By: Megan Braden-Perry

The place to be last night was The 12 Bar on Fulton (608 Fulton St., 212-6476; www.12barnola.com), jamming to not one, two, three or four, but five of New Orleans’ most well-known brass bands: Baby Boyz, Free Agents, Hot 8, To Be Continued and The Pinettes. Proceeds from the event benefited John and Lisa Grillot’s Trumpets NOT Guns (www.trumpetsnotguns.com), a non-profit heartily supported by Glen David Andrews whose surprise performance wowed the crowd.

InthekNOwla.com artfully planned every aspect of the event and though it was a full house, all the lines moved quickly and you never felt too closed in. That’s amazing at events with just one brass band! And with such friendly event volunteers, you couldn’t help but try your luck at one of the raffles from Varion Laurent, Ayo Scott, Peaches Records, Louisiana Music Factory, Olive Branch Cafe, Magnolia Makeup, or Sun Ray Bar and Grill.

Definition DJ Chris Stylez and host Tony Frederick kept the crowd live between sets, Haydel’s king cake kept the crowd munching, and NOLA Brewing beer, Old New Orleans Rum cocktails, and Purple Monkey handkerchiefs kept the crowd dancing.

If you missed this, you should definitely sign up for InthekNOwla.com‘s newsletter and like Trumpets NOT Guns on Facebook.