Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The UNCW Arts in Action Performance Series will host an appearance by New Orleans' own Hot 8 Brass Band at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18 in Kenan Auditorium. Epitomizing the city's funky, energetic street music for over a decade, Hot 8 infuses its performances with "The Big Easy" signature style that delights fans throughout the world. In recent years, members of Hot 8 Brass Band have proven themselves to be a cut above the routine entertainer. A fierce civic commitment to the city where the band's musicians were born and raised led them, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, to spearhead a citywide relief project for the disaster's victims.

The members of Hot 8, many of which have played together since high school, were born and raised in New Orleans and have toured in Japan, Italy, France, Spain, Finland, England and Sardinia. They have also been featured in the Spike Lee documentary When the Levees Broke and perform annually at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

The band plays the traditional second line parades, hosted each Sunday afternoon by social aid and pleasure clubs. Second line parades are the descendants of the city's famous jazz funerals and, apart from a casket, mourners and a cemetery visit; they carry many of the same traditions with them as they march down the streets. Today, the parades are not tied to any particular event, holiday or commemoration; rather, they are generally held for their own sake and to let the good times roll.

The Hot 8 Brass Band has also been part of an important relief project following Katrina. Save Our Brass is a grass-roots project that has brought music and instruments to shelters, temporary trailer parks and communities across the Gulf Coast. The band has released three critically acclaimed recordings and is featured on the latest Blind Boys of Alabama recording on Time-Life Records.

BOX OFFICE AND TICKET INFORMATION
Performance tickets are $6 for UNCW students; $8 for non-UNCW students; $16 for UNCW employees and senior citizens; and $20 for the general public. Group discount available. Call Kenan Box Office at 910.962.3500 or 800.732.3643 outside the Wilmington area or visit www.uncw.edu/presents. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and one hour prior to the event.

About Arts in Action Performance Series
The Arts in Action Performance Series seeks to culturally enrich, educate and entertain both students and the general public through the presentation of diverse programs featuring professional, high-quality performing artists. For more information, please visit www.uncw.edu/presents.

Media Contact: Shannon Hooker, 910.962.7600