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Eight years ago, New Orleans’ Stooges Brass Band lost all of its possessions—including its instruments—in Hurricane Katrina. Although the loss set the band back, it quickly returned to performing, playing concerts and joining in the Big Easy tradition of second-line parades. In the past few years, the group began reaping some rewards for its visceral blend of funk, jazz, and hip-hop. Stooges Brass Band won the Red Bull “Street Kings” competition in 2010, represented the U.S. in a series of gigs in Pakistan in 2012, and just recently released Street Music, its first recording since 2003. The famed comic trio inspired the group’s name, and accordingly, the ensemble is known for occasionally clowning on stage. But it’s got a serious side, too: Street Music includes “Why They Had to Kill Him,” a melancholy paean to the group’s late trombonist “Shotgun Joe” Williams, who was shot by New Orleans police. But since New Orleans music tends to prefer jubilance in the face of tragedy, look for Stooges Brass Band to focus on party-friendly rumpshakers.
Stooges Brass Band performs with The Good Thing at 8:30 p.m. at Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. $20–$30. (703) 875-1100. artisphere.com.