Tank and the Bangas will return home for an intimate, poetry-centered performance on April 11, offering a preview of their evolving sound just weeks before the release of their forthcoming album The Last Balloon.

Billed as “Poetry on a Porch,” the pop-up performance will take place at a yet-to-be-announced location in New Orleans, with organizers revealing details the day of the event. The concept leans into the band’s deep roots in spoken word and performance poetry—an element that has defined their work since frontwoman Tarriona Tank Ball first emerged from the city’s vibrant poetry scene.

The event follows a major milestone for the group, who took home the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for The Heart, The Mind, The Soul. That project spotlighted the band’s ability to move fluidly between music and poetry, blending jazz, soul, and hip-hop with theatrical storytelling and emotional depth.

“Poetry on a Porch” also arrives ahead of The Last Balloon, due out May 15 via Verve Forecast. The album completes a trilogy that began with Green Balloon (2019) and continued with Red Balloon (2022), both of which earned widespread acclaim for their inventive sound and genre-defying approach.

The new release is executive-produced by longtime collaborator Austin Brown and was largely recorded at The Complex Studios in Los Angeles. According to press materials, The Last Balloon moves between “emotional catharsis and communal uplift,” designed with the band’s dynamic live performances in mind.

The album’s lead single, “Move,” featuring Lucky Daye, has already drawn attention from national outlets including Billboard, Rolling Stone, and Essence, signaling continued momentum for the group on a national stage.

Following the album’s release, Tank and The Bangas will embark on a North American tour with stops in major cities including New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Boston.