Tank and the Bangas confirm a three-part spoken word collection—The Heart, The Mind, The Soul—is set for release via Verve Forecast. In celebration, the first installment, The Heart (with James Poyser) is out now. From it, you can check out “A Poem Is” below.
All three parts will be unveiled by August 30, with the full project and bonus tracks set for release October 11. Each installment finds Tank working with a different collaborator—the first part to be released, The Heart, was produced by James Poyser. The Mind pairs her with Iman Omari, followed by The Soul with producer and jazz musician Robert Glasper.
The Heart’s opening track, “A Poem Is,” boasts a feature from Jill Scott—an appearance that directly aligns with Tank’s mission to magnify poetry as a music genre. “I want for poetry to get that much more respect and for even more young people to get into the expression of poetry,” Tank expresses. “I want it to be seen as even more cool again. Poetry has always been my first love because it loved me back, it loved me before music even. now I get to share more of that part of myself with the world, in hopes that you love it to. Everything in this world has its place, the HEART deals with matters of my heart, my relationships with men and the one with myself. The MIND lends itself to the things I think about living as a woman in this world, and the relationships I’ve gone back and forth in my mind about. And the SOUL is a form of subconscious and conscious free flowing poems about myself and the city that raised me.”
The band confirms a slew of tour dates, including a co-headlining tour with Jamila Woods—beginning October 16—and a residency at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club in New York—from November 7-10. Complete list of dates are below and tickets are available to purchase now. Visit the band’s official website for further information.
New Orleans-based Tank and the Bangas rose to prominence in 2017 following their unanimous NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest victory. Bringing their blend of poetry, R&B, gospel, and pop to a worldwide stage, Tank and the Bangas have been praised as one of the “best live bands in America” by NPR Music. In 2019, the band released their major label debut, Green Balloon, on Verve Forecast to widespread critical praise earning the band a Best New Artist nomination at that years Grammy’s. Their latest third studio album, Red Balloon received a nomination for “Best Progressive R&B Album” at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
Throughout their career, the group has performed on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Austin City Limits,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “The Today Show.” They have consistently sold-out venues both stateside and abroad, with festival appearances at Coachella, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo and the Newport Jazz Festival.
Tank and the Bangas are Tarriona “Tank” Ball (lead), Norman Spencer II (Multi-Instrumentalist), CJ Knowles Jr (Drummer), Matthew MSkillz (Bass), Rob Kellner (Keys) and Etienne Stoufflet (Saxophone).
Tank & The Bangas play the following live shows:
July 26—Wiltshire, UK—Womad Festival
July 27—London, UK—Jazz Cafe
July 28—Manchester, UK—The Blues Kitchen
July 31—Leeds, UK—Headrow House
August 2—Bad Winsheim, Germany—Weinturm Open Air
August 3—Katowice, Poland—Off Festival 2024
August 17—Park City, UT—Park City Song Summit
August 30—Napa, CA—Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa 2024
September 15—Fort Collins, CO—Gardens on Spring Creek
September 21—Japan—Blue Note Jazz Festival
October 11—Baton Rouge, LA—Chelsea’s Live
October 16—St. Louis, MO—Delmar Hall*
October 18—Milwaukee, WI—Turner Hall Ballroom*
October 19—Minneapolis, MN—First Avenue*
October 20—New Orleans, LA—NOLA Funk Fest 2024*
October 22—Detroit, MI—The Majestic Theatre*
October 23—Lakewood, OH—The Roxy*
October 25—Columbus, OH—The Athenaeum Theatre*
October 26—Millvale, PA—Mr. Small’s Theatre, Funhouse & Café*
October 27—Baltimore, MD—Rams Head Live!*
October 29—Carrboro, NC—Cat’s Cradle*
October 31—Nashville, TN—Brooklyn Bowl*
November 1—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse*
November 2—New Orleans, LA—The Ritz Carlton
November 7—New York, NY—Blue Note
November 8—New York, NY—Blue Note
November 9—New York, NY—Blue Note
November 10—New York, NY—Blue Note
Pre-order The Heart, The Mind, The Soul.