Big Rail presents John “Papa” Gros

With special guest The Billy Price Band

John “Papa” Gros (pronounced Grow) is a New Orleans pianist, organist and singer-songwriter whose career reflects the city itself resilient, rhythmic, steeped in tradition, and always evolving. For more than thirty years, Gros has served as both a keeper and a translator of New Orleans music, blending funk, R&B, jazz, blues, rock, and Americana into a sound that is deeply rooted yet forward-looking.

Born in New Orleans, Gros embodies his hometown’s culture and deeply rooted traditions, absorbing its music and spirit. He began playing piano and French horn at age eleven and attended Loyola University in uptown New Orleans, graduating with a degree in French horn performance. While his formal training provided discipline and technique, Gros’ real education came from the school of hard knocks in the clubs and on the streets—learning the language of groove, feel, and restraint from the musical elders who had built the city’s sound.

That apprenticeship took shape in the ’90’s, when Gros evolved into a first-call sideman for some of New Orleans’ most revered artists. His tenure with George Porter Jr.’s Runnin’ Pardners placed him in direct lineage with The Meters and the architects of New Orleans funk, while tours with Snooks Eaglin, Earl King, Better Than Ezra, Anders Osborne, Irma Thomas and others sharpened his musical instincts and sense of purpose. These years cemented Gros not just as a formidable keyboardist, but as a musician entrusted with carrying cultural weight.

Gros’ keyboard style, equal parts Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Art Neville and Randy Newman, follows in the great New Orleans piano tradition while forging a modern and innovative style and sound, placing him in direct lineage with and a torchbearer for the next generation of New Orleans greats.

The Billy Price Band

Billy Price first attracted national attention during his three-year association with guitarist Roy Buchanan. Price is the vocalist on two of Buchanan’s LPs, That’s What I’m Here For and Live Stock. Since then, with the Keystone Rhythm Band, the Billy Price Band, and solo projects, Billy Price has recorded and released a total of 21 albums, CDs, and DVDs.

Price’s album This Time for Real, with the late Chicago soul singer Otis Clay, received a 2016 Blues Music Award in the category of best soul blues album. He was nominated 11 times for BMAs between 2019 and 2025 and won the 2024 Bluebird Reviews Lifetime Career Award in the U.K.

Person of Interest (2024) on the Little Village label was nominated for 2025 BMAs for Soul Blues Album and Album of the Year. Price’s new album featuring the Billy Price Band is titled Random Madness (May 1, 2026 on GetHip Label).

The Billy Price Band, based in Billy’s hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa., consists of Dave Dodd (drums), Tom Valentine (bass), Ian Arthurs (guitar), Jim Britton (keyboards), Eric Spaulding (sax), and Joe Herndon (trumpet).