Brass Queens + Mama Digdown’s Brass Band

Brass Queens is a New York-based brass band that is female-led and features an all-female horn section. Finding that they shared similar frustrations about the emerging brass band scene in the city, co-founders Alex Harris and Ally Chapel came together to form a group dedicated to showcasing the talents of female musicians in a landscape that was dominated by male musicians and bandleaders.

After debuting in March 2019, Brass Queens grew to be a fixture in the New York music scene and was even dubbed “the hardest working band in town” by their peers. The Queens gained a dedicated following through busking on the streets of Brooklyn and playing pop-up events in tight-knit communities. Even the pandemic couldn’t slow them down, as the band found ways to still bring music and joy to their fans during quarantine. Since then, Brass Queens has gone on to play iconic venues like Blue Note Jazz Club and Brooklyn Bowl, as well as major events like The Met Gala, Governor’s Ball Music Festival, Exit Zero Jazz Festival, Good Morning America, and more.

Brass Queens has developed a signature sound that sits right at the intersection of the Big Apple and the Big Easy: their music is deeply inspired by and pays homage to the New Orleans brass band tradition while injecting the upbeat, multifaceted energy of their New York home into each performance. The result is a nonstop party: a Brass Queens show will have you singing along to classic pop hits, dancing your heart out to reggaeton, and feeling like you’ve been transported to Frenchman Street. In February 2021, Brass Queens released their debut EP Royal Street and on October 27, 2023 they released their first full-length album titled Black & Gold.

For three decades, Mama Digdown’s has traveled the world spreading the gospel of New Orleans music. Mama Digdown’s respectively embraces the craft and tradition of New Orleans brass band music and the infectious vibe they bring to the stage has earned them the reputation as one of the most exciting brass bands on the scene today.

Their storied career has taken them to clubs, concert halls and festivals around the world. Conceived of closer to the headwaters of the Mississippi than to the Delta, Mama Digdown’s was born amidst the fertile decade of the New Orleans brass band revival of the early 1980s to the early 1990s – a decade that also produced the Rebirth Brass Band, Soul Rebels and the Hot 8 Brass Band. Respected around the world as one of the best purveyors of second line brass music, the band has released nine albums, and in 2018 and 2019 had the honor of being invited to perform in Congo Square for New Orleans Brass Fest.