The Soul Rebels brought the Big Easy to the Big Apple on February 6 when the band performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, alongside another New Orleans great Jon Batiste and his band Stay Human.

The eight-piece brass ensemble stepped out as Colbert’s musical guest to warm applause from the audience to kick off the Mardi Gras season. As the stage illuminated in green, gold and purple, The Soul Rebels began their performance with “504.”

The Soul Rebels are not ones to stand idly as they perform, which is a small part of why they recently won the award for Best Brass Band at Best of the Beat in January. In true brass band fashion, the members of Soul Rebels marched up and down the aisles of the audience; as the camera panned to each musician, it seemed as though they were each a part of the crowd. Onlookers clapped and swayed to the rhythm of drums, trumpets, trombones, and sousaphone, as well as a beautiful piano riff by Batiste.

LeBlanc had once said, “the initial point of The Soul Rebels was to put a mainstream spin on brass band music.” Now as Soul Rebels have broken into the late night television realm, the band has certainly made a name for itself beyond its beloved Southern home. The career of The Soul Rebels has been prolific; now, the band is bringing New Orleans brass band music to the rest of the world.