Honey Island Swamp Band formed in San Francisco in 2005, after Aaron Wilkinson (acoustic guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Chris Mulé (electric guitar, vocals) were marooned there following the levee breaches that devastated New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Joined by fellow evacuees Sam Price (bass, vocals) and Garland Paul (drums, vocals), the band took its name from a real swamp that lies near the Louisiana-Mississippi border — an apt fit for a rootsy sound that draws equally from both states, blending blues, soul, country, and R&B with the rhythms of their New Orleans hometown.
The band relocated back to New Orleans in 2007, adding Trevor Brooks on Hammond B-3 organ and keyboards in 2010. Their self-titled debut EP arrived in 2008, followed by full-length albums Wishing Well (2009), Good to You (2010), Cane Sugar (2013), and Demolition Day (2016, released with Ruf Records) — five albums that each earned OffBeat Magazine's Roots Rock Album of the Year award. Two live albums, recorded at Jazz Fest in 2011 and 2012, further cemented the band's reputation as a can't-miss festival act.
Today, Honey Island Swamp Band is led by multi-instrumentalist Aaron Wilkinson alongside guitarist and vocalist Lee Yankee, bassist Sam Price, keyboardist Chris Spies, and drummer and vocalist Garland Paul. Their 2023 album Custom Deluxe, released on Color Red Music, marked the band's 20th anniversary, celebrated with an anniversary tour bringing the record to venues including the Avon Theater. Described by Relix as melding "country, soul, funk and blues flavors" into something decidedly New Orleanian with an Americana twist, the band remains one of the city's most enduring roots acts.
