UPFRONT/LISTEN
Old Music, New Fans
“Trad bands” keep the prerock era alive
IT’S THE music our parents or grandparents danced to. And yet a new generation is rediscovering classic tunes originally sung by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. The term for contemporary artists playing early 20th century music is “trad band.” Singer Elizabeth Bougerol, whose band the Hot Sardines recently sold out Carnegie Hall, explains the phenomenon.
Why is this music so appealing today?
In a world that feels increasingly anxious, these songs offer a feeling of consistency, of permanence. The classics by George Gershwin or Cole Porter are such well-crafted songs, and something resonates just as much in 2024 as it did in 1984 or 1944. Unrequited love felt the same in those eras as it does today.
How are audiences, older and younger, enjoying your band?
There’s a cross-generational appeal; teens who love us bring their moms and grandmas to a show and vice versa. It’s music a family can bond over. There’s not much music that can do that.
How did the Hot Sardines come to be?
I met a piano player at a jam session I found on Craigslist. We discovered a mutual love for songs from the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s that no one really plays anymore. From there, it was open mics to restaurant gigs to playing in the subway—and eventually Lincoln Center.
What other trad bands would you recommend people listen to?
Catherine Russell is the reigning queen of classic vocal jazz. Her dad was Luis Russell, Louis Armstrong’s musical director. Trumpet player and vocalist Bria Skonberg blurs the lines between traditional jazz and melodic pop in a way that just shimmers. A great new record is Hilary Gardner’s On the Trail With the Lonesome Pines—a fresh take on old-school country tunes and honky-tonk.
—Caitlin Kelly