BIO
“Thrillingly competent, with undimmable energy…an explosion of good cheer.”
- The New York Times
Undertow Brass Band (FKA What Cheer? Brigade) is a brass band from Providence, RI, USA. We prove that great parties need no electricity.
Undertow Brass Band, formerly known as What Cheer? Brigade, is an energetic party band from Providence, RI, USA. We play dance music without microphones, so we can make noise almost anywhere. We are loud, tight, and love to dance with crowds, offering mobile moments of intense revelry.
Our music includes covers and originals, taking inspiration from genres ranging from Balkan, New Orleans, and other global brass traditions, as well as electronic dance music, classical, and pop. The band emerged from the Providence underground music scene in 2005, inspired by the unlikely overlap between the intensity of punk rock and brass. From these origins, the band developed its original sound, with one foot in Balkan tradition, the other in the American punk scene.
Undertow is as likely to appear at community benefits as at all-night parties, playing bars, clubs, streets, libraries, cemeteries, weddings, bus stops, and playgrounds. We’ve played with Blondie, Dan Deacon, Man Man, Japanther, Dengue Fever, Okkervil River, Lightning Bolt, Ninjasonik, Mika Miko, Wolf Parade, Matt and Kim, Slavic Soul Party, Javelin, Sage Francis, and Chain and the Gang. We’ve appeared at Lollapalooza, The Newport Folk Festival, Aarhus Festuge (Denmark), Sziget (Hungary), and Guca (Serbia), as well as multiple festivals in France, Spain, and Basque Country.
Awards:
Special Composition and Performance Award – SDA Anthem “Aupa Gaztiak” – 2025 Haizetara Street Music International Contest (Basque Country)
Audience Favorite – 2015 Haizetara Street Music International Contest (Basque Country)
Best in Festival – 2010 Haizetara Street Music International Contest (Basque Country)
Best Category-Defying Act – 2010 Providence Phoenix Best Music Poll
Best New Band (Rhode Island) – 2010 Boston Phoenix 50 Bands, 50 States
Best of Rhode Island – Rhode Island Monthly 2007 Awards
