Cyril Neville Plays The Dead

CYRIL NEVILLE, the Uptown Ruler, brings a lifetime of dreams come true. This two-time Grammy-winning icon is brilliant and beautiful on stage and in his recorded work. In this new chapter of his creative life, Cyril levels up even more with new songs, a fresh perspective on his decades of performances worldwide, and a determined eye on the future. As Quint Davis, founder and head of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, said while watching Mr. Neville perform at the 2025 Jazz Fest Congo Square Stage, “He’s still got it.”

Cyril Neville is one of the founding fathers of the New Orleans signature funky soul-rock-jazz sound that has influenced countless artists and entertained millions of fans over his five-decade career. Mr. Neville is a vocalist, songwriter, percussionist, painter, cultural icon, and activist who richly deserves his Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Born in 1948 in New Orleans, the youngest of the Neville Brothers was raised in a musical household, with his brothers Aaron, Art, and Charles all making waves on the local music scene. Their uncle, George Landry, was Big Chief Jolly of the Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indian Tribe, and young Cyril cut his teeth singing and playing percussion with the group. At 19, he joined his brother’s band, Art Neville and the Neville Sounds, and released his first single a year later.

Art’s band soon evolved into the seminal group The Meters, featuring Cyril, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter Jr., and drummer Zigaboo Modeliste. Their early releases — including the singles “Sissy Strut,” “Look-A-Py-Py,” and “Sophisticated Cissy,” along with albums such as Cabbage Alley and the Neville Brothers’ Fire on the Bayou — have become classics. Their funky grooves built the foundation for a large swath of today’s American popular music. The Meters’ reputation was cemented when The Rolling Stones offered them an opening slot on their 1975 world tour.

Art and Cyril left The Meters in 1977 and, alongside Aaron and Charles, formed The Neville Brothers. For 35 years, the group rocked audiences from Tipitina’s in New Orleans to Taipei, performing around the world with their imminently danceable funk-rock sound. Their recordings, such as the Grammy-winning Yellow Moon and the equally successful follow-up Brother’s Keeper, have entered the canon of classic American music. The Neville Brothers have received four nominations for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and, hopefully, will one day receive their long-overdue flowers there.

One of Cyril’s current projects includes touring with his son’s band, Omari Neville and the Fuel, but he can also be heard performing with fellow Meter George Porter Jr., Trombone Shorty, and his nephew Ivan Neville’s band, Dumpstaphunk.

Mr. Neville has had a number of other musical projects over the years, including The Endangered Species Band, the Uptown All Stars, and Swamp Funk. After Hurricane Katrina, bluesman Tab Benoit formed the supergroup Voice of the Wetlands to advocate for coastal protections, with Cyril Neville front and center. Mr. Neville has also toured with the funk powerhouse Galactic. In 2011, he formed his own supergroup, Royal Southern Brotherhood, with Devon Allman, Mike Zito, Charlie Wooton, and Yonrico Scott.

Mr. Neville has recorded with a who’s who of the rock world, including Bob Dylan, Jimmy Buffett, Dr. John, Willie Nelson, Branford Marsalis, and Carlos Santana. He is a prolific writer, co-authoring songs with Bono, Allen Toussaint, Trombone Shorty, and Taj Mahal, among many others. Mr. Neville has also made a number of television appearances, including Saturday Night Live, NCIS: New Orleans, and HBO’s Treme. For many years, he operated his own Endangered Species record label.

Now, he works closely with senior manager Lara Lavi and her production company, Dreaming In Color Entertainment, to release new music, including his latest single, “Lemonade,” co-written with and produced by renowned trumpet player Shamarr Allen, releasing in July 2025.

Cyril Neville has collected many accolades over the course of his 50-plus-year career, including a Grammy Award for the song “Healing Chant” from the 1989 album Yellow Moon, produced by Daniel Lanois. In 2017, The Neville Brothers received the Austin City Limits Lifetime Achievement Award, and a year later, The Meters were honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Perhaps Mr. Neville’s greatest joy is singing, recording, and performing with his son Omari Neville, whose band, Omari Neville and the Fuel, tours as Omari’s backing band. With refreshed management and talent agency support, Cyril Neville remains highly prolific and unstoppable in this next phase of his career, releasing new music monthly for the army of fans of the Wild Tchoupitoulas, The Meters, the Uptown Ruler, The Neville Brothers, and lovers of New Orleans music and culture.