Joe Krown is a resident and is based out of the city of New Orleans. He is a New Orleans styled piano and Hammond B-3 player. A mainstay of New Orleans music, he brings the city's swampy grooves, second-line swing, and bluesy soul to every stage he touches.
He is currently touring all over the U.S. and the world as the organ/piano player for the multi award winning, chart topping Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band. Joe's current solo project, the Joe Krown Trio +1 featuring Papa Mali is performing regularly around New Orleans and the Southeast and performs regularly at the New Orleans Jazz Fest and the French Quarter Festival. Joe also has been performing regular weekly shows in New Orleans and around the world as a solo piano performer. His lively performances are in the style of the great New Orleans pianists like Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and James Booker.
Joe held the keyboard chair with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown & Gate’s Express from 1992 until Gatemouth's passing in the fall of 2005. Joe is featured on the chart topping albums The Man (1993), Gate Swings (1997), American Music, Texas Style (1999) and Back to Bogalusa (2001) CDs and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - In Concert: Ohne Filter (2003) DVD. The band, Gate's Express won an Offbeat 2004 Best Band in the Blues Category.
In the spring of 2007, Joe started playing every Sunday night at the Maple Leaf Bar (New Orleans, LA) with Walter Wolfman Washington (guitar & vocals) and Russell Batiste (drums). It features Joe playing Hammond B-3 organ where Joe played all the bass parts on the organ. The trio released 3 CDs, Live at the Maple Leaf (Oct. 2008), Triple Threat (JK1004) in 2010 and Soul Understanding (JK1006) in 2013. Live at the Maple won a 2009 Offbeat Award for Best R&B/Funk CD. The trio also won a 2009 Big Easy Award in the "Best Rhythm & Blues Band" category. The Trio toured all over the U.S. and the world playing nightclubs, concerts and festivals.
Joe Krown has been a headline performer at the WWOZ Piano Night every year since 1996. Piano Night occurs every year during the week of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, . In 2017 in addition to being a headline performer, Joe was selected to be the producer for the event. The 2017 WWOZ Piano Night was so successful that Joe was named the permanent producer of the WWOZ Piano Night.
In June 2017 Joe joined the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band as the full time piano/organ player. The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band has been nominated five times for a Grammy Award, has received two Billboard Music Awards, two Blues Music Awards and two Orville H. Gibson Awards. The band has had 3 platinum (at least 1 million sold) selling CDs and 1 gold (500,000 to 1 million sold) selling CD. The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band is a headline act on the modern blues scene, has made appearances on late night TV and been an opening act for major acts like Van Halen, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Aerosmith and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Joe is on Kenny Wayne's chart topping recordings, The Traveler, Striaght to You - Live and Dirt on My Diamonds Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.
Joe's most current release Tribute, which is on the Sledgehammer Blues label was released in April 2023. It's his first solo effort in over 10 years. This CD is once again a New Orleans piano driven CD. Joe got some help from some of his friends including Noah Hunt (Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band), Ivan Neville, Walter Wolfman Washington, Leo Nocentelli (the Meters), Joe Sublett (Phantom Blues Band), Jason Ricci and more.
Joe's current touring band, the Joe Krown Trio +1 featuring Papa Mali is playing regularly around New Orleans and all over the world. Joining Joe and Papa Mali are Casandra Faulconer on bass and Eric Bolivar on drums. The band features the traditional music of New Orleans piano masters like Professor Longhair, James Booker, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, etc. and original music.