“Tell people a little bit about Congo Square, about social aid and pleasure clubs, about Mardi Gras Indians, and do a tie-in to the music.” That’s HBO Treme actor Wendell Pierce‘s thought behind “A Night in the Treme,” the concert tour he narrates, which features a variety of New Orleans artists, many of whom have made cameo appearances on the show. Different stops on the tour feature different artists, including the Rebirth Brass Band; Donald Harrison, Jr.; Kermit Ruffins; Dr. Michael White; Christian Scott; Cyril Neville; James Andrews; Glen David Andrews; the Soul Rebels; Big Sam Williams; and Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk.

The tour began on June 10 in the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, and has since performed in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Writer Jay Sacher drew up a description of the night in San Francisco, saying:

The music was good. Better than good. Fantastic. Full of energy and swing…The Rebirth Brass Band ruled the second half. And then they invited the ladies on the stage…Suddenly, festive Mardi Gras umbrellas sprung up and bobbed along to the music.

Before the Chicago stop, Howard Reich previewed the show in the Chicago Tribune, writing: “These musicians represent both New Orleans modernism and tradition, their music as fresh as today’s headlines but also steeped in historical musical rituals.”

In Mike Joyce’s review of the Washington, D.C. stop in the Washington Post, he wrote, “The performance delighted and nearly deafened a capacity crowd with a series of blasts from the vast wealth of music that has poured out of the Crescent City for ages.”

He goes on to describe Dr. Michael White’s “Elegant phrasing during ‘St. James Infirmary’” and how the “Rebirth Brass Band won over the audience with the force of their exuberant personalities during individual showcases and collective romps.” Joyce concludes his review saying that “Near the end of the show…the ushers stood like disciplined sentinels amid the frenzy until one of them, a middle-aged woman, suddenly broke ranks and busted loose, nearly dancing her shoes off for a brief moment. In an evening filled with huge ovations, she may well have received the biggest of them all.”

Here is a list of future tour dates and cities:

JUNE

6/23 – Brooklyn, NY

6/23 – New York, NY

6/24 – New York, NY

6/25 – New York, NY

6/26 – Saratoga Springs, NY

SEPTEMBER

9/17 – Monterey, CA

OCTOBER

10/22 – Atlanta, GA

NOVEMBER

11/11 – Ann Arbor, MI

For more tour information visit TremeOnTour.com.

–Eli Gay