The results are in, and MTA straphangers have selected Brass Queens as their favorite subway performer.
Brass Queens, which describes itself as a “New Orleans-inspired brass band with all-female horns hailing from Brooklyn” on Instagram, was announced as the winner of the inaugural Riders’ Choice Award on Thursday, securing a coveted recording session with Atlantic Records.
“We’re super excited, we’re shocked honestly. We thought it would be a long shot for us to win, because we had such great competition,” said Alex Harris, a trumpet player for Brass Queens, in an interview with amNewYork Metro. “But we really reached into our network and our fanbase, and they pulled through for us.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she can “guarantee” Brass Queens’ victory would “propel them to stardom and famedom” before introducing the band for a brief performance under the blazing sun in Times Square on Thursday.
The eight-piece, all-women jazz-funk outfit, featuring players on trumpet, saxophone, trombone, tuba, and drums, beat the eclectic Latin fusion band Afro Dominicano and funky saxophonist Augie Bello in the finals of the contest, which was announced earlier this month. More than 55,000 ballots were cast, and Brass Queens won 55.7% of the vote, according to the governor’s office.
All of the contenders were part of the newest class of 24 acts in the Music Under New York (MUNY) program. While anyone can legally perform in the subway system, the 350 members of MUNY are afforded special privileges, like performing under an official MTA banner and first dibs on some of the transit system’s most coveted performance spots.
“The Music Under New York program allows us the opportunity to play eye-to-eye with the people of New York City,” the band said in a video profile for the contest. “We’ve played venues like Blue Note and Brooklyn Bowl, and it doesn’t measure up to the experience you get when you’re on the ground with your people.”
The group put out an EP, “Royal St.,” in 2021, which was likened in a review to another Brooklyn funk outfit, the late Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. The band is also putting out a full-length album, Black & Gold, later this year, and will debut two new singles from the upcoming LP on Aug. 4 at Brooklyn Bowl.
The band formed in 2019 from the remnants of another brass band, when Harris and saxophonist Ally Chapel noticed the dearth of all-women outfits in the brass band space.
“There were just some great women musicians in that band, we felt there was really an opportunity to carve out something new,” Harris said. “We hadn’t seen any other all-female brass bands in the city. So we decided to take it upon ourselves to create that space.”
The results of the contest vindicate that vision, Harris noted.
“If you look at the people we were up against, they were all men,” she said. “So I think it says that maybe people want to see more female representation out there, with musicians, with the music they’re going to see, with the musicians in the subway. You don’t see that very often, especially a full band of women, so it’s kind of refreshing.”
The band performs all over the subway system but considers the area around Prospect Park as home base; they’d previously performed unofficially in the subway but, Harris said, that was a difficult undertaking with the band’s size.
None of the members are from New Orleans, but they visit every year to perform, see shows, and “study” the Big Easy’s native music scene. Harris cited New Orleans brass bands like Young Fellaz, Big 6, and Soul Rebels as inspirations, but none have had a greater influence on Brass Queens’ sound than funky Louisiana institution Rebirth.
The band plans to use its six-hour recording session at Atlantic to pursue some new original material, Harris noted.
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