An oasis of soul, hip-hop, and forward-thinking R&B awaits at the Skirball with a special performance from New Orleans collective Tank and the Bangas. The 2025 GRAMMY Award winners lead a wildly interactive show packed with call-and-response moments, handclaps, and joyful grooves that turn the atmosphere into a shared celebration. Bold, uplifting, and built for the stage, Tank and the Bangas are here to kick off your Fourth of July festivities in the perfect way as the Skirball celebrates America250. 

Butter Funk Family opens with the energy of classic funk for the twenty-first century and beyond. 

Tank and the Bangas explore the most tender and true parts of life’s journey. Unique and with a vibrance that could only come from New Orleans, the lead vocalist, Tank, has stretched her vocals over quirky raps, poetry, and rich melodies since the release of their first album, Think Tank in 2013. Four years later, they had a viral breakthrough as the winners of the NPR Tiny Desk Contest, an eclectic performance that has since been praised by musicians like Miguel and Anthony Hamilton and has now amassed over 14 million views on YouTube. 

Recent winner for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for The Heart, The Mind, The Soul at the 2025 GRAMMYs, the concept of this album series came to Tank two years ago while traveling on a train with her group members. Its structure makes it different from the rest of the catalog, and so does the special emphasis Tank has put on her poetry, collaborators, and its cohesive sound. “It explores self-discovery, the journey to confidence, believing in your ability, matters of the heart, the mind, and just free thought flowing,” Tank says about the album.

You don’t just hear or see funk music. You feel it. It travels through your body like a surge of electricity, bringing you to your feet and right to the dance floor with a primal magnetism. 

As if stepping right out of spaceship from the seventies and into a post-social media world in dire need of connection, the Butter Funk Family (BFF) channels the energy of classic funk for the twenty-first century and beyond. Led by two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning multiplatinum powerhouse artist, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Printz Board (Black Eyed Peas, Mark Ronson, Cee Lo Green), Butter Funk Family unlocks an undeniable and unbreakable groove with no shortage of grit and gusto. 

With horns blaring, guitars bobbing and weaving, and vocals roaring straight from the gut, you’ve got no choice but to move.