The What Cheer? Brigade is a 19-piece brass band from Providence, RI, USA. Their sound is an aggressive mix of Bollywood, The Balkans, New Orleans, Samba and Hip-Hop, played with the intensity of metal. Requiring no amplification, they prove that great parties need no electricity.
“Thrillingly competent, with undimmable energy…an explosion of good cheer.”
-The New York Times
“They never actually took a stage, but Providence, RI’s What Cheer? dominated the Newport Folk Fest like a headliner.”
-SPIN
Since 2005, the band has been as likely to appear at community benefits as at all-night parties, playing bars, clubs, streets, libraries, cemeteries, weddings, bus stops, and playgrounds. In 2010, we joined Anchor Brain Records to re-release our second CD, We Blow, You Suck. We’ve played with Dan Deacon, Man Man, Japanther, Dengue Fever, Okkervil River, Lightning Bolt, Ninjasonik, Mika Miko, Wolf Parade, Matt and Kim, Slavic Soul Party, Javelin, Sage Francis, and Chain and the Gang. We’ve appeared at Lollapalooza, Sziget (Hungary), and Guca (Serbia), offering mobile, intense moments of outdoor revelry.
Awards: Best in Festival – Haizetara 2010 Street Music International Contest (Spain) Best Category-Defying Act – 2010 Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll Best New Band (Rhode Island) – 2010 Boston Phoenix 50 Bands, 50 States Best of Rhode Island - Rhode Island Monthly 2007 Awards
What Cheer? Brigade
Afrobeat - Reggae - Haitian Roots
