The Walrus bills itself as “A New Orleans Beatles Experience,” and the emphasis falls on the second half of that phrase. There are no wigs, no fake accents, no costumes — just four players drawn from the working bands of the New Orleans scene, performing some of the best songs ever written purely for the love of the music. Their renditions are faithful to the Beatles’ originals but carry the group’s own flair, the way only four seasoned New Orleans players could manage.
The lineup: Jonathan Pretus (vocals, rhythm guitar, drums) of Cowboy Mouth and The Breton Sound — he also co-hosts the Ranking The Beatles podcast; David Pomerleau (vocals, bass) and Andre Bohren (drums, keys, vocals), the rhythm section of Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes and The Desert Nudes, going on 25 years together; and Felix Wohlleben (lead guitar, vocals) of the Jenn Howard Band and Noggin, who covers George Harrison’s classic lead parts. Pretus and Pomerleau share lead vocal duties, and Bohren’s party trick is playing keys and drums at the same time — as on “Don’t Let Me Down,” a trick the Beatles never had to pull off live.
The band began in 2009 as an occasional side project and picked up steam during the COVID-19 pandemic, when socially distant porch concerts were the only outlet for live music in New Orleans — a band that once played a handful of shows a year started playing several a month. Their debut album, Elysian Fields Forever, released September 25, 2026, runs 12 Beatles classics through the city’s traditions: “I’ve Got A Feeling” moves from a cold London rooftop to the funk grooves of The Meters and James Brown; “The Inner Light” becomes a Bollywood-meets-second-line groove with psychedelic electric banjo and tablas from Mike Dillon; “This Boy” gets a Fats Domino treatment, recorded and mixed in mono like an old 45. Guests include Papa Mali, Debbie Davis, Arsene Delay, Jason Mingledorff, Travis Blotsky, Greg Hicks, and Kyle Melancon of Dash Rip Rock. Made with support from the Threadhead Cultural Foundation, the record is out on limited Mardi Gras splatter vinyl (200 copies), black vinyl, CD, and streaming.
Coming up: October 11 at the New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market with Electric Yat Quartet, and November 20 at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, where The Walrus plays the Beatles’ Revolver start to finish — already sold out.
