Allen Toussaint called Flow Tribe “the sound of tomorrow, today” — and the New Orleans six-piece has been earning that endorsement since 2004. They bring their catalog of funk-rock, built from soul, R&B, hip-hop, and Caribbean flavors, to Buffalo Iron Works on Tuesday, August 25, at 8:00 p.m.
About the Show
Flow Tribe’s origin story is inseparable from New Orleans itself. The band first came together as students at Brother Martin High School, jamming after school before life sent members in different directions. Hurricane Katrina changed the calculus. “We wanted to come back and support the community,” frontman K.C. O’Rorke said. “Katrina really made us focus. It made us realize that life is short and brought us all together.” That reunion has since produced a band that headlines the Acura Main Stage at Jazz & Heritage Festival and runs 120-plus shows a year across the country.
Their 2024 album Garden of Earthly Delights, recorded at Downman Studios in New Orleans East, draws in collaborators including keyboardist-singer Ivan Neville, hip-hop duo SaxKixAve, and vocalist Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph. Tracks span New Orleans funk (“Keep Pushing”), Caribbean groove (“Run With You”), and modern soul with trip-hop undertones (“Tore Up”). O’Rorke describes the record as reflecting “that whole journey” of the band’s revival following the pandemic. He has also described the live approach as breaking down the barrier between performers and audience — an instinct he traces back to watching Mardi Gras parades as a kid in New Orleans. The current six-piece (O’Rorke on vocals and trumpet, Evan Oberla on trombone, Scott Sibley on drums, Bryan Santos and Paul Provosty on guitars, and Kyle Chervanik on bass) carries all of it onto the stage.
Mannie Fresh, who produced the 2017 album BOSS, put it plainly: “God’s favorite band.” At 120-plus shows a year, Flow Tribe has logged enough road time to back that claim with something harder than a quote.
Venue & Logistics
Buffalo Iron Works, at 49 Illinois St. in Buffalo, is one of the better live music clubs in western New York. For a band that plays festival main stages, a 500-capacity room is a different kind of night — closer, louder, the trumpet carrying straight across the floor. Show time is 8:00 p.m.; check the Buffalo Iron Works website for door times closer to the date.
Tickets
No ticket price was available from sources at the time of publication. Get Tickets through the venue’s event page.