In 2018, a group of music teachers from the Brainerd area joined together in their love of New Orleans-style brass bands and sought to share this love with the community as the Rusty Crayfish Brass Band.

“We really love this music from New Orleans,” said Rusty Crayfish founding member and songwriter Christopher Fogderud. “It’s just been fun to introduce our kind of Minnesota-ness into the New Orleans brass band style.”

“We have people come up to us and go, ‘You know, I don’t like jazz, but I like this.’ It’s it’s party music. It’s celebration music,” said Rusty Crayfish saxophonist Michael Sommerness. “So it’s something different. I think you really have to experience it to know what it is.”

Recently, the band finished work on their first album “Anywhere But Here,” which features wholly original works created by Rusty Crayfish themselves.

“It’s just kind of one of those things we didn’t think we were going to do,” said Fogderud. “And after five years of being in the band, we kind of looked around and said, ‘I think we have enough original music for an album.’ And it’s been a just a joy and [we’re] just really excited to share it with our community.”

In honor of the band’s album release, a special release concert was held at Nisswa’s Roundhouse Brewery, which garnered a crowd of eager listeners.

“It is amazing, honestly, the support that we get from people and even just the past couple of weeks,” said Rusty Crayfish trombonist Sarah Fogderud. “It’s just really cool how it’s spread, how the Rusty Crayfish has just kind of spread throughout the community and it feels really good.”

The Rusty Crayfish roster of performers consists of community members, teachers in Brainerd area schools, and Brainerd area alumni.

By — Justin Othoudt