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Updated 11/17/2024

Undertow Brass Band (fka What Cheer? Brigade)

  • R

    RI

Institution/Business Type: Performing Group

Undertow Brass Band is a large brass band from Providence, RI, USA. Our sound is an aggressive mix of global brass traditions. Requiring no amplification, we are proof that loud music doesn't need electricity. A raucous live experience, we defy categorization, appealing equally to punks and farmers, old and young. Since 2005, we have been as likely to appear at sweaty clubs, parties, and festivals as at community events. The New York Times has called us “an explosion of good cheer.” Spin Magazine has written, "They never actually took a stage, but Providence, RI's What Cheer? dominated the Newport Folk Fest like a headliner." We've played at The Reykjavik Jazz Festival, Aarhus Festival (Denmark), Bestival, The Newport Folk Festival, Lollapalooza, Haizetara (Spain), Tamborile (Spain), Fort en Son (France), Sziget (Hungary), and Guca (Serbia), offering mobile, intense moments of outdoor revelry.

Find Me

Jori Ketten
Job Title: Bass Drum/Booker
Phone: 401-559-5211
Address:
87 Princeton Ave
Providence, RI 02907

Social Media:

Additional Content:

  • Music

    Listen to our music

  • Video

    Visit our YouTube channel.

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Partnership

Year Founded:

2005

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Partnership

Year Founded:

2005

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Music - General

Additional Disciplines:

  • Music - Traditional

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Arts for Social Change / Creative Activism
  • Creation of a Work of Art (Including Commissions)
  • Performance / Concert / Reading
  • Wedding / Parties / Private Gatherings
  • Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall
Events Per Year: 55

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • Businesses
  • Elders
  • Families
  • General Public
  • Immigrant Populations
  • Nonprofits
  • People with Disabilities
  • School Groups
  • Teens
  • Youth-At-Risk

Languages Available:

  • French
  • Spanish
  • English

Geographic Reach:

  • Town / City
  • County
  • Multi-County Region
  • State
  • Multi-State Region
  • National
  • International

Media Gallery

I Have Worked With

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Awards

Awards:

  • RISCA awarded us a grant to do a "recess tour" of schools around the greater Providence area.We have received NEST grants for festival appearances at the Maine Blueberry Festival and Space Gallery in Portland.

Awards

Awards:

  • RISCA awarded us a grant to do a "recess tour" of schools around the greater Providence area.We have received NEST grants for festival appearances at the Maine Blueberry Festival and Space Gallery in Portland.

Artist Info

Touring Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • We require no electricity, meaning that we can bring loud, spectacular music to unexpected places without the need for a generator or other expensive rigging.

Fee Range:

$1,500 - $8,000

State of Residence:

Rhode Island

Minimum Number of Performers:

5

Maximum Number of Performers:

16

Touring Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • We require no electricity, meaning that we can bring loud, spectacular music to unexpected places without the need for a generator or other expensive rigging.

Fee Range:

$1,500 - $8,000

State of Residence:

Rhode Island

Minimum Number of Performers:

5

Maximum Number of Performers:

16