​

TR Soggy Po Boys 101725
Soggy Po Boys will bring the sounds of New Orleans to UUCB’s Concerts for a Cause on Oct. 18. (Courtesy of UUCB)

New Hampshire-based Soggy Po Boys will bring the musical traditions of New Orleans to the Concerts for a Cause stage at Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick on Saturday, Oct. 18, to raise money for for Oasis Free Clinics and the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project.

With a contemporary New Orleans sound, this young octet plays traditional New Orleans jazz, the kind with fluttering clarinet solos and swingin’ shout-along choruses, and playful bursts of brass. But because New Orleans is the northernmost Caribbean city, they’ve also got the soul, the spirit and the swing of street-parade chants, classic blues, Meters funk, rocking rumbas and even calypso. Suffice it to say, the music is hot and driving when it’s fast, and sultry when it’s slow.

Concert-goers will also hear the heavy influence of the New Orleans sound in the Soggy Po Boys’ original tunes. The main thing the band aims for is accessibility with their music.

“Whether or not you know the tune ahead of time, by the time we’re done playing it four minutes later, the melodies are the kind of thing you can walk away whistling,” soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Eric Klaxton said in a prepared release.

In addition to Klaxton, the group includes Shaina Schwartz, vocals; Jim Dozet, vocals and guitar; Nick Mainella, tenor saxophone; Josh Gagnon, trombone; Mike Effenberger, piano; Scott Kiefner, bass; and Brian Waterhouse, drums.

Soggy Po Boys have produced five CDs and have quickly become an institution. They are spreading the good news of New Orleans music across the northeast and beyond, playing at concert halls and street corners, music festivals and burlesque festivals, bars and libraries — wherever the party requires. Part of the beauty of New Orleans music is that it’s celebrated and appreciated wherever it goes, from the street to the theater.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door and $10 for students/children, and are available at the church office (729-8515), Gulf of Maine Books or online at ticketstripe.com/soggypo.