Shamarr Allen warms up for New Orleans Jazz Festival with Friday Tampa concert

Can’t make it to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival this year? Don’t sweat it, we can’t either, but before it goes down in the coming weeks, a piece of the festival will come to Tampa’s Hooch and Hive on Friday, care of trumpeter Shamarr Allen.

Allen–on the heels of releasing a new record, True Orleans 2—just kicked off his 2022 run of shows in Atlanta. Whether he’s playing for Barack Obama at Governor’s Ball, or running a gun exchange program—in which children can turn in a weapon of sorts and be rewarded with a free trumpet—music is never off of his mind.

Before taking on the rest of the U.S. this year, the 41-year-old has a series of shows in Florida, having already rocked St. Augustine last week. His penultimate Sunshine State show takes place at Hooch & Hive before he spends his Easter Sunday Eve all the way down in Sanibel.

UPDATE: Sharmar Allen is 41 years old, according to churchofneworleans.com

This article appears in Apr 7-13, 2022.