Snarky Puppy, John Medeski, and Billy Martin

Led by the Grammy-winning bassist, composer and producer Michael League, Snarky Puppy are a collective that boast eighteen full-time members, expanded to almost forty for their live shows. Currently based in Brooklyn, New York, the group were formed around the music scene at the University of North Texas, where many of the band’s members were once students. They’re known for the flexibility and breadth of their instrumental setup, with the standard sonic palette for rock music present and correct – think guitars, bass and drums – as well as more niche equipment that includes woodwind and brass sections as well as pianos, keyboards, percussion and strings. Since 2006, when they dropped their debut studio effort ‘The Only Constant’, they’ve released nine studio albums, including a 2015 effort, ‘Sylva’ that was recorded with The Metropole Orchestra.

They’re also known for their unusual approach to recording; for their 2014 album ‘We Like It Here’, they decamped to Utrecht in the Netherlands to lay down the entire LP totally live at the Kytopia artistic compound. In early 2014, they clinched their first ever Grammy win, when their rendition of Brenda Russell’s ‘Something’ saw them take home the prize for Best R&B Performance. Later that year, they signed to Impulse! Records.