Tank and The Bangas: 2019

I was so psyched to welcome Tank and the Bangas back to WFUV. A lot has happened since our last visit on the radio, just after they beat out 6,000 other artists to win NPR Music's 2017 Tiny Desk Contest. Since then, they've hardly stayed still or quiet — touring, creating and finishing their latest album, Green Balloon.

It's no surprise that this five-piece band from New Orleans would name their album Green Balloon, since they are so colorful and bold in everything they do. There are also many meanings around "green," which I discussed with the band in our interview.

There's also fresh playfulness to their sound that brings all of the colors of the rainbow together, and in front of it all is singer Tarriona "Tank" Ball, who has a gift for words like few do. She can be topical, serious, joyful and powerful with her message and it will move you.

For our FUV Live session,  the whole band was in Studio A, performing "Nice Things," "Hot Air Balloons," and "Ants." Watch the videos below, and if you need even more Tank and the Bangas (and you do),  catch them live this Thursday, June 20, at the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival.

[Recorded: 5/6/19; Engineer: Chris Russo; Producer: Sarah Wardrop]