Events

Join us for a free show featuring Nola native Aurélien Barnes!

Trumpeter, vocalist, and bandleader Aurélien Barnes represents a new generation of New Orleans musicians carrying the city’s brass and jazz traditions forward while expanding their reach. The son of Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, he grew up immersed in blues, zydeco, and Afro-Caribbean music — an upbringing that shaped both his versatility and his instinct for cross-cultural musical conversation.

Mentored from an early age by some of the city’s most respected voices — including Leroy Jones, Gregg Stafford, and the Tremé Brass Band — Barnes has performed as a featured artist with the Preservation Hall All Stars, and has gone on to work with Grammy-nominated ensembles Cha Wa and the Rumble, as well as the Palmetto Bug Stompers and Kings of Brass. His collaborations span a wide range of artists and genres, including Nicholas Payton, Solange, Dr. John, and Carlos Vives.

A Tulane graduate fluent in French, Spanish, and Portuguese, Barnes brings an international perspective to a distinctly New Orleans sound — rooted in tradition, open to the world.