Nation Beat’s live shows have taken on an almost mythological aura for their ability to lift the souls, and the feet, of their growing cross-cultural audience. Bandleader, drummer/percussionist Scott Kettner has long been at the forefront of merging different musical elements together, from the earliest days of Nation Beat’s Brazil meets North American music.

In 2017, Scott connected with arranger Paul Carlon (tenor sax) and the band entered a new phase in their cross-cultural explorations where brass band and percussion explode in a jazz-infused, funkified New Orleans-meets-Brazil carnival sound.