Music from New Orleans: June 2026
Clockwise from the left: Hurray for the Riff Raff, Dusky Waters, Hero Magnus, Kelly Duplex, Tank and the Bangas
Some recent-ish releases from New Orleans (or NOLA-adjacent) bands and artists. Listen as you read with our embedded song links. (Do you create music in New Orleans? Send us links to your new releases - outalldaynola [at] gmail [dot] com)
These are just the highlights from the last couple of months - we made you a mixtape with many more local artists and bands, sign up for our new Patreon for lots of extras like this, even at the free tier! Find your Spotify mix tape here.
These are just the highlights from the last couple of months - we made you a mixtape with many more local artists and bands, sign up for our new Patreon for lots of extras like this, even at the free tier! Find your Spotify mix tape here.
Live Forever
Hurray For The Riff Raff
Recorded at Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago in the summer of 2025, this self-described "love letter to working-class musicians" is HftRR at their exuberant best. Anthemic opener ‘Alibi’ is from 2024’s The Past Is Still Alive, and in fact their back catalog highlights are very much as vital and rousing as the day they were recorded. Crowd favorites like Rhododendron keep the momentum at a seductively breezy pace through the encores. Talismanic leader Alynda Segarra shows an appreciative crowd in her adopted home just what a striking live act this (spiritually New Orleans) outfit are.
Hurray For The Riff Raff
Recorded at Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago in the summer of 2025, this self-described "love letter to working-class musicians" is HftRR at their exuberant best. Anthemic opener ‘Alibi’ is from 2024’s The Past Is Still Alive, and in fact their back catalog highlights are very much as vital and rousing as the day they were recorded. Crowd favorites like Rhododendron keep the momentum at a seductively breezy pace through the encores. Talismanic leader Alynda Segarra shows an appreciative crowd in her adopted home just what a striking live act this (spiritually New Orleans) outfit are.
Dusky Waters
Mother Magnolia
Just in time for Juneteenth comes a germaine, poignant but poppy tribute. As Dusky herself tells it: “(This song) is addressed to my ancestor, a woman who endured bondage in the American South, imagined as a magnolia tree: rooted, resilient, and still blooming.” The earthy banjo melody weaves in and out of the vocals like a conversation, and although the subject matter is weighty, the musical mood is optimistic and life affirming. Dusky Water’s fine-tuned sensibilities of whistlable riffs and touching storytelling are in rare form here.
Mother Magnolia
Just in time for Juneteenth comes a germaine, poignant but poppy tribute. As Dusky herself tells it: “(This song) is addressed to my ancestor, a woman who endured bondage in the American South, imagined as a magnolia tree: rooted, resilient, and still blooming.” The earthy banjo melody weaves in and out of the vocals like a conversation, and although the subject matter is weighty, the musical mood is optimistic and life affirming. Dusky Water’s fine-tuned sensibilities of whistlable riffs and touching storytelling are in rare form here.
How Do You Leave a Warm Dark Place
Hero Magnus
It’s a good question! Nobody asked to be born! The intelligent indie pop of our heroine Hero Magnus gives us some tools, or at least addresses the immediate concerns when you’re trying to work out how to be in this world. This album is full of punchy numbers such as Tough (I wanna be tough/I wanna drink steak/Chewing a paint/Make a blind date), which sets out a self-affirming stall, contrasting with the mellow ballads dissecting modern relationships like Harriet. By the time HM brings us home with the acoustic cosiness of Warm Dark Place we’ve had highs and lows that come with taking a risk on life outside the cocoon.
Hero Magnus
It’s a good question! Nobody asked to be born! The intelligent indie pop of our heroine Hero Magnus gives us some tools, or at least addresses the immediate concerns when you’re trying to work out how to be in this world. This album is full of punchy numbers such as Tough (I wanna be tough/I wanna drink steak/Chewing a paint/Make a blind date), which sets out a self-affirming stall, contrasting with the mellow ballads dissecting modern relationships like Harriet. By the time HM brings us home with the acoustic cosiness of Warm Dark Place we’ve had highs and lows that come with taking a risk on life outside the cocoon.
The Last Balloon
Tank and the Bangas
Opener ‘Rest’ opens with dreamy choral harmonies. Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball answers across an electric piano groove, claiming her rewards: church first, then funk, an order she's maintained since Think Tank in 2013. Ten years and change later, Ball has shed her need to rise dramatically above the arrangements. 2019’s Green Balloon (2019) found her chasing those moments; she's now generous and restrained. On ‘Is It Over?’, nothing competes with that voice as she moves from whisper to high notes. Tracks like ‘Move’ (with Lucky Daye) and ‘No Invite’ showcase funkier grooves. A decade past Think Tank, the band has nothing left to prove, but they're also in no hurry to stop.
Tank and the Bangas
Opener ‘Rest’ opens with dreamy choral harmonies. Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball answers across an electric piano groove, claiming her rewards: church first, then funk, an order she's maintained since Think Tank in 2013. Ten years and change later, Ball has shed her need to rise dramatically above the arrangements. 2019’s Green Balloon (2019) found her chasing those moments; she's now generous and restrained. On ‘Is It Over?’, nothing competes with that voice as she moves from whisper to high notes. Tracks like ‘Move’ (with Lucky Daye) and ‘No Invite’ showcase funkier grooves. A decade past Think Tank, the band has nothing left to prove, but they're also in no hurry to stop.
A Good Melon
Kelly Duplex
Like labelmates BRUCEY (Nick Pope from that outfit mastered this album), Kelly Duplex trade in a kind of timeless indie sound. You could drop a track like Rewind into any college radio playlist dating back 30 years and it would hold its own. If you’re a fan of guitar-driven, grown-up, melodic indie tunes, then this will feel like a welcome dose of breezy fresh air.
Kelly Duplex
Like labelmates BRUCEY (Nick Pope from that outfit mastered this album), Kelly Duplex trade in a kind of timeless indie sound. You could drop a track like Rewind into any college radio playlist dating back 30 years and it would hold its own. If you’re a fan of guitar-driven, grown-up, melodic indie tunes, then this will feel like a welcome dose of breezy fresh air.