Community Spotlight: Kinfolk Brass Band

Spotlight by Tyree Worthy

Photos by Durado Brooks

The Kinfolk Brass Band and all of its members were born and raised in New Orleans. Together since 2005, the band is now a vanguard for traditional New Orleans jazz, playing everywhere from second lines and Mardi Gras Day parades to weddings and now, porch parties.

Trombonist Richard Anderson co-founded the band with his brother Percy, saxophonist and trumpeter, as a way to bring their displaced musician friends and family back together after Hurricane Katrina. “We wanted to just get back to the music,” Richard said.

“Everybody was playing with different bands around the city before Katrina, and we wanted to form a band that represents us,” he recalled. “By us playing with different bands, we saw what could be improved on and what we could bring to the table, which we were bringing to other bands around the city.”

Kinfolk came together after the storm and has been innovating the brass band scene ever since. In 2011, when many of the bands in the city were doing contemporary music at second lines, you would have found Kinfolk playing traditional style brass band music for weddings. That pivot helped them thrive for nearly a decade, but as COVID-19 began to spread, most of their gigs of the year were cancelled or postponed.

They were on track to have a record-breaking year before coronavirus forced them to find another way to feed the people. Fortunately, the grant from Preservation Hall Foundation helped the band settle their feet early on, and wedding planner Caroline Broussard introduced them to a new, socially-distanced way to give the gift of live music. 

After going to a concert where the band played from the porch, she convinced Kinfolk to do a set from her own. “They're my go to second line band for all of my weddings,” said Broussard. Since the first porch party in April, Kinfolk has been staying busy and thriving. “From then on it was such a hit,” she added. “It really brings joy to the neighborhood, and we've done it the last Sunday of every month.”

While the future of live music in New Orleans is still uncertain, venues like Preservation Hall and groups like Kinfolk are doing the work to keep traditional jazz alive in New Orleans. The best way to preserve this culture, Richard says, is for people, especially the youth and young musicians, to keep it up. 

“Do your homework. Know the culture. Know what New Orleans traditional music is,” he said. “This culture is different. It’s New Orleans jazz. It is its own. You can't get it anywhere but New Orleans. Let's keep it going. Let’s get with the younger generations and teach them the music, and preserve that music, and keep that music going and flowing year after year.”

“I think to preserve this culture is just to celebrate music and to celebrate the history of brass…really support them and let them showcase their talent in whatever way we can,” Broussard added. “In the future, I just hope that really nothing changes, so we keep celebrating the history of jazz, brass bands, and everything that New Orleans has to offer.”