Tank and the Bangas Ride Momentum from Recent Grammy Win

New Orleans-based Tank and the Bangas play a bit of everything. The band dabbles in soul, rock, jazz and funk. Last year, the group picked up a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for 2024’s The Heart, The Mind, The Soul. Led by exuberant singer Tank Ball, the group will tour this spring and summer in support of its new album, The Last Balloon. The funky lead single, “Move,” features a cameo by Lucky Daye. In a recent Zoom call from her New Orleans living room, Ball spoke about the upcoming tour and the band’s vibrant new album.

You started writing poetry well before Tank and the Bangas came together. Talk about how that started?

I was interested in poetry when I was about 12 years old when I opened up my sister’s diary, which I had no business doing. I was reading her diary, and it was mostly her poetry. It was so amazing. I would know it by heart before I knew anything else. I was inspired by her. She doesn’t know that. For a lot of people, their favorites are Nikki Giovanni and Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou and Shakespeare. My favorite was my big sister.

What were your poems about?

It was serious stuff. I was a child talking about some serious stuff. I was always talking about adult topics. I don’t know why, but I was intrigued by that. I would read them for my older sister and they would be like, “Oh, Tank writing that. She is above her years.”

Tank and the Bangas then formed in New Orleans at an open mic night. What made you all want to start working together?

I had had my first show, and I knew I wanted a band. I stated asking for things, and they started coming to me. I was like, “I want a guitar player. I want a bass player. I want a saxophonist. I want a band, and I want an album.” I started asking for all types of things. Before I knew it, I started asking for more. I was like, “I wanna meet Obama.”

Did you meet him?

Not yet. I’ve come close.

Prior to that, you had read poetry in front of audiences. What was the adjustment to fronting a band like?

I think it was a smooth transition. I started at the poetry club, but I always had music in my poems, especially in the poetry group I was in, Slam New Orleans. I didn’t know anything about musical instruments, honestly. I didn’t know that the bass held down the band. I just knew I wanted a guitar player. I wanted an acoustic, really pretty sound. My first guitar player taught me that I needed bass and that it could all come together great. I had guys that respected my poetic voice. That has always been cool.

When you first started out, were there other New Orleans groups you looked to for inspiration?

When I first started out, I saw Water Seed doing their thing at French Quarter Fest. I wanted that stage too. I was a big fan of PJ Morton and how he infused his gospel roots with his musical whimsy and wonder. Growing up, those were the two people that I saw that I liked. And Chocolate Milk was an old school band from about the same time as the Meters.

New Orleans has the musical legacy but it sounds like there are some bands there that I need to hear.

Definitely. It’s hard to get out of here. We are at the bottom of the map. You can make a living because there are so many bars and clubs. Sometimes, you just stay right here and make your living. From very early on, we knew we wanted to travel the world and see if it could take us other places.

I loved hearing some of the music in the HBO show Treme.

It was one of those shows that held very true to the culture here.

How’d the hand embrace so many different musical styles?

I think that everybody grew up in a different households and had different influences. We had Norman Spence, who is still with me, from Baltimore and he plays all the instruments. He grew up with that neo-soul sound. We always welcome any type of sound. We don’t say, “That’s not us.” We always embrace it to see where it takes us.

What was your reaction when you won a Grammy for 2024’s The Heart, The Mind, the Soul?

Oh my God, I was so happy. I ran to the stage, literally. I was running to that stage. I felt like that was for me and for us. My first love was poetry. I don’t even think that music loved me back. I had to work at it. But poetry always loved me back.  Music did not love me back initially. It felt so full circle.

What did you try to do differently with your latest album, The Last Ballon?

We always have fun while creating. It’s like, what are we going to do. Let’s have the fans have fun with us. We have these cool live shows. They’re always changing and different. We wanted it to be an interactive experience. We just wanted to have fun like we do with the festival. If COVID taught us anything, it’s that we are nothing without our fans. We need them to thrive and carry on. Who wants to make music for the phone? We want to be there with you. We want to experience the live concerts. We want it be an experience where we are all family. We are like family because we need each other.

