The Royal Roses
“The exuberance of the Royal Roses makes these traditional songs sound contemporary. Nealand’s voice and instrumental playing is at once distinctly beautiful and fierce, inventive and traditional. Supported by a uniquely talented band of musicians, Aurora Nealand and The Royal Roses play these traditional songs with the meaning, energy, relevance and creativity that timeless music such as this possesses.”
The Royal Roses grew out of the rich resurgence that traditional jazz is seeing in New Orleans amongst the younger generation of musicians today. Saxophonist/vocalist Aurora Nealand has been playing in various groups in New Orleans since 2005, and the Royal Roses, founded in 2010, is her first venture as a bandleader. The Royal Roses draw their repertoire heavily from Sidney Bechet, Django Reinhart and traditional jazz of New Orleans. Comprised of some of the finest young players on the New Orleans music scene today, the Royal Roses are seeking to breath new energy, arrangements and compositions into this genre of music while exploring and learning from its rich history and tradition. They‘ve performed in New Orleans at the French Quarter Festival, Satchmo Festival and Preservation Hall, as well as in NYC at Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival. Their first album “A Tribute to Sydney Bechet: Live at Preservation Hall” was released in 2011 to national acclaim. Current members are: Aurora Nealand (vocals/saxophone), David Boswell (trumpet), Matt Bell (vocals/guitar), Bill Machow (piano), Josh Gouzy (bass), Nathan Lambertson (bass) and Paul Thibodeaux (drums).