Nancy Lil' Red Gros is a home-grown New Orleanian who grew up listening to her big brother's band. She was always nagging her brother to let her sit in and sing. By the time she was 10 years old she was singing to whoever would listen. Because she was raised by a single parent, with 5 siblings, her brother and older sisters would bring her along to participate in whatever activities they had going on. When they took her, and her younger sister, to their first Jazz Fest in 1976, she thought she had died and gone to heaven when she heard the Funky Meters live!! She was awestruck and dreamed of being on stage singing in front of a band. Since then, she continued to be inspired by many New Orleans artists including, Irma Thomas, King Floyd and the Neville Brothers, but never quite made it to the stage until many years later. But no matter what, she continued to dream and sing to whoever would listen. In 1992, she landed a job at the Delta Queen Steamboat Company as the Entertainment Manager, she wasn't singing and performing, but it was inspiring enough just to be in the environment she loved so much. As entertainment manager she worked behind the scenes putting together acts and costumes for the steamboat cruiseline. During her employment with Delta Queen she was able to work backstage with great musicians like Harry Connick, Jr., Pete Fountain, Jim Duggan, Rick Trolsen, and The Dukes of Dixieland. Finally in 2001, after 11 years of marriage and 2 children, she met songwriter Tom Turner, and she was on her way to fulfilling her dream. In 2005, she decided it was time to do her own thing and formed Lil' Red and Big Bad. She immediately began working on her repertoire of old school r&b, infused with a little twist of rocknroll. Six months later she began singing with her band, and getting weekly gigs. Because of her unique and entergetic way of delivering her sultry vocal sound, as well as interacting with the audience, the band developed quite a following of fans. They played from the the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain to the west bank of New Orleans. In late 2009, it was imminent that she needed to focus on her family, and decided it was time to give it a rest. The rest lasted only a few short months, as she realized she wasn't finished expressing herself, and her fans were calling for more. So with a lot of hard work and tenacity, she called upon her loyal Big Bad bassist Sandy Maillho, and guitarist Charlie Hermann, and started to pick-up the pieces. Today Li'l Red and Big Bad is backed by four new additional members namely, Marc Ballard on saxophone, Willie Panker on drums, Jeff Ruello on lead guitar and Greg Villafranco on keyboards. On October 8, 2010, with her stellar team of musicians, she managed to win the New Orleans Voodoo Blues Krewe's Battle of the Bands Challenge, by competing against 12 different blues bands, and winning the title of "Best Blues Finalist" at the legendary music venue, Mid-City Rock 'n Bowl. As a result of this accomplishment, Nancy "Lil Red" Gros will continue to "sing the blues" on world renown Beale Street, in Memphis, TN, representing her hometown of New Orleans in the International Blues Challenge, in February 2011.
For Booking information, Contact Nancy Gros at (504) 430-3890 or email
[email protected]