About the band

  • Upcoming Shows

    • Jan 18: Brooklyn

  • Connect

    • Do you have an idea or event in mind that requires What Cheer? Contact us at [email protected].


     

    The What Cheer? Brigade is a 20-piece brass band from Providence, RI, USA. We prove that great parties need no electricity.

    “Thrillingly competent, with undimmable energy…an explosion of good cheer.”
    -The New York Times
     
    “They never actually took a stage, but Providence, RI’s What Cheer? dominated the Newport Folk Fest like a headliner.”
    -SPIN
      Since 2005, the band has been 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), offering mobile moments of intense revelry.

    Awards:

    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

    Chattman1Photograph by Chattman Photography