Growing up between Northern California and West Africa, Sam Dickey started playing guitar at age ten. After attending Berklee College of Music, he returned to West Africa to live and study for a year under the mentorship of world-renowned kora player Toumani Diabate, learning the ngoni, a West African lute, in the process. Having cultivated a broad skill set as both a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, ngoni) and composer, Sam now resides in New Orleans, where he leads Read the Sands, a Bambara jazz/rock group. He has performed and recorded with an array of artists including Amadou & Mariam, Blind Boys of Alabama, Tank and the Bangas, Fatoumata Diawara, Weedie Braimah, and Godwin Louis. Through his unique life experience and musical path, Sam has developed a personal style that combines the harmonic sophistication of jazz with the rhythmic and melodic sensibilities of West African music.

https://www.instagram.com/samdickeymusic/

Ari Teitel is a multiple Grammy-nominated musician, producer, singer and songwriter based in New Orleans. The former member of Mardi Gras Indian Funk band Cha Wa earned two nominations for Best Regional Roots Music Album during his tenure with the group, for which he served as musical director, songwriter, producer, and guitarist. Celebrated for his fluency in funk, jazz, blues, soul, r&b, gospel, rock, and more, Teitel has performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, JazzAscona in Switzerland, Ottawa Jazz Festival and Cupa Dupa in New Zealand. He has worked with Iggy Pop, PJ Morton, George Porter Jr.,Ivan Neville, Nigel Hall, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Mononeon, and many more.

https://ariteitelmusic.com/

Featuring Grammy-nominated musicians, The Rumble is more than just a band—it's an opportunity to be immersed in a wholly unique facet of New Orleans culture. We’ll be working with singer Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr., guitarist Ari Teitel and drummer Trenton O’Neal. The group fuses iconic New Orleans funk in the vein of The Meters and The Neville Brothers—but updated, modern and vibrant befitting the next generation—with the singular visual splendor of the Black Masking carnival tradition. The Rumble offers an opportunity to participate in a culture that, while deeply rooted in centuries-old tradition, is thriving and evolving through the active work of this next generation of bold and passionate culture-bearers.

https://therumbleband.com/

Carl LeBlanc is an American guitarist and banjoist, best known for his work in avant-garde and traditional jazz—being the only musician to have worked and recorded with both famed Afro-futurist musician Sun Ra and Preservation Hall. Blending the Mardi Gras Indian and Second Line styles of New Orleans tradition, LeBlanc has recorded seven solo albums during his career. Born in New Orleans’ Seventh Ward, he heard the city's brass band parades in his neighborhood when he was a child; but it was the Beatles's famous Ed Sullivan appearance which inspired him to take up the guitar. LeBlanc has performed with Fats Domino, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, the Dirty Dozen, Allen Toussaint, Bo Diddley, Ellis Marsalis Jr., Blind Boys of Alabama,and many others. LeBlanc continues preserving the legacy of New Orleans music tradition as an educator and composer.

https://www.carlleblanc.com/

Guitarist and singer-songwriter John Fohl has spent most of 40 years providing taste and experience backing a wide variety of artists as well as releasing his own records and touring internationally as a solo artist. His credits span Grammy winning Dr. John records, double-platinum selling Cherry Poppin’ Daddies discs, touring with rock inventor Bo Diddley and gospel legends The Blind Boys of Alabama; and featured on an album with the two surviving Beatles by Klaus Voormann.

An engaging and exciting performer capable of jaw-dropping guitar heroics, John rather lets his songs do the heavy work with his easy vocal style and piano-like guitar in support. A handful of those songs have been recorded by other artists and collaborations abound. John continues to play, write, record, teach and tour; exploring and expanding the musical gospel of his adopted New Orleans.

Albanie Falletta has been performing music for twenty years, playing early jazz, swing, acoustic folk musics and original songs in many idioms. She has taught workshops around the country for a decade, and currently lives, performs, and teaches in New Orleans.

Albanie, originally from Monroe, Louisiana, grew up immersed in local music like cajun, zydeco, and blues. After moving to Texas, she developed interests in various music genres, including punk rock and jazz, influenced by Django Reinhardt and other jazz legends. She honed her skills in Austin, performing with mentors and bands like Thrift Set Orchestra and Ivy Divey. Leading her band Albanie and Her Fellas between 2008 and 2013, she explored swing and early jazz. In 2013, Albanie moved to New Orleans, focusing on traditional jazz and swing, performing solo and with various groups, and continuing her studies in acoustic blues.