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21st Century Brass Band at Cocktails on St. Bernard
21st Century Brass Band at Cocktails on St. Bernard

21st Century Brass Band at Cocktails on St. Bernard


After dinner, I faced something of a dilemma, as the Treme Brass Band was playing at Kermit Ruffin’s Mother-In-Law Lounge on Claiborne, but the 21st Century Brass Band was playing at a club on St. Bernard Avenue that WWOZ listed as Cocktails. Since I am more of a contemporary brass band fan than a traditional one (although I appreciate both styles), I opted for the 21st Century gig, which, as it turned out, did not start at 6 PM. I knew of the 21st Century Brass Band only through YouTube clips, and  this was my first time seeing them live. The woman that was managing the club explained to me that they were all students at Xavier University, and that their gigs helped with the expenses of going to school. She also explained that the club had a long tradition of brass band gigs, having once been called Sharon’s, featuring Dirty Dozen and Rebirth gigs, and more recently had been called Nola’s Finest Bar & Grill (which was still on the sign out front). The 21st Century played two rousing sets divided by a brief intermission.

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