Hot 8 Brass Band in Seattle

About Hot 8 Brass Band

Hot 8 Brass Band emerged from New Orleans in the late 1990s, bringing street brass traditions into the hip-hop era. They're known for their high-energy sound that mixes traditional New Orleans parade brass with funk, hip-hop beats, and contemporary production. The band built a reputation playing second lines and clubs around the city before gaining wider recognition through festival appearances and collaborations with artists like Lil Boosie and Juvenile. Their albums blend celebratory horn arrangements with grimy production, creating something that feels both deeply rooted in New Orleans culture and urgently contemporary. They've become fixtures at major festivals and toured internationally while remaining connected to their hometown's musical DNA.

Sweaty, packed rooms where people genuinely dance rather than stand still. The horns cut through everything. Crowd surges toward the stage. They play with visible enjoyment, not performance distance. Expect conversations about the show afterward.

Known for Yeah Yeah Yeah, We On the Map, Tha Bounce, Where They From, Got Love

Hot 8 Brass Band + Seattle

Hot 8 Brass Band touched down at KEXP Studios in October 2019, bringing New Orleans brass tradition to Seattle's indie radio stronghold. They worked through a setlist that mixed covers with their own energy—"Sexual Healing" opened things up, followed by "Get Up," then a surprisingly effective take on Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart." They closed the main set with Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," which felt less like a cover and more like a natural extension of their sound. The band's ability to slot between genres, treating soul standards and post-punk alike as vehicles for their horn arrangements, made for a set that felt genuinely unpredictable.

Hot 8 Brass Band in Seattle News

• The Big List Of 2025 New Year’s Eve Concerts Live For Live Music · Dec 27, 2025
• Listen: From Jonas Brothers to The Regrettes and more, a playlist of songs by musicians playing in Seattle Oct. 11-17 The Seattle Times · Oct 10, 2019
• Hot 8 Brass Band lives for the moment on new 'On the Spot' album NOLA.com · Jun 7, 2017
• Hot 8 Brass Band – “Can’t Nobody Get Down” (video) (premiere) PopMatters · Apr 3, 2017
• 'Treme,' Ep. 27: The Fat Man : A Blog Supreme NPR · Oct 29, 2012

Live Music in Seattle

Seattle's indie and alternative rock heritage doesn't typically overlap with New Orleans brass tradition, but the city's open-minded venues and radio stations have always had room for genre-crossing acts. KEXP in particular has built its reputation on championing unconventional pairings and live sessions that prioritize raw musicianship. For a band like Hot 8, Seattle represents an audience comfortable with tradition-rooted music that refuses to stay in one lane—listeners who'll show up for brass and funk just as readily as they will for indie rock.

Seattle road trip to see Hot 8 Brass Band?

Stay in Capitol Hill if you want walkable nightlife and independent record stores, or head to Fremont for quirky charm and coffee culture. Before the show, eat at Altura in Pike Place Market—serious, ingredient-focused cooking that doesn't announce itself. Spend an afternoon at the Frye Art Museum, a genuinely world-class collection in an underrated space. The city's waterfront is worth a walk, and if you time it right, catch the sunset from Gas Works Park. Seattle takes its music seriously and moves at its own pace—which means you should too.