The New Orleans Wildlife Band

While seated next to his fiancé at his engagement party, Grayson Brockamp was about to meet his new brother-in-law, Bailey Hinton. Bailey looked around the room and said "I'd like to sing a song dedicated to the happy couple." Bailey picked up the microphone and belted out a soulful, tear-jerking performance that magically engaged the room. Grayson knew right then that they would be making music together for a long time. It took a second for the communication to flow. Bailey is self-taught and unable to read music. Grayson has a master's degree from Manhattan School of Music. But soon Grayson was reconsidering how he had invested his money as he was blown away by Bailey’s approach to composition, improvisation, and performance. They began playing gigs together and soon went into the studio with a handful of the most talented youngsters in New Orleans to record Grayson’s original music. The New Orleans Wildlife Band was born. Since their first gig in 2016, Grayson Brockamp and the New Orleans Wildlife Band has kept busy in the vibrant music community of New Orleans. They released their self-titled EP under Nicholas Payton’s label Paytone Records in 2017. A year later they independently released their LP entitled “A Dream or a Nightmare.” The band performed at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in the Spring of 2019. The band developed their chemistry while maintaining a weekly residency for over two years at the Marigny Brasserie on Frenchmen Street. They continue to perform and write music with a rotating lineup of the most talented musicians in town. Heavily influenced by the Black American Music they grew up on, their selection of music is informed by the blues, gospel music, and a swinging rhythm. They are comfortable in a variety of musical environments and even in the middle of a song will change the tempo, groove, and mood. They are becoming less interested in the format of a melody followed by instrumental solos and more focused on group improvisation where the form, tempo, groove, and style can all be changed at the drop of a dime. They never play a song the same way twice, making every performance a new musical journey. Most recently, the band signed with Ropeadope Records and they will re-release their album "A Dream Or A Nightmare" on April 3, 2020. They are also busy working on new music for a second release in 2021.