ABOUT Basher:

Basher plays highly improvisational dance music with a punk-rock energy and a free jazz spirit, propelled by two drumsets, analog and modular synthesizers and two horns. Led by saxophonist and composer Byron Asher, Basher has garnered the adoration of the New Orleans creative music scene with its combination of danceable grooves, anthemic melodies, and wild clash of acoustic and electronic textures. They've been playing listening rooms, dive bars, train tunnels, and arenas across the US since 2017. In 2022, they released their new LP "Doubles" on Sinking City Records, which Downbeat gave 4 stars, claiming it "slaps," and Pitchfork called "unbearably beautiful."

On May 31, 2024, they will release their new LP “May Day” with Sinking City Records and will be touring in support of it.

Visit the new album page here. To listen to the entire new record, click here.

"Unbearably beautiful. Doubles pays tribute to New Orleans' abundant spirit." -- Pitchfork
"Stunning...It slaps. Is it free jazz? Is it a party? At times it's one; at times it's another. It's definitely worth checking out. 4 stars." -- Downbeat Magazine
"Preconceptions and genre categories are hurled out of the window. It’s a party. No clipboards or box-ticking allowed." -- Jazz Journal UK
"Stick with them long enough, and Basher might be the kind of artist other artists are sampling decades down the line. Top 50 of 2022." -- Yardbarker
"Asher is a creative musician to look out for." -- Free Jazz Blog

ABOUT Byron Asher:

Byron Asher is a saxophonist and clarinetist and composer based in New Orleans. Raised in Maryland, he has performed across Europe and the US at major festivals and art centers including the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival as well as at dive bars and DIY spaces. He is a 2022 OneBeat Fellow, a program of the US State Department. As a composer, Byron’s work has been supported by MacDowell, South Arts, and A Studio In The Woods (New Orleans), among others. He leads Skrontch Music, an experimental large ensemble, and Basher, a “free jazz party band,” and is an equal collaborator in Flaxan, a brass and woodwind chamber quartet, among many other projects. Also an educator, Byron is adjunct faculty in the music department at the University of New Orleans.

NOTABLE Performances and Tours:

JUNE 29-JULY 7: NORTHEAST TOUR
6/29, LeMondo with Konjur Collective, Baltimore, MD
6/30, Bossa Bistro, Washington, DC
7/1, Rhizome with Sarah Marie Hughes, Washington, DC  
7/2, Brooklyn Kura, Brooklyn, NY  
7/3, Nublu, New York, NY
7/5, Red Ink Community Library, Providence, RI
7/6, Tubby’s with The Warblers (Bobby Previte, Ben Vida, etc.), Kingston, NY
7/7, Barbès, Brooklyn, NY 

NOVEMBER 10, 2022: DOUBLES ALBUM RELEASE, Snug Harbor, New Orleans

JULY 7-9, 2022: NORTHEAST TOUR
July 7, Brooklyn Botanic Garden AND Barbés, Brooklyn, NY
July 8, Wild Birds, Brooklyn, NY
July 9, The Drake, Amherst, MA

JUNE 7, 2022: GENERATOR Show w/ Wavering and Colin Self, Train Tunnel under St. Claude Ave., New Orleans

JANUARY 11, 2022: HALFTIME SHOW for NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans v. Minnesota Timberwolves, Smoothie King Center, New Orleans

NOVEMBER 11-13 2021: TEXAS TOUR
November 11, Wild Child Wine Shop, Lafayette, LA
November 12, Monk’s Jazz Club, Austin, TX
November 13, The Brick, San Antonio, TX

MARCH 24, 2021: THE BROADSIDE, New Orleans

FEBRUARY 4, 2020: INSTIGATION FESTIVAL (NOLA edition), Hi-Ho Lounge, opening for Kidd Jordan