Tank And The Bangas & Big Freedia Gear Up For Co-Bill Tour

– Poster For The Head Banga Tour

Tank and the Bangas and Big Freedia are hitting the road together in October for the “Head Banga Tour” co-bill, which will deliver a double dose of New Orleans magic to music fans from coast to coast. 

Following two solo appearances from Tank & Co. at Washington, D.C.’s 9:30 Club Oct. 18-19, the co-bill kicks off Oct. 20 at Philadelphia’s Theatre of Living Arts. The excursion features performances in New York, Boston, Seattle, Denver and Kansas City. After the last stop of the co-headline tour – Nov. 9 in Berkeley, Calif., at the U.C. Theatre Taube Family Music Hall – Tank and the Bangas will stick around California for a solo show at Los Angeles’ Regent Theater.

Pollstar chatted with Tank and the Bangas front woman Terriora “Tank” Ball earlier this year about how winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2017 with their single “Quick” allowed the band’s career to flourish to the next level. 

“We were hoping to win, but it wasn’t a really big deal to us. We didn’t know how big of a deal it was, but it really did change our lives,” Ball said.  

– Tank And The Bangas

The Bangas consists of drummer and musical director Joshua Johnson, Albert Allenback on alto saxophone and flute, Norman Spence on bass and synths, and keyboardist Merrell Burkett.

The group, which dishes up a blend of spoken word, hip-hop, rock and jazz, recently released the single “Smoke.Netflix.Chill.” Fans can expect more new music in the near future, as Tank and the Bangas are working on the follow-up to their 2013 debut album, Think Tank. 

Big Freedia’s setlist will be sure to highlight tunes from her new EP, Third Ward Bounce, which was released in June. In recent years she’s collected a few major high-profile appearances– she’s featured on Drake’s “Nice For What” and Beyoncé “Formation.”  

“We’re steady moving forward to get the bounce culture even further out there and, as you can see, other artists are recognizing our music and our talent down here in New Orleans,” she told Fader. 

John Davisson – Big Freedia
Hangout Beach, Music & Arts Festival in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Tank and the Bangas and Big Freedia have shared billing on a handful of previous dates, including a May 2017 gig where both acts supported The Soul Rebel and 2017’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival lineup. Tank & Co. opened for Big Freedia at Brooklyn Bowl in 2016, grossing $18,586 and selling out 822 tickets, according to a report submitted to Pollstar’s BoxOffice.

Here is the routing for the tour, featuring special guest Naughty Professor: 

Oct. 18—Washington, D.C., 9:30 Club

Oct. 19—Washington, D.C., 9:30 Club

Oct. 20—Philadelphia, Pa., Theatre of Living Arts

Oct. 21—New York, N.Y., Brooklyn Steel

Oct. 23—Boston, Mass., Royale

Oct. 25—Toronto, Ontario, Danforth Music Hall

Oct. 26—Chicago, Ill., Concord Music Hall

Oct. 28—Minneapolis, Minn., First Avenue

Oct. 30—Maquoketa, Iowa, Codfish Hollow Barnstormers

Oct. 31—Kansas City, Mo., The Truman

Nov. 2—Denver, Colo., Ogden Theatre

Nov. 3—Salt Lake City, Utah, The Depot

Nov.  5—Vancouver, British Columbia, Commodore Ballroom

Nov.  6—Seattle, Wash., Neptune

Nov.  7—Portland, Ore., Roseland Theater

Nov.  9—Berkeley, Calif., The UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall

Nov.  10—Los Angeles, Calif., Regent Theater 

 

Big Freedia and Naughty Professor do not appear Oct. 18-19 or Nov. 10. 

Tickets are on sale now.