Cyril Neville of New Orleans Neville Brothers Plays FTC StageOne Tuesday, July 26

The youngest of the prolifically musical Neville Brothers family and a member of the influential and successful band The Meters (now known as the Funky Meters), Cyril Neville picked up his love of music from his parents and his older brothers at an early age. In 1967, at the age of 19, Cyril began singing professionally and he united with his brothers Art and Aaron in the band Art Neville and the Neville Sounds. They played the New Orleans club circuit on a regular basis and soon became The Meters. Forever linked to the Meters as their percussionist and vocalist, the rhythmic Cyril Neville is a New Orleans legend. With the Meters, he changed the way funk and soul music were played forever and had the opportunity to tour with the Rolling Stones on their infamous sold out ’74 US tour.
In the early 70s, before the Meters, he also fronted the band Soul Machine and shortly after the Meters disbanded in ’76, he formed The Endangered Species Band and the Uptown All-Stars Band. These other musical projects were heavily influenced by Cyril’s newfound interest in reggae music (thanks to Bob Marley's landmark Natty Dread album), as all four Neville siblings formed the Neville Brothers group.

During this time he also found time to launch his own record label, Endangered Species and perform as a guest on albums by Galactic, Tribe 13, Edie Brickell, Jimmy Buffett, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Daniel Lanois, Willie Nelson, Tab Benoit among others. Cyril also founded the New Orleans Musicians Organized (NOMO), which helps musicians who need business advice with their careers. Cyril Neville has issued several solo albums on his own over the years, including 1995's The Fire This Time, and a pair in 2000, New Orleans Cookin' and Soulo.

Putting forth both an enthusiastic soulman’s  singing voice and deep, blues and reggae-inspired rhythms, Cyril may be the last great voice of New Orleans music. Beyond work with The Meters, Cyril’s own work is blues-heavy, often with funky horn sections and a rich jambalaya of New Orleans musical textures.
One BBC reviewer of his ‘09 album Brand New Blues said, “his well-documented love of reggae and outspoken views on the Hurricane Katrina disaster collide for an anguished, eight-minute version of The Wailers' Slave Driver – with an extra verse written in – the album's piece de resistance and final track.”