Millbrook's Own The Redline Brass Band Is Having a Moment — and They're Just Getting Started

MILLBROOK, June 3 — Two years ago, The Redline Brass Band was squeezing onto the small stage at the Anchor & Ale on Tuesday nights, playing to a room of maybe 40 people. This summer, they're headlining the Lakeshore Stage at the Millbrook Waterfront Festival, kicking off a six-city regional tour, and preparing to release their debut full-length album, Copper & Concrete, on July 18. Not bad for a group that started as a loose jam session in drummer Theo Mabbott's garage on Eastbrook Drive.

The band — which includes two former members of the Millbrook Youth Jazz Ensemble — plays a high-energy blend of New Orleans-influenced brass, funk, and original compositions that has proven genuinely hard to resist. Lead trumpet player Sasha Wren says the band's sound emerged organically from the members' varied backgrounds. "We've got people who came up through classical training, people who learned by ear, people who grew up on hip-hop," Wren told the Courier. "When we all play together, you hear all of that at once, and somehow it works." The group has built its following largely through relentless live performing — over 80 shows in the past 18 months — and a social media presence that has earned them fans well beyond Millbrook's city limits.

Upcoming Redline Brass Band Dates

• June 7 — Millbrook Waterfront Festival, Lakeshore Stage, 8:30 p.m. (free admission)
• June 11 — The Depot, Founders Park Concert Series, 7 p.m. (free)
• June 22 — The Velvet Room, downtown Millbrook, doors at 9 p.m., tickets $15
• July 18 — Album release show, Millbrook Arts Centre, tickets $22 in advance

Copper & Concrete was recorded at Eastside Sound Studio with producer Marcus Feld and is available for pre-order now through the band's website. If the album is even half as alive as their live show, Millbrook might want to start bragging about these eight now — before the rest of the country figures it out.