Mardi Gras at The Venice West on Feb. 15th- Featuring The Dirty Dozen Brass Band & Nathan Williams & The Zydeco Cha Chas- Preview, Post Coverage
Wow what a great night of New Orleans music from Zydeco to Brass. Here are some photos and videos of each group. More info on The Venice West at the bottom with a link to see future shows, tickets and information. The venue is the best on the westside for live music in my opinion with plenty of space, great sound and fantastic service including the manager Carl, who is super friendly, helpful to all guests and hospitable.
Mardi Gras Mambo comes to The Venice West on February 15th, 2022 with 2 great bands playing Zydeco, Brass and New Orleans music with the traveling tour of Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band for a great fun evening.
In 1977, The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club in New Orleans began showcasing a traditional Crescent City brass band. It was a joining of two proud, but antiquated, traditions at the time: social and pleasure clubs dated back over a century to a time when black southerners could rarely afford life insurance, and the clubs would provide proper funeral arrangements.
Brass bands, early predecessors of jazz as we know it, would often follow the funeral procession playing somber dirges, then once the family of the deceased was out of earshot, burst into jubilant dance tunes as casual onlookers danced in the streets. By the late ’70s, few of either existed. The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club decided to assemble this group as a house band, and over the course of these early gigs, the seven-member ensemble adopted the venue’s name: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
Nathan formed The Cha-Chas back in 1985, and since then has brought his unique take on this regional South Louisiana music to all corners of the globe. From Lincoln Center in New York to The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Nathan’s music has crossed all barriers to speak to the very heart of his audience.
Inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2005, he was honored last year with the Zydeco Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The Cha-Chas have been voted the top Festival Band in the country, and have won the coveted Big Easy award for Best Zydeco Band for several years running.
Nathan and his band have been featured in the New York Times, Essence and People magazines, and on the cover of USA Today. They’ve appeared in films like In The Electric Mist and The Kingdom of Zydeco, and worked with artists as diverse as Cindy Lauper, Michael Doucet and Buddy Guy.
Keepers of the Zydeco Flame, they are committed to keeping their Creole Heritage alive…
For tickets, go to
https://www.ticketweb.com/event/mardi-gras-mambo-2022-the-venice-west-tickets/11482915
For the full calendar and more info on The Venice West, please check out