Trombone Shorty with Orleans Avenue
Opener: Tank and The Bangas
June 16, 2026
Evans Amphitheatre at Cain Park (Cleveland Heights, OH)

By Rob McCune

For one night, the historic streetcar suburb of Cleveland Heights in northeast Ohio got down and funky French Quarter-style.

New Orleans originals Trombone Shorty (with Orleans Avenue) and Tank and the Bangas kicked off the summer concert series at Evans Amphitheatre at Cain Park.

Tank and the Bangas, led by Tarriona “Tank” Ball, warmed up the crowd on a hot August night, briefly doused in a downpour toward the end of their set. The band, which formed in 2011 and gained some notoriety with a 2017 performance for NPR’s Tiny Desk and a 2020 Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist, is touring a new album, “The Last Balloon.” Its their fourth studio record, following the debut “Thinktank” and then 2019’s “Green Balloon” and 2022’s “Red Balloon.”

Tank’s style – a mix of funk, soul, hip hop, rock, and spoken word – is truly original and joyfully infectious. It feels organic, created on the spot, like a conversation with the crowd that couldn’t be exactly the same every night. The big-jazz-band sound and background vocals add flair and finesse, but it’s Tank and her big hair, bigger smile, and sparkling personality that drives this train.

Taking that energy to an even higher level, headliner Trombone Shorty (aka Troy Andrews) burst onto the stage, backed by the band Orleans Avenue, and brought the house down. Shorty has a stage presence like Usher, but with a trombone (or two). He rarely stops moving, dancing, working the crowd, and all the while spotlighting the musicians he shares the stage with. Hoisting his brass in the air, he lit a fire in this outdoor arena that raged for the full set and then some.

Fusing rock, hip hop, jazz and funk, his on-stage entourage features a pair of sassy backup singers, drums, guitar and saxophone. Not even the gray-haired contingent in the crowd could resist clapping along to “booty claps” and jams that felt improvisational, though perfected. He brought “Hurricane Season” and “Fire and Brimstone” on a night not to be forgotten soon.

Trombone Shorty’s can’t-miss tour continues through the summer with support from the likes of Ziggy Marley, Larkin Poe and St. Paul & The Broken Bones.

Follow Rob McCune on Instagram (@Every_Thing_After_Photo) and listen to the “Every.Thing.After Podcast” on Spotify.

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