2010 Marquette MI Northern Michigan University Kaufman Auditorium
9/18/2010 Monterey CA Monterey Jazz Festival
10/8/2010 New Orleans LA Tulane University The Quad
