TANK AND THE BANGAS
\nFor Tank and the Bangas, music is a vessel for unbridled joy and transcendent connection\u2014forces as integral to their essence as their wildly original sound. On their new album The Last Balloon, the New Orleans-bred outfit channel those impulses into something celebratory yet profoundly human, exploring themes of frustration, resilience, and self-realization with equal parts raw emotionality and playful exuberance. A shapeshifting collective helmed by lead singer Tarriona \u201cTank\u201d Ball and multi-instrumentalist Norman Spence II, the globally beloved group completed the LP after winning a GRAMMY for 2024\u2019s spoken-word powerhouse The Heart, The Mind, The Soul, moving from incendiary poetry to a euphoric collision of soul and hip-hop and forward-thinking R&B. As the final installment in a trilogy of albums that began with 2019\u2019s Green Balloon (a critical triumph that earned them a GRAMMY nomination for Best New Artist), The Last Balloon ultimately solidifies Tank and the Bangas\u2019 legacy as one of modern music\u2019s most steadfast voices of sublime exhilaration.<\/p>\n
Executive-produced by their frequent collaborator Austin Brown (Jamila Woods, Masego), The Last Balloon offers up a suite of songs designed to thrive in Tank and the Bangas\u2019 rapturous live set, where unified movement becomes crucial to the show itself. \u201cWe\u2019re known for a very interactive experience, so I wanted to get the fans more involved and have even more fun with the crowd,\u201d says Ball. \u201cThere\u2019s lots of gang vocals, handclaps, all these intentional moments to let everyone know, \u2018This is my part, but your part\u2019s coming up next\u2014so get ready.\u2019\u201d A highly collaborative band whose past work has featured luminaries like Big Freedia, Questlove, and Jill Scott, Tank and the Bangas created The Last Balloon with the help of Iman Omari (a multifaceted musician who\u2019s worked with Kendrick Lamar and Mac Miller), pianist\/producer Tane Runo (Brittany Howard, JID), esteemed soul singers Ledisi and Jelly Joseph, and many more. The result: a party-ready extravaganza that provides both ecstatic catharsis and communal elevation.<\/p>\n
ARIEL J.
\nAriel J. is an artist and former church musician born and raised in Mississippi, whose music blends poetic storytelling, soulful melodies, and forward-thinking production to create a sound that teels both timeless and futuristic. She began singing and learning instruments as a child and started to perform at the age of five. At seventeen, Ariel began writing songs and teaching herself to engineer her own music.<\/p>\n
Rooted in R&B yet unbound by genre, her work explores themes of resilience, human connection, and wonder in the face of rapid technological and cultural change. With every release, Ariel J. seeks to spark reflection and empowerment, inviting listeners into a world where creativity, truth, and hope lead the way. More than just music, Ariel J\u2019s mission is to remind people of their own power to imagine, build, and sustain a better future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TANK AND THE BANGAS For Tank and the Bangas, music is a vessel for unbridled joy and transcendent connection\u2014forces as integral to their essence as their wildly original sound. On […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":91829,"template":"","meta":{"_tribe_events_status":"","_tribe_events_status_reason":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"tribe_events_cat":[],"class_list":["post-91822","tribe_events","type-tribe_events","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n