The Historic New Orleans Collection’s popular outdoor music series Concerts in the Courtyard kicks off its 10th season on Friday, March 10, with a performance from Leroy Jones’s Original Hurricane Brass Band. A fun, affordable way to kick off the weekend, the spring series will also include shows by the Dana Abbott Band (Friday, April 21), Sweet Olive String Band (Friday, May 19), and Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes (Friday, June 16). The spring season is sponsored by AOS Interior Environments.

All concerts this season will offer white wine and craft beer. Admission is $10, free for THNOC members and includes three beverages. Shows are held at 533 Royal Street. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; the concerts are 6–8 p.m. THNOC’s museum shop and first-floor exhibition galleries will be open during the event. In the event of rain, visit www.hnoc.org or call (504) 523-4662 for updates.

About the band
The Original Hurricane Brass Band was founded in 1974 by New Orleans trumpeter Leroy Jones, around the core of the Fairview Baptist Church Brass Band. An undeniable force on the local brass band and second-line scenes, the Hurricane Brass Band contributed heavily to what is now known as contemporary New Orleans brass band music. The Hurricane Brass Band was one of the first bands to incorporate more modern elements into its repertoire, and today’s most popular brass bands can be seen as its direct descendants.                     

In October 2005, upon returning to New Orleans from Dallas where he was evacuated for six weeks following Hurricane Katrina, Jones was called to do one of the city’s first post-Katrina second lines. Appropriately named the Hurricane Brass Band, Leroy’s group led a successful second line through New Orleans’s historic neighborhoods. Since then the band, with alternating line-ups, has performed for various events such as the French Quarter Festival and Satchmo Summerfest, funerals and private engagements. Jones was recently named “Best Trumpeter” at the 2016 Best of the Beat Awards.

He will be joined by Christian Winther (tenor sax), Terrance Taplin (trombone), Robert Harris (trombone); Jason Jurzak (sousaphone); Brian Lewis (snare drum); and Katja Toivola (bass drum).

About the sponsor
The spring 2017 season of Concerts in the Courtyard is sponsored by AOS Interior Environments (AOS), a full-service provider of contract commercial office furniture, modular interior construction and storage solutions based in New Orleans. AOS is the largest furniture, fixtures and equipment contractor in Louisiana and Mississippi and has been partnering with their clients and the architectural community to create beautiful, functional and productive spaces for nearly 40 years. AOS’s collaborative approach to workplace design results in precise solutions carefully attuned to each client’s purpose. For details, visit www.thinkaos.com.