NOMA presents Music in the Garden, a seasonal outdoor music series.

Encounter the sounds of local New Orleans musicians while strolling through the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden on select Sunday afternoons throughout the year. Performances will take place alongside sculptures across the garden.

On March 23, Mark Coleman Funk Blues plays in the Piano Truck, parked in front of NOMA at 2 pm. The Cigar Box Band performs in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden amphitheater (enter on Enrique Alférez Drive) at 3 pm.

From the Artists

Mark Coleman Funk Blues

Mark Coleman Funk Blues is a mixture from Philly to New Orleans. Their latest recording Side Door at Four includes original pieces: “Side Door at Four,” “Duke,” “Twice the First Time,” “It Happened Once,” and “Spittin.” Included also are Bobby Timmons’s “So Tired” and Jobim’s “One Note Samba.” The band on the recording is Mark on piano and harmonica, Charlie Kohlmeyer on drums, Casandra Faulconer on bass, and Matt Galloway on guitar.

Brett Gardner’s Cigar Box Serenaders

The instruments you’ll hear the Cigar Box Serenaders play can’t be found in a music store: cigar box guitars, tin can banjos, cigar box violins, wine box basses, found sound trash kits, and more! Every upcycled instrument is homemade and unique. The band plays an eclectic mix of New Orleans funk, swing, and groove music. They currently have two albums out: Spasm and Cigar Box Serenaders. The band has been a featured artist at cigar box guitar festivals across the country including New Orleans, LA, Huntsville, AL, Blue Ridge, GA, Robbinsville, NC, and Bradenton, FL.