Darcy Malone and the Tangle, a rock ‘n’ roll and soul band out of New Orleans, will make its first stop in Oxford on Wednesday to perform at Proud Larry’s. It’s not, however, a typical New Orleans band.
Born and raised in the Crescent City, Darcy Malone is the daughter of the famous Dave Malone, guitarist and frontman for The Radiators. Malone grew up surrounded by her father’s rock ‘n’ roll music, which had a huge influence on her as a musician.
Malone met her husband, guitarist Christopher Boye, in 2003 and their love and passion for music inspired them to create their own band.
Malone grew up with a heavy background of soul and pop, while Boyd had a love for indie and underground rock ‘n’ roll music. The couple’s goal in creating the band was to find a way to blend all of these various music styles into one group.
After drafting plans for their band, Malone and her husband moved to Austin, Texas during Hurricane Katrina but found it difficult to grow their careers there. They made the move back home to New Orleans, where they met musicians through ads on Craigslist and mutual friends.
The six-piece band includes Malone on lead vocals, her husband Boye on guitar, James Beaumont on keyboard and saxophone, JP Carmody on lead guitar, Billy Schell on drums and Craig Toomey on bass.
Its name, “The Tangle,” comes from the various styles of music each member contributes to the band.
“We’re a tangle of genres,” Malone said. “We’re all from different backgrounds, so we feel like we appeal to everyone.”
The band has found success with its “tangle of genres” and has performed all over the country, selling out shows from Atlanta to Houston, New York and more.
The Tangle will perform hits from its album “Still Life” and its single “Make Me Over,” which has been a personal favorite song of Malone’s. She said “Make Me Over” symbolizes her own renewal as well as the band’s search to find its individuality as a group.
“Our generation isn’t sticking to the mold,” Malone said. “We try to just do our own thing and make our own music.”
The band’s unique style of performing landed it a feature in New Orleans-based Offbeat Magazine.
“If they wanted to blur genres, they couldn’t have asked for a better lineup, given the mix of jazz, punk and jam-rock leanings,” wrote Offbeat Magazine of its interview with the band.
The band hopes to continue its success as it grows together and travels around the country for its performances. It will have its own merchandise on sale at its concert, and all of its music is available on Spotify.
“We’re really excited to perform in Oxford,” Malone said. “It will be our first time there, but we’re really looking forward to sharing our music in a new place.”
