Malcolm ‘Papa Mali’ Welbourne (born Malcolm Helm Welbourne in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on May 6, 1957) has lived several musical lives: raised in Shreveport, adopted by rastas during a 1977 sojourn to Kingston, Jamaica, frontman of the acclaimed American reggae band the Killer Bees — the first American band to play Reggae Sunsplash, in 1987 — and then, from 2000 on, a swamp-blues and funk bandleader via Thunder Chicken and Do Your Thing. In 2009 he formed 7 Walkers with Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Meters bassist George Porter Jr., and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard, co-writing with the Dead’s lyricist Robert Hunter.
Shantytown Underground brings Mali full circle to reggae — but with a New Orleans twist. The premise is serious musicology: the New Orleans R&B of Fats Domino, Ernie K-Doe, Lee Dorsey, Huey ‘Piano’ Smith, and others fed directly into the birth of Jamaican reggae and rocksteady, and the band plays both repertoires to make the connection audible. The lineup is stacked with players who also work in the Iguanas, the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, and other top outfits, plus vocalist Lynn Drury — and during Jazz Fest, any reggae-loving musician in town might sit in.
Recent years have seen Shantytown Underground play the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and headline marathon late-night sessions — including the early-morning Chickie Wah Wah sets that have become a Jazz Fest-week tradition, and the inaugural Bayou RenDAZEvous at the Broadside. It’s a live band, built for the room: fly the red, gold, black, and green, and dance.
