Photo: Kyle McMahon Media
Trombone Shorty Brings New Orleans Soul to A Capitol Fourth 2025 for July 4th - America's Biggest Party!
There are moments where you can literally feel the energy in the air - like it’s vibrating through the ground, through the crowd, through your bones. And that’s exactly what it felt like when Trombone Shorty took the stage for rehearsals at A Capitol Fourth 2025. Even in rehearsal, he lit up the West Lawn like it was Frenchmen Street. It was truly magical.
Straight from the heart of New Orleans to the nation’s capital, Trombone Shorty (real name: Troy Andrews) delivered a medley that felt like a love letter to the Crescent City - brass, bounce and all. And when I got the chance to chat with him backstage, it became crystal clear: this wasn’t just another gig. This was personal.
“It’s a wonderful moment to represent the great city of New Orleans on a national stage,” he told me, still buzzing from soundcheck. “Hopefully we can make the city proud.”
Mission accomplished!
Photo: Trombone Shorty
The set he'll be performing wasn’t just thrown together - it was curated. Shorty walked me through the choices behind his medley, which included:
• “Hurricane Season” - One of his originals that captures that unmistakable 'second line' spirit.
• “Mardi Gras in New Orleans” - A standard by the legendary Professor Longhair.
• And of course, “When the Saints Go Marching In” - The anthem that turns every show into a full-blown
celebration.
It's like a greatest-hits parade of New Orleans culture blended with his own signature sound that fuses traditional jazz with funk, hip-hop and pure soul.
If you’ve ever wondered how one person can carry so much musical DNA, look no further than his hometown.
“I grew up in the Sixth Ward. Treme - like a musician village,” he said. “Rebirth Brass Band lived around the corner. Kermit Ruffins. My family. The Treme Brass Band. I would go to school in the morning and see jazz funerals, come home and there’d be a second line parade.”
Imagine growing up where music literally fills the streets. Where rhythms come before recess. Where the sound of a sousaphone is just as normal as a car horn. That’s Shorty’s origin story - and it explains everything.
Photo: Trombone Shorty
What makes Trombone Shorty so unique isn’t just the brass or the swagger. It’s the blend. This is a man who grew up listening to Master P and The Hot Boys, working with Cash Money Records, and then shared stages with Bruno Mars, Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, and Dr. John. Try putting that in a genre box. I’ll wait.
“It’s like gumbo,” he said. “Every time I get placed in a situation, I take a little bit and add it to my sound.”
Even better? He’s still learning. Still absorbing. Still treating music like a neighborhood - where each collaboration leaves its mark, and each city adds flavor to the mix.
A Capitol Fourth, But Make It Funky
In a show packed with vocal powerhouses and iconic acts, Trombone Shorty’s set was the moment the party went from amazing to another planet. He didn’t just perform - he transported us. From the streets of Treme to the steps of the Capitol, he brought the full New Orleans experience: horns blazing, spirits lifted, and a groove you could feel in your chest.
Trombone Shorty will be performing on A Capitol Fourth 2025, airing live July 4th on PBS, PBS.org & YouTube at 8pm EST and available on demand through July 18th. Then you can catch him on tour across the United States!
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