The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis

Joe Lally and Brendan Canty, founding members of seminal post-hardcore band Fugazi, from Washington, D.C. joined forces with guitarist Anthony Pirog to form The Messthetics in 2016. Their instrumental trio combines punk energy with improvisation and experimental music, resulting in the albums „The Messthetics“ (2018) and „Anthropocosmic Nest“ (2019). In 2021, tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis joined them on stage, opening a new chapter that led to their acclaimed 2024 album „The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis“.

James Brandon Lewis (1983) has developed a distinctive voice rooted in gospel and free jazz, while drawing on hip-hop, funk, post-rock, minimalism and avant-garde music. Since his 2010 debut „Moments“, he has released numerous albums as a leader. His acclaimed „Jesup Wagon“ was named Album of the Year in the 2022 DownBeat Critics Poll, while Lewis was twice named Artist of the Year (2024, 2025), and receiving the award for Tenor Saxophonist of the Year 2025. His collaboration with The Messthetics continues on the new album „Deface the Currency“, released by Impulse! in 2026.