“Only at Tulane, Only in New Orleans”: Introducing the Sound of Uptown

What should a Tulane band sound like? For us, the answer begins right here in New Orleans. 

The Sound of Uptown is Tulane Bands’ artistic identity: a distinctive collegiate voice shaped by the city’s traditional jazz, brass band, Mardi Gras, and funk traditions. You can hear it in music by Louis Prima, Dr. John, The Meters, Rebirth Brass Band, and Trombone Shorty, alongside Carnival classics such as “Iko Iko” and “Mardi Gras in New Orleans,” trad tunes including “When the Saints Go Marching In.”  

This identity is deeply rooted in the band’s history. Tulane’s band tradition dates all the way back to 1920—a thriving period for concert and athletic bands alike. After the marching band’s decades-long hiatus, students in Soundwave Pep Band helped rebuild momentum, forming a small marching ensemble in 2003 and taking part in a Mardi Gras parade in 2004. The modern Tulane University Marching Band was formally re-established in 2005 under the baton of Director Emeritus Barry Spanier. Hurricane Katrina struck just days after its first band camp; in 2006, the band made its official New Orleans debut during Carnival, marching the Krewe of Alla parade route. 

Carnival remains central to the band’s life and its connection with the city. Each spring, students take the music into the streets, performing alongside New Orleans’ krewes and revelers. On campus, that same local identity comes to the field through halftime shows and collaborations with New Orleans artists. Recent guest artists include the grammy award winning-New Orleans Nightcrawlers, Wendell Brunious of Preservation Hall, Tulane music alumnus John Michael Bradford, and world-renowned drummer Stanton Moore. 

A 2024 tribute to Louis Prima brought these ideas together in a collaboration with Tulane University Special Collections. Students explored materials from the Louis Prima archives and then performed his music at football games, including Homecoming, with guest trumpeter John Michael Bradford. The project connected performance with the city’s musical history and the university’s own archives. 

The Sound of Uptown also reaches the concert stage. In April 2026, the Tulane Concert Band presented the world premiere of Unseen Wings, a new wind ensemble work by composer James M. David. The university’s first solo commissioning project, Parrilla-Koester commissioned the work for the Tulane Concert Band in honor of Director Emeritus Barry Spanier. Inspired by New Orleans-born poet Bob Kaufman and his love of jazz, Unseen Wings draws on the city’s musical traditions, including blues, second-line rhythm, and the sounds of Sidney Bechet and Jelly Roll Morton. This project was generously sponsored by Tulane Bands alumna Gillian Duncan and her husband, Michael Belknap. 

“The Sound of Uptown lives across our entire program,” says Director of Bands Dylan Parrilla-Koester. “Our athletic bands carry it into Yulman Stadium and Carnival, while the Concert Band can explore New Orleans’ musical heritage through new works like Unseen Wings. Our goal is to make this identity unmistakable—in what we play, who we learn from, and how we show up for New Orleans—as we ossify our status as the premier college band program in the city.” 

Tulane Bands’ vision and trajectory will carry that work forward: keep New Orleans music and culture central, present annual halftime collaborations with local artists, deepen relationships with Mardi Gras krewes, and commission new works in and through the city. The Sound of Uptown transcends moniker. It is a commitment to make Tulane Bands’ music, partnerships, and student experience unmistakably Tulanian and thoroughly New Orleanian.