National Folk Festival: With Treme Brass Band, get in on the parade

Get your dancing shoes on, the National Folk Festival will be here in only a matter of days.

The National Folk Festival will be in downtown Salisbury for the first time from Septe. 7-9. The free event will bring more than 350 musicians, artists and craftsman to the city and will run yearly through 2020. 

The first day of the festival opens with the Tremé Brass Band, a New Orleans brass band. The band will perform and then follow the performance with a parade. Like many New Orleans brass bands, guests could expect the parade to become more of  a second line. 

But, what is a second line? And how do you get involved? 

Who is the Tremé Brass Band?

The Tremé Brass Band is led by well-known New Orleans drummer, Benny Jones Sr., who has been parading for almost 60 years, according to the National Folk Festival website. 

"The origins of the Cresent City’s brass bands are linked to 19th-century military bands. New Orleans musicians took these instruments and created a new, looser, less regimented music, combining African rhythms and polyphony with European forms to produce the earliest jazz. The rise of benevolent societies (later known as “social aid and pleasure clubs”) that assisted dues-paying members with funeral expenses and the like helped to maintain and support brass band activities," the website states. 

Benny Jones Sr. was a founding member of the seminal Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and later formed the Tremé Brass Band about 25 years ago, according to the website. 

The band is known around the world for its recordings and tours and its appearance in Spike Lee’s Hurricane Katrina documentary, "When the Levee Breaks." However, the group keeps New Orleans roots through social aid and pleasure club parades, Mardi Gras Indian gatherings, jazz funerals and packed local performances, according to the website. 

When is the parade?

The band will perform on Friday, Sept. 7, from 6-6:45 p.m. on the City Stage and follow it up with a parade from 6:45-7:15 p.m. to the PRMC Stage. 

What is a second line?

According to FrenchQuarter.com, second line parades are a spinoff of New Orleans jazz funerals without the typical funeral elements, however, the parades hold many of the same traditions.

"There are dozens of different second line parades put on throughout the year, usually on Sunday afternoons, and held in the (city's) French Quarter and neighborhoods all across the city," the website states. 

The parades range in size, level of organization and traditions, according to FrenchQuarter.com. However, common ingredients are a brass band, dancing in the street and members wearing colorful suits, sashes, hats, parasols and banners.

"The parades are not tied to any particular event, holiday or commemoration; rather, they are generally held for their own sake and to let the good times roll," the website states. 

How do I participate?

Just jump on in. 

The term "second line" refers to the crowd joining behind the "first line," meaning those who are hosting the the event, according to the website. Joining in behind typically involves singing and dancing along with the music. 

"Second lining can also refer to the type of dancing that usually goes on at these parades — a wild, strutting dance step to carry participants forward in pace with the brass band — so one can go to a second line, be in a second line and do the second line all at once," the website states. 

Background:National Folk Festival to drive change for Salisbury

Be prepared:National Folk Festival 2018: What you need to know for Salisbury's big show

Video:WATCH: What to pack for the National Folk Festival in Salisbury

Food:National Folk Festival: Where to eat on the festival grounds