About this Event

Hot 8 music is feel good music with a message. It's life music.



Inspired by artists such as Tuba Fats, Leroy Jones, Stevie Wonder and JJ Johnson. They have variously recorded and performed with some of those mentioned and more. They also cite each other as influences.



The Hot 8 Brass Band brings passion and dynamic noise to audiences through a bevy of trombones, saxophones, trumpets, snare and bass drum.



Robert Luis and Paul Jonas of Tru Thoughts first heard Hot 8 Brass Band when Quantic played their cover of “Sexual Healing” in a New York DJ set.



Witnessing the unprecedented round of applause that sprang up, they knew this band had something special.



In 2007, Tru Thoughts released “sexual Healing” as a limited addition and all 500 copies were snapped up immediately, making it the fastest- selling single in the label’s history.





Hot 8 believe in contributing to their culture by playing in traditional Second Line parades, expressions of freedom and community through music and interaction.



They have earned a reputation on the streets, with seemingly boundless work ethic and energy, and have been known to pack in nine shows in a single day. Having survived one of the worst natural and political disasters the USA has ever known - Hurricane Katrina - Hot 8 have thrown themselves into relief and awareness projects to aid their community's redevelopment and recovery.



They were a key band in "SAVE OUR BRASS!" a local grass roots project that brought music to evacuee shelters and temporary trailer parks; and reached out to displaced New Orleanais via "Finding Our Folk".



As well as the devastation of Katrina the Hot 8 Brass Band have faced more than their share of adversity. Four band members have died (two of them lost to violent acts on the streets) and the band are now active in the anti-violence campaign group "Silence is Violence," founded after the 2006 murder of Hot 8 member Dinerral Shavers.



Following their first album, the band's profile rose to such a level they were invited to support the likes of Mos Def, Lauryn Hill and Mary J Blige, and they played several international tours taking in Glastonbury, the Big Chill (where they were chosen as the highlight by the UK's Observer newspaper), Roskilde and London's Scala among others.



Highly respected among fellow musicians, they guested on albums by the Blind Boys of Alabama and Basement Jaxx. The band and their story were also featured in Spike Lee's documentary When the Levees Broke, and the follow-up When the Creek Don't Rise; and HBO's hit television series Treme.



November 2012 saw the long awaited second LP, ‘The Life & Times Of...', itself the first in a two album set designed to showcase the two sides to the band. Preceded by a double A-side featuring "Ghost Town", a poignant and rambunctious cover of The Specials classic, and original storytelling cut "Let Me Do My Thing", the album showcased the band's party side and gained four and five star reviews and worldwide radio support.



The next instalment followed in Spring 2013 in the shape of ‘Tombstone'; still with the emphatic Hot 8 groove, but lyrically and thematically more reflective, it is an emotional tribute to fallen band members and the funeral parades which centre on this music. "These records celebrate the times we have had both before and after the storm. Burying our dead and letting their spirits soar, celebrating our city and the lives that our band mates have lived individually and collectively as Hot 8," explains Bennie Pete.



This most recent brace of LPs came to life with 2013 festival sets including Fuji Rock, and major tours of the US, UK and Europe. True to Hot 8's universal appeal, they found themselves in great demand wherever they went, with sessions and interviews for diverse media including Guardian Music, Cerys Matthews (BBC 6Music), BBC 1Xtra Breakfast, BBC World Service, Craig Charles (BBC 6Music) and The Sunday Times, to name a few.



A magnificent year was capped by a Grammy nomination for ‘The Life & Times Of...'; early 2014 saw Hot 8 playing celebratory shows and attending the LA ceremony, where they were narrowly pipped to the award but honoured to be recognised for this landmark LP and its contribution to the heritage and culture of New Orleans.





Tickets £12/£15 OTD



SOUND: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLkPnlSA4Kd7zllmeOunL2w



FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Hot8BrassBand



Please note you must be 14 or over to gain admittance