"Under The Bridge" - Trombone Shorty

“Under The Bridge” (PDF) from the Trombone Shorty & New Breed Brass Band album Second Line Sunday

In his book How Music Works, David Byrne examines the symbiotic relationship between performance and venues by describing "architecture as instruments” to suggest that acoustics and reverberation can elevate an environment into a “sacred space.” The construction of Interstate Highway 10, which runs along Claiborne Avenue through the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans, created a destination where second line parades could reach an “emotional peak” from the echoes of brass, drums, and vocal chants reverberating throughout the concrete structure, as documented by Matt Sakakeeny in his book Roll With It.

While the implementation of the U.S. interstate highway system may have been designed to segment historic Black neighborhoods as a means of bypassing urban development, the symbolism of I-10 as a means of survival in the wake of Hurricane Katrina for thousands of American citizens, flooded from their homes, became a call for help that could no longer be ignored. In similar fashion, Sunday second lines congregate under the bridge as a celebration of strength and community through the struggles of life and death.

Recommended reading: Roll With It: Brass Bands in the Streets of New Orleans by Matt Sakakeeny. Published by Duke University Press.