“Glen perhaps best embodies what David Simon, creator of HBO’s Treme, meant when he said, ‘culture is what brought New Orleans back.’” That’s the Wall Street Journal talking about the man who returns to De la Luz Soundstage this February — and if you were in the room last time, you already know. Glen David Andrews doesn’t just play New Orleans music. He is New Orleans music: the second lines, the brass bands, the gospel choirs, the sweat-soaked Saturday nights where the whole block is moving. Born in the Treme — the oldest African American neighborhood in the country — and raised in a dynasty that includes Trombone Shorty and the Rebirth Brass Band, Andrews learned at the feet of legends like Tuba Fats before he was old enough to hold his horn straight. He’s been setting stages on fire ever since.
What makes a Glen David Andrews show unlike anything else is the sheer force of the man himself. His trombone growls and soars, but it’s his voice — raw, commanding, drenched in the soul fire of Wilson Pickett and the world-weariness of Louis Armstrong — that pins you to the floor. He moves between funk, gospel, R&B, blues, and jazz not like someone switching genres but like someone who never saw the borders in the first place. “I’m not afraid to play gospel in a barroom,” he says, “and I’m not afraid to play rock in a church.” Jazz Fest producer Quint Davis calls him “one of the giant talents of New Orleans music,” and in the intimate confines of De la Luz, with the band cooking and the paper lanterns glowing overhead, that talent lands differently than it does in a festival field. It lands right in your chest.
This is a full New Orleans evening — the Glen David Andrews Band bringing the heat while Chef Sara Barnes pairs the music with a feast inspired by the flavors of the French Quarter. It’s the kind of night De la Luz was built for: world-class artistry, incredible food, and the feeling of being part of something that matters. Glen David Andrews played this room last year and the response was electric. He’s back because this is what happens when the music is that good and the community shows up. Don’t be the one who hears about it after.
