“John 'Papa' Gros is a bedrock New Orleans artist, a keyboardist, singer and songwriter who draws on funk, rhythm & blues and Americana songcraft; he also knows his way around the Mardi Gras music repertoire about as well as anyone.” – Keith Spera The New Orleans Advocate
Between 2000 and 2013, Gros led Papa Grows Funk, a highly revered group that mixed hard-hitting funk grooves with often unpredictable jazz spontaneity. The band released six critically-acclaimed studio albums, including Needle in the Groove, which was co-produced by New Orleans legend and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Allen Toussaint. The group’s weekly gigs at the world-famous Maple Leaf became a staple for both locals and tourists alike, eventually leading to Gros touring in far off countries like Japan and Brazil.
After Papa Grows Funk dissolved, Gros briefly returned to sideman work, playing organ for a series of all-star tributes to Dr. John and the Neville Brothers. The 2014 Dr. John tribute, The Music Mojo of Dr. John, was later released as a critically-acclaimed live album that featured Gros playing with Bruce Springsteen, Mavis Staples, Jason Isbell, and John Fogerty. More importantly for Gros, those tribute concerts allowed him to play alongside his two biggest influences: the Doctor and Art Neville, both of whom passed in 2019.
In 2016, Gros returned to the spotlight yet again with his second solo album River’s On Fire, the much anticipated follow up to his 2004 debut Day’s End. Co-produced by Gros and Tracy Freeman (Harry Connick Jr, Rebirth Brass Band, Bonerama), the album’s fiery funk rock showed how Gros had matured as both a songwriter and bandleader. It firmly established Gros’ identity as a solo force. In 2020 Gros released Central City, his third solo album. The album is a collection of classic New Orleans songs, both new and old, filtered through his decades of dedication to his craft. The album features Gros’ feel good originals alongside his takes on beloved songs by Allen Toussaint, Lloyd Price, and John Prine.
“I’m walking in the same path [as Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, and Art Neville,]” explains Gros. “I’ve been following them my whole life. Now, they’re no longer in front of me. They’ve gotten off the path but the path is still very clear.”
Eric “Critt” Crittenden has over 25 years as a touring performer under his belt, sharing the stage with the likes of Bob Weir and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, Sinbad the Comedian, Michael Franti, G-Love & Special Sauce, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and so many more.
Since his birth in Buffalo, NY, Eric has been immersed in the funk and feel-good soul sound of Motown. (After all, his father played with James Brown for 13 years.) But it was in his twenties that he really discovered the organic self expression of jazz, listening to Eddie Harris, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock. Branching further out into rock, including the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd, completely changed his life and started him on a path to genre mixing that was accessible to everyone. “For me, in order to go forward, you have to go back,” says Eric. “I was raised with old school R&B and soul. This is who and what I am all about. But this is a new era, and music needs evolution. I’m fortunate to be able to do my part.”
As a highly respected music educator, he has conducted over a hundred master classes and edutainment performances, and has been a key force behind numerous arts education efforts in Buffalo and Western New York, including The IMAGE Urban Arts Workshop (co-sponsored by New Era Cap), the Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology (where he served as Arts Director), and his music camp program “Future Sounds of Buffalo.” Today, he teaches music in the public school system of Buffalo, NY, where he continues to perform and dedicate his career to the local music scene and the youth in the community.
Since 2007 The Big Easy in Buffalo has brought New Orleans and Louisiana music and culture to the Western New York region several times a year for free and low cost live performance, as well as music education and mentoring for local musicians, students, and the community. Through The Big Easy in Buffalo thousands of students, dozens of local bands, and countless audience members in Western New York have been exposed to this unique American culture.
The Big Easy in Buffalo is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Hochul and the NYS Legislature, Erie County, buffalo.fm, Goldfarb Financial, National Fuel Gas Co., and The Cave.
