Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue Team Up with Tank & The Bangas for Second Annual Shorty Gras Tour
GRAMMY-winning artist Trombone Shorty (aka Troy Andrews) will be hitting the road with support from Tank & the Bangas to bring the electrifying spirit of New Orleans to the Midwest with the second annual Shorty Gras Tour in March 2025. Fresh off a busy year of performances and a planned cultural exchange trip to Cuba, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue will deliver their signature high-energy performances over a three-week run of shows. Get tickets at VANWERTLIVE.COM.
The Shorty Gras Tour was first introduced last year and quickly became a fan favorite, offering a taste of New Orleans; Mardi Gras tradition to audiences far beyond Louisiana. Inspired by Trombone Shorty’s role leading the Krewe de Freret Parade and hosting the Shorty Gras Ball at Mardi Gras World for the past several years at home in New Orleans (previous Shorty Gras Ball performers include Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, Flo Rida, Nelly, Big Freedia, Tank and the Bangas, Rebirth Brass Band and others), this tour transports that joyous, celebratory energy to concert halls across the U.S.
The announcement of the Shorty Gras Tour comes amid an action-packed year for Trombone Shorty. In January 2025, he will lead the fourth Getting Funky in Havana cultural exchange trip to Cuba, alongside his band Orleans Avenue, young musicians from the Trombone Shorty Foundation, and renowned Afro-Cuban star Cimafunk. The cultural exchange will feature performances and collaborations between artists from New Orleans and Cuba, highlighting the deep-rooted musical connections between the two regions.
This year, Trombone Shorty continued to bring his distinctive New Orleans sound to audiences across the country, headlining tours with Big Boi and performing at iconic venues like the Hollywood Bowl. He also appeared at the White House’s Juneteenth Celebration, played a headline set with Lil Wayne at the Roots Picnic, and once again closed out the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, a tradition he has led for over a decade.
ABOUT TROMBONE SHORTY
If anybody knows their way around a festival, it’s Grammy-winning artist Trombone Shorty. Born Troy Andrews, he got his start (and nickname) earlier than most: at four, he made his first appearance at Jazz Fest performing with Bo Diddley; at six, he was leading his own brass band; and by his teenage years, he was hired by Lenny Kravitz to join the band he assembled for his Electric Church World Tour. Shorty’s proven he’s more than just a horn player, though. Catch a gig, open the pages of the New York Times or Vanity Fair, flip on any late-night TV show and you’ll see an undeniable star with utterly magnetic charisma, a natural born showman who can command an audience with the best of them. Since 2010, he’s released four chart topping studio albums; toured with everyone from Big Boi to Jeff Beck to the Red Hot Chili Peppers; collaborated across genres with Pharrell, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Foo Fighters, ZHU, Zac Brown, Normani, Ringo Starr, and countless more; played Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Newport Folk, Newport Jazz, and nearly every other major festival; performed four times at the GRAMMY Awards, five times at the White House, on dozens of TV shows, and at the star-studded Sesame Street Gala, where he was honored with his own Muppet; launched the Trombone Shorty Foundation to support youth music education; and received the prestigious Caldecott Honor for his first children’s book. Meanwhile in New Orleans, Shorty now leads his own Mardi Gras parade atop a giant float crafted in his likeness, hosts the annual Voodoo Threauxdown shows that have drawn guests including Usher, Nick Jonas, Dierks Bentley, Andra Day, and Leon Bridges to sit in with his band, and has taken over the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s hallowed final set, which has seen him closing out the internationally renowned gathering after performances by the likes of Neil Young, the Black Keys, and Kings of Leon.
