Live Jazz in Washington, D.C.

Led by singer-poet Tarriona “Tank” Ball, New Orleans-based fusion band Tank and the Bangas seamlessly blends pieces of R&B, funk, jazz, hip-hop and spoken. Their musical range is incredibly diverse, bouncing between playful synthesized dance beats, dreamy lo-fi jazz instrumentals, funky horn breaks and stripped down slam poetry tracks. Ball’s vocals are the core of each song, delivering a mixture of powerful, theatrical vocal runs, vulnerable soul ballads and deeply expressive lyricism that ruminates on themes of culture, love, growth, self-worth and social issues. Here they perform tracks from their new album, The Last Balloon, which was released in May. Opening acts include several D.C.-based music acts: vocalist Cecily, hip-hop artist Akinola Pedro, Amuche The Poet and Pi-Anir the Poet