OffBeat

Cha Wa Keyboardist Stephen Malinowski Passes Away at 25

New Orleans-based keyboard player Stephen Malinowski died over the weekend. According to Live for Live Music, he was 25 years old and would have turned 26 on June 23. Malinowki, a New York State ...
Spin

Cha Wa Stands Strong After the Flood

Cha Wa is a traditional Mardi Gras Indians greeting in New Orleans that means “here we come” or “we’re comin’ for ya.” Appropriately, a hearty shout of “CHA WA!” is the first thing I hear out of ...
The Advocate

Cha Wa, a different kind of Mardi Gras Indian band, steps out with ‘Funk ‘n’ Feathers’

Cha Wa, the Mardi Gras Indian band Gelini founded, is fronted by two vocalists with deep roots in the Indian community: Big Chief Irving “Honey” Banister of the Creole Wild West, and Monk Boudreaux’s ...
Jambands

Former Members of Cha Wa Reincarnate as The Rumble

The Rumble, a newly formed band made up of former members Cha Wa, made their debut at New Orleans’ Maple Leaf on Wednesday, Feb. 3. The band is primed to continue a weekly residency through February ...
NOLA.com

Cha Wa, drawing on New Orleans traditions, finds its own identity on new 'My People'

Maybe it happened between performances in New Zealand. Or maybe it happened on the main stage at the Montreal Jazz Festival in front of 25,000 people. But somewhere on the road during the summer of ...
OffBeat

Cha Wa Embarks on Post-Pandemic Tour

Cha Wa, the Mardi Gras Indian funk band, is on tour, set to hit the road from East to West, in support of the release of their critically acclaimed album My People. The album, released by Single Lock ...
Jambands

Watch Cha Wa Appear on ‘Good Morning America’

Cha Wa appeared on Monday morning’s (Feb. 1) edition of Good Morning America. The band appeared remotely from New Orleans, delivering a performance and sitting for an interview. Cha Wa’s performance ...
WGNO

Cha Wa performs ‘Li’l Liza Jane’ on the Twist Stage

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Cha Wa has a new CD coming out called Funk ...
The Advocate

Cha Wa joins great tradition of Mardi Gras Indians

Cha Wa is a New Orleans Mardi Gras Indians band on the rise. Following the example of the late Big Chief Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias, the city’s famous, widely traveled Mardi Gras Indian musical ...
The Aspen Times

New Orleans band Cha Wa to open Jazz Aspen June Experience

The spirited New Orleans band Cha Wa will make its local debut tonight to mark the premiere of the reimagined Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience as the long-running annual music festival moves ...
Forbes

Mardi Gras Indian Band Cha Wa Looks Forward To Brighter Days In New Orleans

Cha Wa will perform Oct. 30 at the Fairhope Music Festival in Fairhope, Alabama. The plan, before a surge of COVID-19 Delta variant cases, was for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival to return ...
NOLA.com

Cha Wa, a different kind of Mardi Gras Indian band, steps out with ‘Funk ‘n’ Feathers’

As a white Berklee College of Music graduate from Rhode Island, drummer Joe Gelini does not fit the typical Mardi Gras Indian profile. Historically, the music’s practitioners are black New Orleanians ...