NEW ORLEANS — Seven years ago, New Orleans band Tank and the Bangas squeezed into a corner of a classroom and recorded themselves playing their song “Quick” for National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk competition, the nonprofit’s annual search for the “next great undiscovered artist.”
Their video—a vibrant mix of funk, soul, hip-hop and spoken word—stunned NPR’s judges and earned them a performance on the program popular, stripped down Tiny Desk serieswhich helped grow their loyal fanbase. A 2020 Grammy nomination for “Best New Artist” followed, as did Grammy nominations in 2023 and 2024 for “Best Progressive R&“B Album” and “Best Global Music Performance” respectively.
On Sunday, Tank and the Bangas return to their hometown for one of their biggest performances yet: the main stage of the Essence Festival of Culture, the world’s largest celebration of Black women, culture and communities.
The group has performed at Essence before, but those were mini-concerts in “super lounges” created in the Superdome’s vast hallways, not on the giant stage on the Superdome floor.
The fact that the group gets to play the main stage this year is “scary” and “exciting,” lead singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball told The Associated Press.
“Those are big shoes to fill, opening up on the main stage of the festival,” Ball said. “We’ve played the super lounges in the past, but I’m proud to be stepping out now. I just do it with trepidation. But don’t get me wrong, I’m always nervous about the special stuff. I’m excited to do this because it’s my home. That’s a big deal.”
The set also features influences from other artists with ties to New Orleans, including Teedra Moses, Dawn Richard and HaSizzle.
“It’s going to be beautiful,” Ball said of the show. “Soulful. Poetic. We’re going to finish it off with that. We’ve got HaSizzle, Teedra Moses, Dawn Richard. We’re bringing all of these aspects to the stage, all of which have helped bring the city back to life musically.”
Ball describes their sound as “when Disney meets the ghetto.”
“We’re tasteful,” she said. “We can go anywhere. Our influences are from go-go music to the old-school vibes of Stevie Wonder. I like to say we’re genre-fluid. We flow between genres,” she said.
Ball hopes the experience will bring new fans to their world.
“Essence is that platform where we can connect with our people,” she said. “I hope we leave them with a sense of ‘wow’ and a sense of ‘I have to follow this,’” she said.
Norman Spence, the band’s musical director, said the group is grateful for the opportunity to participate in the long-running festival, but noted that they are not entirely new to such an environment.
“We’ve seen some of those crowds, in amphitheaters, at other big festivals, at Coachella. We’re kind of coming around,” he said, laughing. “We have a sound that inspires people and makes them reflect. To have the opportunity to do something so monumental … there’s a lot of gratitude for that. I can’t wait to get it done. In the meantime, I’m just going to embrace it all and just shine.”
Ball said she hopes the performance will be “impactful” for those in attendance.
“I hope they find something they listened to,” she said. “I hope they hear something and say, ‘They changed my world.’”
The band will embark on a new tour later this month that will take them through the US, England, Poland and Japan. Ball said they are also working on a poetry project that should be released in October.
“We are preparing for a great year,” she said.