Omari Neville & The Fuel

New Orleans, Louisiana — drummer Omari Neville, youngest son of Cyril Neville, and his funk-fueled band

Omari Neville & The Fuel brings “another level of Neville” to the stage: a hard-driving, funk-fueled band celebrating the next generation of New Orleans' First Family of Funk. Fronted by drummer Omari Neville — youngest son of Cyril Neville of the Meters and the Neville Brothers — and featuring original Neville Brothers bassist Daryl Johnson, the band blends funk with reggae, punk, soul, and R&B. Cyril himself calls them “the past, present, and future of New Orleans funk.”

Never heard Omari Neville & The Fuel before?

🥁 Frontman

Omari Neville — drums & vocals, youngest son of Cyril Neville

👑 The Lineup

Feat. Daryl Johnson, original Neville Brothers bassist

🎵 Single

“Black Soul Heart of Gold” (2019)

The past, present, and future of New Orleans funk.

— Cyril Neville

Why We Love Omari Neville & The Fuel

The Neville name carries weight in New Orleans — and Omari Neville & The Fuel carry it forward without leaning on it. Omari drums like he grew up inside the groove (he did), and with Daryl Johnson holding down the low end, the band has a direct bloodline to the Neville Brothers' pocket. But the Fuel's blend — funk shot through with reggae, punk, and R&B — is its own thing: young, loud, and joyful. When Cyril joins them on stage, three generations of New Orleans funk are in the room at once.

Biography

The Next Level of Neville

Omari Neville grew up immersed in the richest musical heritage in New Orleans — as the youngest son of Cyril Neville, the Meters and Neville Brothers percussionist and vocalist. He developed his own identity behind the drum kit, and with The Fuel he leads a band his father describes as bringing “another level of Neville” to the stage. The lineup features Daryl Johnson, the original Neville Brothers bassist and one of Cyril's closest friends, alongside longtime bandmates Gregg Moliaro on guitar and Austin Clements on keys — playing together since their early teens.

The Fuel's sound is a hard-driving, funk-fueled celebration flavored with reggae, punk, soul, and R&B — the Neville legacy updated for a new generation. Their 2019 single “Black Soul Heart of Gold” (World Order Entertainment) put the band's name on record, and a debut album, VooDoo, has been announced on the band's official site. In New Orleans they've held down residencies including a January 2020 Wednesday run at the Maple Leaf Bar, and their live show is a soul-stirring dance party in the great Neville tradition.

Being on stage with my son and his band is like being on stage with all three of those entities at the same time, all rolled into one.

— Cyril Neville, on the Meters, the Wild Tchoupitoulas, and the Neville Brothers

Omari regularly tours with his father as Cyril Neville's band — including the Soul Junction Tour with King Youngblood and the “Cyril Neville Plays the Dead” run — while The Fuel continues to fly its own flag at home and on the road. The torch, as the Neville family likes to say, is being carried.