[Cover photo credit to Rachel Brennecke]
Two-time Grammy-nominated New Orleans-based, Afro-Indigenous Funk collective Cha Wa has announced the release of their new album, Rise Up, out on August 29, 2025, the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Following up 2021’s Grammy-nominated My People, the band’s upcoming fourth album features original R&B Funk anthems geared toward accessibility. Alongside the announcement of the album, Cha Wa have shared lead single “Here We Come,”whose title is the English translation of “Cha Wa” in Mardi Gras Indian slang.
Musical director and drummer Joe Gelini explains:
This song was written to pay homage to the citizens of New Orleans, particularly the Mardi Gras Indian Tribes and Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs that organize Second Line Parades, and the renowned High School Marching Bands that practice in the back streets across the city. We aimed to create a blend of the infectious, syncopated rhythms of the Mardi Gras Indian tambourine players with the marching band sousaphones. It’s a groove that makes you want to tap your feet, bob your head, and have a look on your face like you smelled something funky. The vocals are dominated by the legendary Spyboy Honey Banister’s rhymed lyrics, recounting the story of masking Indians for fifty years. Spitting this much fire, we believe he’ll continue to tell the story of his ancestors with bravado for another fifty years.
Rise Up “centers around themes of rebirth and freedom, and reflects both Mardi Gras Indian culture and the rich New Orleanian culture that fostered it.” This album tells “real stories of New Orleans and its people”, which range from “social justice movements to personal journeys of freedom.”
Beyond its cultural significance, the album features an array of collaborators including guest appearances by “The Soul Queen of New Orleans” Irma Thomas, John Boutte’ (HBO’s Treme’), and guest keyboards by Roger Joseph Manning (Beck, Jay-Z), as well as songwriting led by founding musical director and drummer Joe Gelini. The album was produced, mixed and mastered by Dave Trumfio (Wilco, Jesus and Mary Chain, My Morning Jacket, Built to Spill).
Tour Dates:
July 24 – Floyd, VA – FloydFest
July 26 – Macon, GA – Bragg Jam Concert Crawl
July 30 – Reno, NV – Artown 2025
July 31 – Phoenix, AZ – Musical Instrument Museum
August 3 – Kaslo, BC – Kaslo Jazz Festival
