Happy Birthday, Pops! with the Southside Aces
Southside Aces Celebrate Louis Armstrong
This year we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the birth of Louis Armstrong! Join Southside Aces as they pay tribute to their New Orleans roots with a special birthday edition of the Crescent City’s most famous son. During his nearly fifty-year recording career, Louis charted in the Top Twenty over 50 times. Southside Aces will perform his everlasting hits in this special show, including songs off their July 16th vinyl release, The Big Beat. Come celebrate the genius and ebullience of the man who changed music forever.
Tony Balluff: Clarinet
Dan Eikmeier: Trumpet, Vocals
Eric Johnson: Trombone
Erik Jacobson: Sousaphone
Robert Bell: Guitar
Dave Michael: Drums
Southside Aces are a Twin Cities institution. For twenty-three years they’ve brought to life the early New Orleans of Jelly Roll Morton, the Chicago joys of Louis Armstrong, the evocative compositions of the young Duke Ellington, on up to the barrel house sounds of Preservation Hall and the early rock and roll of Fats Domino. Their belief in the contemporary vitality of New Orleans music led to the 2022 release of their eighth album, Minneapolis Bump, adding fifteen originals to the jazz canon. 2026 has seen the release of two more albums: Les Oignons, the band’s spotlight on the music of Sidney Bechet, and The Big Beat, their first on vinyl, and the album you most want to spin at your next New Orleans party. Treat yourself to a century’s worth of New Orleans Jazz.