Tank and the Bangas is an American musical group based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band won the 2017 NPR Tiny Desk Contest, and in November 2019, they were nominated in the Best New Artist category for the 2020 Grammy Awards. They have released three studio albums, Thinktank (2013) and Green Balloon (2019), and Red Balloon (2022). They are a band that fuses hip hop, funk, pop, soul, etc. Their music is of wide variety and I personally believe that they have a great sound for a band that does not have that many albums out.
NPR Tiny Desk Concert
Naming Tank and the Bangas the 2017 winner of NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest for their song “Quick”, NPR co-host of All Songs Considered Bob Boilen, “What won me over about the band’s performance of ‘Quick’ were the interactions among lead singer Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball and her bandmates, and the way they seemed to surprise one another. It all felt so organic and on-the-spot.” Juror Trey Anastasio of Phish said, “I immediately loved this…Tank is a force of nature full of joy—and her band is killing in the background.”The story of the evolution of Tank’s voice was covered in an episode of NPR’s World Cafe show for essential and emerging artists. This tiny desk concert introduced me to the band. They were lively and full of life. The concert garnered over 13 Million views and that led them to be able to go on tour and create more music. As stated before they just released a new album and it is personally one of my favorites as it showcases all the aspects of black culture including spoken word.
Current Members
Tarriona “Tank” Ball – lead vocals (2011–present)
Joshua Johnson – drums, musical director (2011–present)
Norman Spence II – bass, keyboards, guitar (2011–present)
Albert Allenback – alto saxophone, flute (2016–present)
