When Bonerama struts onstage with its four-trombone frontline, you can guess it’s not quite like any rock ’n’ roll band you’ve seen. When they tear into some vintage New Orleans funk, there’s no questioning from which city these guys hail. And when those ‘bones start ripping into Hendrix and Led Zeppelin licks, all stylistic bets are off. Even in a city that doesn’t play by the rules, New Orleans’ Bonerama is something different. They’re not a traditional brass band, but they’ve got brass to spare—even with no trumpets or saxes in sight.


They can evoke vintage funk, classic rock and free improvisation in the same set; maybe even the same song. Bonerama has been repeatedlyrecognized by Rolling Stone, hailed as “the ultimate in brassballs” (2005) and praised for their “…crushing ensemble riffing, human-feedback shrieks and wah-wah growls” (2007).