Bonerama is a force of nature. It is a band that in many ways defies categorization. A funky rock band with brass…a funky brass band that rocks. Pick Yer Poison. Bonerama is a New Orleans-based band that fuses everything that has made that city’s music famous into a genre defying gumbo. The band has taken the best elements of rock, soul, fusion, pop, jazz, funk, brass, gospel and blues to forge its unique sound.

Formed in 1998, Bonerama is the brainchild of trombone players Mark Mullins and Craig Klein (who from 1990-2006, were also members of Harry Connick Jr.’s big band). Currently comprised of Mullins (trombone, electric trombone and lead vocals), Klein (trombone and lead vocals), Greg Hicks (trombone and vocals), Bert Cotton (lead guitar), Matt Perrine (sousaphone and electric bass) and Walt Lundy (drums), Bonerama is one of the funkiest and most unique bands to ever come out of New Orleans.

Equally adept at delivering extraordinary originals or blistering covers of artists as diverse as Led Zeppelin; The Beatles; The Allman Brothers; Jimi Hendrix–even Black Sabbath, Bonerama’s distinctive, inimitable, genuine, one-of-a-kind sound is unmatched, high-energy, fun, dynamic and bold. Over the years, Bonerama has joined forces with many prominent musicians on stage or in the studio such as R.E.M., Little Feat, OKGo, Nicole Atkins, George Porter Jr., The Radiators, Ivan Neville, Galactic and many more. Whoever Bonerama teams-up with gets an interesting and personal take on Bonerama’s style of music infusing a piece of their own genetics into the band vibe of whoever they are joining. Simply put, Bonerama’s sound is a mélange unlike anything else. By placing the trombones, up front and center stage as the lead instrument, Bonerama is “different” in the best possible way. Not only is the band’s music unique but it is drenched with the New Orleans’s DNA that flows through the veins of the band’s members…and it works!

A Bonerama concert is life-changing and will permanently alter how one views popular music. When seeing Bonerama live, attendees are treated to a masterclass that is both a musical time machine and a trip through 20th and early 21st Century popular music. Audience members are magically transported to old New Orleans (via tunes like “Mr. Okra,” an original about the New Orleans character and treasure Arthur Robinson who sold vegetables from his truck, “Let The Four Winds Blow,” “Iko Iko,” “Big Chief,” and “Indian Red”); current New Orleans (with its funk, rock and jazz-flavored originals such as “Shake Your Rugalator,” “Bad Dog,” “Hard Times,” and “Hot Like Fire”); Classic or Alternative radio (through unconventional and unsuspected covers of “When The Levee Breaks,” “Frankenstein,” “Helter Skelter” “Whipping Post,” “Crosstown Traffic,” “War Pigs” and “Paranoid Android”) as well as familiar traditional gems and nuggets (such as “What A Wonderful World,” “When My Dreamboat Comes Home” and “Down By The Riverside”). Every song is performed with a high-energy and spicy concoction of deliciously Southern funky New Orleans attitude and joy.

Bonerama has appeared on national television shows including Late Night with David Letterman and in 2006 was the house band for HBO’s Comic Relief. The band’s appeal and fan-base is spread across the globe. Over the past 20+ years, Bonerama has been recognized as one of New Orleans’ best-loved touring bands—making numerous stops each year in New York City; Washington, DC; Chicago; Philadelphia; St. Louis and many other U.S. markets. The band regularly performs at well-known music festivals and venues across the country and in the fall of 2018 Bonerama performed three nights at the famed Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles while opening for Mullins and Klein’s former boss, Harry Connick Jr. More than a New Orleans band, Bonerama also has a huge international following. It makes frequent trips to Brazil with tour stops in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other locations in that country playing to large scale audiences of all ages that are wowed by the band’s unique sound, catalog and deep New Orleans roots.

During its career, Bonerama has delivered seven major releases. It’s current full-length album, Bonerama Plays Zeppelin (Basin Street Records), was one of the best-selling albums at Jazz Fest in 2019. The band’s most recent release, the “Empty World” single, is a tribute to the late Allen Toussaint that features Michael McDonald (who will be inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Doobie Brothers at the 2020 Induction Ceremony).

Bonerama is a band that truly resides in a class of its own. Its jazzified, funkified, rhythmic and rockin’ brass band music is unequaled and unparalleled. Once heard, it leaves an indelible imprint upon the listener that can never be forgotten.

Current Line-up:

Mark Mullins – trombone / vocals Greg Hicks – trombone / vocals Chris Butcher – trombone Matt Perrine – sousaphone Bert Cotton – guitar Eric Bolivar – drums