Tank and The Bangas with Zeus and Ariel J

Tank and The Bangas play The Truman on Thursday, November 5, with Zeus and Ariel J opening. The set is built around The Last Balloon, the final part of a trilogy that started with 2019's Green Balloon—which earned them a Best New Artist GRAMMY nomination—and continued with 2022's Red Balloon, nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album.

They're a New Orleans-bred collective led by singer and poet Tarriona 'Tank' Ball and multi-instrumentalist Norman Spence II. Their sound pulls from spoken-word poetry, soul, hip-hop and forward-thinking R&B, built around themes of frustration, resilience and self-realisation. The group won a GRAMMY for the 2024 spoken-word album The Heart, The Mind, The Soul, and their live shows are known for being highly interactive, with plenty of gang vocals and handclaps. Past collaborators include Big Freedia, Questlove, Jill Scott, Lucky Daye, Ledisi and Jelly Joseph.

With The Last Balloon as the focus, the show brings the trilogy full circle, from the early recognition of Green Balloon through the progressive R&B of Red Balloon to this final installment. It's a good night to catch them if you've followed the sequence from the start, or a solid entry point if you're just getting into their work. The show starts at 7 PM at The Truman, 601 E Truman Rd, Kansas City, MO 64106.