Kermit Ruffins — NOLA Music

Never heard Kermit Ruffins before?

If New Orleans had an official ambassador of good times, it would be Kermit Ruffins. A founding member of the Rebirth Brass Band in 1983, he left to form the Barbecue Swingers — a band that swings like Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and cooks, literally, with Ruffins grilling barbecue on stage at his shows. He played himself on HBO’s Treme, introducing his joyful trumpet and gravelly vocals to a national audience. His long-running Thursday night residency at Vaughan’s Lounge in the Bywater remains one of the essential live experiences in the city.

🎵 Signature Song

“Drop Me Off in New Orleans”

🎬 Screen Moment

HBO’s Treme (as himself)

👑 Live Ritual

Thursday nights at Vaughan’s Lounge

Ruffins doesn’t just play the gig — he feeds it. The on-stage barbecue at his shows isn’t a gimmick; it’s hospitality as an art form, New Orleans-style.

Why We Love Kermit Ruffins

Joy is Ruffins’ musical philosophy, and he preaches it with a trumpet. He’s the clearest living heir to Louis Armstrong in the city — the swinging phrasing, the gravel-and-honey vocals, the sense that the gig is a party and every single person in the room is personally invited. Technically he can hang with anyone; emotionally, nobody out-funs him.

And he never left. While peers chased bigger markets, Ruffins stayed a neighborhood musician who happens to be world-famous — multiple nights a week in local clubs, mentoring younger players, showing up for the community that made him. He’s the living proof that New Orleans music isn’t a museum piece; it’s a community practice, and Kermit Ruffins is its happiest practitioner.

Biography

The Ambassador of Good Times

Kermit Ruffins was born in New Orleans in 1964 and began his musical career as a founding member of the Rebirth Brass Band in the early 1980s. As the band's trumpeter, he helped shape the modern brass band sound that would come to define a generation of New Orleans music.

After leaving Rebirth, Ruffins formed his own band, the Barbecue Swingers, and developed a persona that perfectly encapsulated the joyful, communal spirit of New Orleans music. Playing swing, traditional jazz, and original compositions, the band became one of the most popular live acts in the city.

"I just want to make people happy. Play good music, cook good food, have a good time. That's New Orleans."

— Kermit Ruffins

Ruffins became nationally known through his portrayal of himself in the HBO series Treme, where his character's relationship to music, BBQ, and the city's pleasures was central to the show's portrait of post-Katrina New Orleans. The show introduced his music to a vast new audience.

He remains one of the most active performers in New Orleans, playing multiple nights a week at various clubs around the city. His dedication to performing live in New Orleans — even as he tours — speaks to his deep connection to the community that made him. He is, in many ways, the spirit of the city made musical.