Stilt walkers, acrobats and a 12-member band all collaborate to become MarchFourth.
The group performed for the first time at Be Here Now on Sept. 9.
The American band originated from Portland, Oregon, 13 years ago. They have the style of a traditional marching band and a circus performance. However, instead of parading around the streets, they perform across the country.
MarchFourth plays a mixture of uplifting New Orleans funk, rock, jazz, gypsy brass and afrobeat.
“We write our own stuff and we smash up some genres,” said John Averill, the band leader and bass player. “Our songs don’t sound the same ... there’s a lot of colors in the music we are playing.”
The band used to be about the performers and not the music, because Averill considered the band only OK when they first started. He knew a few people who could walk on stilts and wanted people to come see MarchFourth based on visual elements.
They've come a long way since then.
“[The band is] really good, it stands on its own,” Averill said.
The group now features more musicians than performers. The performance is a “high-energy dance party with colorful shenanigans,” as Averill put it.
MAGIC NUMBER, the band's first studio album, will be released Sept. 30.
"The production level is higher [than before],” Averill said. “We have harmonica on this one, other sonic textural things that we haven’t done live before.”
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