In the winter of 2012, a group of five Howard University music students set up a 5-piece brass band outside DuPont Circle metro station, busking to raise extra money to cover their tuition costs. Fast forward 6 years, and DuPont Brass–now an 8-piece ensemble with keys, drums and vocals–played a sold-out show at the Songbyrd Music House & Record Café just a few weeks ago.
Songbyrd’s standing-room-only basement space or“byrd cage” was quickly packed with a diverse audience, who seemed as excited as I was to hear DuPont Brass’ eclectic mix of jazz, hip-hop, soul and R&B (their January 2018 release is aptly named Eclectic Soul). Slightly spilling over the stage, the band started their set with fun, jazzy renditions of popular hip-hop and R&B tracks like Kanye West’s We Major and Slow Jamz, Girls Girls Girls by Jay-Z, and I Love Music, originally a 70’s hit by the O’Jays.
A few original tracks were slipped in here and there, but these seemed to elicit a less enthusiastic reaction from the crowd. I could see why: while individually, the band members are extremely talented (who knew that trumpeter Jared “MK Zulu” Bailey would in one breath spit a powerful rap verse and in another kill a screeching trumpet solo), as a band, their original compositions needed a bit more polishing in my opinion. And stripping down the trumpets to let the keys, tuba and guitar shine through a few times could have given the set more flavour. Only towards the end did we get a glimpse of magic from the band’s guitarist, Deante Haggerty-Willis, hidden at the back of the stage for most of the show. Nevertheless, DuPont Brass throw a pretty damn good party. I’m looking forward to hearing more of their original work soon–they release a new EP, ‘Halftime’, at Pearl Street Warehouse on October 5.
All in all, DuPont Brass’ sold-out show at Songbyrd was a heartwarming testament to how far the band has come, especially at a time when DC’s City Council is considering legislation to regulate amplified noise in public spaces. The controversial bill reflects a growing tension between a new DC being ushered in by rapid gentrification, and an old DC struggling to preserve its character and voice. For the district’s budding musicians, the bill is seen as a real threat to their livelihood and creativity. Should it pass, stories like that of DuPont Brass are likely to be fewer and far between.