“Move” has a great groove. What’s the story behind that tune?

So much fun. I really love the band Jungle and how their music feels. I wanted to make music like that too. It just feels good to me. I don’t always know what they’re talking about. I happen to be in a long-distance relationship, and I want my guy to move to New Orleans.  When people hear it, they probably think it’s about what they should do with their body, and I’m okay with that too.

How’d you team up with Lucky Daye, who guests on the track?

That took a while. I met him and the third time was like, “We cool.” He was so busy. Even though we’re from the same city, I thought it would be easy to connect. Our producer Austie Brown, who’s Rebbie Jackson’s son and Michael Jackson’s nephew, is an amazing producer. He’s Lucky’s friend, and he kept pushing for it. When I heard his verse on it, it was undeniable.

We live during a time when the arts are under attack in this country. Do you feel a heightened sense of purpose?

I always have. It’s always been heightened for me. It’s interesting to me that I’m not making a big political poem. Dancing is raging against the machine as well and bringing people together from all different walks of life. It could be as easy as bringing people together under the same sun. That’s the era I’m in with The Last Balloon. Who knows what I’ll do next week.

Even professional athletes and teams have made statements.

Everyone doesn’t have the same blowhorn. We have different ways that we express our rage against the machine. You gotta do something with your voice and your power.

Photo credit: Jeremy Tauriac

2026 Tour Dates
March 26 /// Savannah, GA /// Savannah Music Festival
March 28 /// Jacksonville, FL /// Seawalk Pavilion
March 29 /// Hollywood, FL /// Arts Park at Young Circle
April 11 /// New Orleans, LA /// Poetry on a Porch
April 29 /// Louisville, KY /// Louisville Urban League Derby Gala
May 2 /// New Orleans, LA /// The Joy Theater
May 17 /// Cleveland, OH /// Courage and Poetry:
An Afternoon with Tank Ball
June 2 /// Charlotte, NC /// Visulite Theatre †
June 3 /// Asheville, NC /// The Grey Eagle †
June 6 /// Brooklyn, NY /// Brooklyn Bowl †
June 7 /// Boston, MA /// The Sinclair †
June 10 /// Detroit, MI /// El Club †
June 12 /// Kalamazoo, MI /// Bell’s Eccentric Cafe – Back Room †
June 13 /// Indianapolis, IN /// Rock the Ruins*
June 16 /// Cleveland, OH /// Cain Park – Evans Amphitheater*
June 17 /// Pittsburgh, PA /// Thunderbird Cafe and Music Hall †
June 19 /// Washington, D.C. /// Lincoln Theatre
June 20 /// Carrboro, NC /// Cat’s Cradle Outdoors
July 2 /// Portland, OR /// Tom McCall Waterfront Park
October 15 /// Atlanta, GA /// Terminal West †
October 16 /// Atlanta, GA /// Terminal West †
October 17 /// Nashville, TN /// Brooklyn Bowl †
October 20 /// Madison, WI /// Majestic Theatre †
October 21 /// Iowa City, IA /// Club Hancher †
October 23 /// Minneapolis, MN /// Fine Line †
October 24 /// Chicago, IL /// Thalia Hall †
October 25 /// St. Louis, MO /// Off Broadway †
November 5 /// Kansas City, MO /// The Truman †
November 7 /// Denver, CO /// Gothic Theatre †
November 8 /// Salt Lake City, UT /// The Commonwealth †
November 10 /// Seattle, WA /// The Crocodile †
November 13 /// San Francisco, CA /// August Hall †
November 17 /// Phoenix, AZ /// Crescent Ballroom †
November 19 /// Austin, TX /// Antone’s †
November 20 /// Austin, TX /// Antone’s †
November 21 /// Houston, TX /// Heights Theater †

*w/ Trombone Shorty
†w/Ariel J