Coming from New Orleans, two-time Grammy Award nominees Tank and the Bangas are surrounded by plenty of grand musical traditions. The five-piece group has a rare knack for combining various musical styles—fiery soul, deft hip-hop, deep-groove R&B and subtle jazz—into one dazzling, cohesive whole. “It’s music that can’t really be put in a box,” says frontwoman and poet Tarriona “Tank” Ball.
It's her vivid charisma and lyrical depth that helped Tank and the Bangas win NPR’s 2017 Tiny Desk Concert by unanimous acclaim, standing out among 6,000 entrants. Ball came up in the strong local slam poetry scene before meeting her bandmates, Josh (drums) and Norman (bass) at a NOLA open mic night in 2011. They eventually met Albert (sax/flute) and became a family of musical lifers, heralded as the best live band in the U.S. and for good reason. Their chemistry with each other and the audience is unmatched, and their energy and dexterity as musicians creates a thrilling, unpredictable, and sonically diverse experience where jazz meets hip-hop, soul meets rock, and funk is the beating heart of everything they do. Their latest album, Red Balloon, is a celebration of Black life and a reckoning with America’s ills.