Based in New Orleans, Marty Peters and The Party Meters offer a bold, high energy take on traditional jazz and the music of their city. The group’s catalog focuses on paying homage to the rich historical, musical, and cultural influences of New Orleans while simultaneously pushing the genre forward as a living art. Frontman Marty Peters, stocks every show with soulful vocals and blazing saxophone lines backed by a cast of professional, full time New Orleans based musicians who have cut their teeth playing around the city as a band and separately in other projects. For this reason, each musical voice speaks confidently and brings a breadth of influences to the table, which seamlessly blend into a cohesive and intuitive sound, and a show that is undeniably entertaining. Audience members can expect to enjoy a mix of rip-roarin’ instrumental arrangements, heart-felt sentimental numbers, and hard swingin’ numbers that also make each show an experience through audience engagement. By encouraging call and response vocals with the crowd, interjecting entertaining quips and banter, and presenting a show that is welcoming and inclusive, fans come away with the euphoria of a down home meal for the ears. Ultimately, the sound of the band both on stage and recorded exudes passion, dedication, and musical mastery, yet balances these qualities with a willingness to just have some damn fun! Marty Peters and the Party Meters bring the heart and soul of New Orleans’ deep and beautiful culture wherever they perform.
Band Members
- Marty Peters: Vocals, Saxophone, Clarinet
- Jeff Kreis: Vocals, Trumpet
- Mark Weliky: Guitar
- Sam Lobley: Bass
- Spencer Knapp: Drums
Marty Peters
Vocals, Saxophone, Clarinet
Musicianship, energy, and fun are three ingredients to the stellar performance that Marty Peters brings to the stage every night. After falling in love with the city of New Orleans, Marty packed up his clarinet and saxophones, moved down, and has made a full time music career as both a band leader and sideman since 2014. He has played again and again with many of the great musicians and bands at almost every venue and festival in town, and continues to bring lots of joy, energy, and a highly-tuned musical skill set to every gig he plays. With a passion for the traditional jazz music of the city, Marty has also worked hard to ensure that the music he cultivates is in line with the musical heritage of New Orleans, while also placing a value on innovation and creativity. Always looking forward to the next gig, band project and challenge, there can be no question why he is one of the highly sought after woodwind players in a town full of tremendous talent.
Jeff Kreis
Vocals, Trumpet
Originally hailing from the tiny hamlet of Wallace, CA, Jeff Kreis now makes his home in New Orleans. From an early age, Jeff was immersed in a wide variety of traditional jazz styles including everything from the original Louis Armstrong Hot 5's and 7's to Fats Waller to Bobby Hackett and beyond. Having spent several years playing in Sacramento's music community, as well as the west coast festival circuit, Jeff is heavily influenced by the uniquely brash west coast revival style. Upon arriving in New Orleans, Jeff dove into the pervasive culture and influence of the city, playing with many different musicians and styles. Jeff channels these varying influences into an unapologetically bold and irreverent style which pays homage to the past while simultaneously treating the music as a living art.
Mark Weliky
Guitar
Mark Weliky is a New Orleans based jazz guitarist. Born and raised in South Florida, Mark moved to New Orleans in 2005 to study at University of New Orleans under Steve Masakowski. Upon his graduation in 2008, Mark became a regular in the music scene of New Orleans.
While Mark is primarily a jazz guitarist, he is well versed in all the many subgenres of jazz, such as modern, traditional, gypsy, Latin, fusion, and many more. He also released two albums of original compositions in 2009 and 2018, and has appeared on many recordings as a sideman of other New Orleans ensembles. Mark has performed at New Orleans Jazz and heritage festival, French Quarter festival, as well as all of the premiere music clubs throughout the city.
Sam Lobley
Bassist
Sam Lobley was born in New York City and raised in River Edge, New Jersey. He was first introduced to music at a young age through singers like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Louis Prima, and very quickly developed a love for the art. As he went through high school and college, he dove deeper into Jazz and other styles of Black American Music such as R/B, Soul, and Funk. Specifically taking influence from bass players Ray Brown, Christian McBride, Paul Chambers, and Charles Mingus. He graduated from the Jazz Program at Florida State University in 2019, under the tutelage of the great Rodney Jordan.
That same year, he moved to New Orleans and quickly found a new love for the music and culture of the city, joining and performing in various projects, and discovering a whole new avenue of playing and learning through Traditional Jazz Music. He aims to bring his previous influences and skills to the stage and seamlessly incorporate all the styles he has studied through the years every time he performs. Sam has a lifelong love for Music, and will always strive to learn, practice, and work hard to continue doing what he loves!
Spencer Knapp
Drums
Spencer Knapp grew up in Colorado, but fell in love with the music of New Orleans at an early age. Starting out playing mostly rock and funk music, Spencer gradually made his way into the jazz scene, and since relocating to New Orleans in 2011, he has studied and played nearly every genre of music in clubs and venues across the city and beyond.