Dumpstaphunk

Never heard Dumpstaphunk before?

Dumpstaphunk took the Neville family funk legacy and made it heavier. Formed in 2003 by Ivan Neville — son of Aaron, nephew of Art and Cyril — and bassist Tony Hall, the band honors the deep Meters and Neville Brothers tradition while pushing it through a rock band’s intensity. At full strength they deploy two bass guitars and two drummers: a wall of groove with no equivalent anywhere else.

🎵 Statement

“Dirty Word” (2016)

🎬 Breakthrough

“Where Do We Go from Here” (2012)

👑 Latest

“Where I Need to Be” (2022)

Ivan Neville grew up inside the music — he’s Neville royalty twice over. But Dumpstaphunk isn’t a nostalgia act; it’s the next chapter of the family business, written louder.

Why We Love Dumpstaphunk

The weight of it. Two basses, two drummers, and a groove that hits like weather — Dumpstaphunk plays funk as a physical force. But underneath the muscle is real lineage: every vamp connects back to the Meters, to the Neville Brothers, to the second line.

They’re the clearest link between classic New Orleans funk and where it’s going. Festival crowds know: when Dumpstaphunk takes the stage, dancing isn’t optional. They take the inheritance seriously — as culture, as craft, and as a damn good time.

Biography

Heavy Funk from the Next Generation

Dumpstaphunk was formed in New Orleans in 2003, bringing together Ivan Neville (son of Aaron Neville, nephew of Art and Cyril Neville of the Meters and Neville Brothers) and bassist Tony Hall in an ensemble that honored the deep funk tradition of their musical family while finding a heavier, more rock-inflected sound.

The band features two bass guitars and two drummers at full strength, creating a sonic density that is unique in the New Orleans scene. Their approach draws on the Meters, Parliament-Funkadelic, and the broader tradition of New Orleans rhythm, but filtered through the energy of a rock band.

"Funk is a New Orleans thing, a Black thing, a human thing. We just play it as heavy as we can."

— Ivan Neville, Dumpstaphunk

They have become a festival staple, their performances at Jazz Fest and other major events building a devoted following who come for the relentless groove. Their recordings capture some of their energy, though like all the great New Orleans funk bands, they are best experienced live.

Dumpstaphunk are one of the clearest links between the classic New Orleans funk tradition and its contemporary evolution — a band that takes the music seriously as both a cultural inheritance and a living, developing art form.