Hot 8 Brass Band opens Music at Miller Park season June 20

Hot 8 Brass Band will headline the first Music at Miller Park concert of the summer on June 20 in Omaha’s Miller Park. The free show brings the New Orleans brass band’s nearly 30-year history, Grammy recognition and high-energy sound to a North Omaha tradition built around live music and community.

Why it matters: - Music at Miller Park has become a North Omaha summer tradition that celebrates live music, community and the neighborhood’s jazz, soul and R&B roots. - Hot 8 Brass Band’s appearance adds a nationally known New Orleans group to the free series as it enters its sixth year. - The concert is free and open to the public, broadening access to a major live-music event in Omaha.

What happened: - Hot 8 Brass Band will headline the first Music at Miller Park concert of the summer on Saturday, June 20. - The performance is set for Miller Park in Omaha. - The band brings nearly 30 years of music, history and energy to the outdoor concert series. - Trumpet player and lead vocalist Alvarez Huntley said New Orleans-style music will come to Omaha for the night.

The details: - Hot 8 Brass Band formed in 1996, when sousaphone player Bennie Pete merged two former Fortier High School student groups, the High Steppers and Looney Tunes Brass Bands. - The band started with traditional New Orleans brass band music and later blended funk, R&B, hip-hop, rap, chants and bounce. - The group has built an international following and continues to stay rooted in New Orleans. - Hot 8’s catalog includes original songs and reinvented covers, some with millions of streams on Spotify. - The band won album of the year at the Grammy Awards in 2022 for Jon Batiste’s “We Are.” - Hot 8 also received a Grammy nomination in 2014. - The band has faced major losses over the years, including members lost to violence and illness. - Hurricane Katrina scattered the band and its community. - Pete died in 2021 from complications of COVID-19 and sarcoidosis. - Hot 8’s 2025 album and single, “Big Tuba,” honor Pete. - Huntley said the show will feature live horns, live vocals and strong crowd participation. - The band’s lineup includes Tyrus “T.” Chapman on trombone and vocals, Larry “Big World” Brown on trombone and vocals, Chris Cotton on trumpet, Andrew Calhoun on tenor saxophone, Andrew Perronne on sousaphone, Greshiren Britton on snare and Darrayl McGowan on bass drum. - Music at Miller Park information is available at more information.

Between the lines: - Hot 8’s set is likely to mix celebration and remembrance, since the band’s music is tied to both party energy and the loss of key members. - Huntley framed the Omaha date as an honor and said the group plans to make the June 20 performance special. - The band’s early call for audience participation suggests the concert will be designed to get the crowd involved quickly. - The combination of a free outdoor concert and a nationally recognized brass band could help draw a broad North Omaha audience.

What’s next: - Hot 8 Brass Band is expected to bring its New Orleans sound to Omaha on June 20. - Music at Miller Park will continue its summer concert series after the season opener. - Omaha residents and surrounding communities can attend without a ticket.

The bottom line: - Hot 8 Brass Band’s Miller Park debut is both a celebration of New Orleans brass-band culture and a tribute to the people who built the group.