The Rumble Brings New Orleans Mardi Gras Energy to Bath's Chocolate Church

The Chocolate Church Arts Center in Bath is hauling more than 70 heavy seats out of its front rows on a dolly to prepare for one show. That show is The Rumble, led by Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr., performing Friday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. in a concert that blends funk, rock, and a ceremonial tradition rooted in 19th-century American history.

The Mardi Gras Indian tradition the band channels dates to the 1800s, when Native American groups gave refuge to people who had escaped slavery. That bond produced a distinctive cultural practice defined by hand-sewn regalia, months of preparation, and call-and-response music built for collective participation. The Rumble carries those elements into its live performances, pairing the pageantry of the tradition with the energy of contemporary funk and rock.

The seat removal is the Chocolate Church's deliberate answer to what the music requires. Clearing that floor space converts the front of the venue from a conventional theater arrangement into something closer to a dance hall, an operational effort the arts center has described as laborious but essential to delivering the communal experience the performance demands.

Performance scholars use the term "communitas" for what happens when shared music and movement temporarily level the social distances between strangers in a room. That is what the Chocolate Church is building toward on April 17, framing the concert as a participatory ritual as much as a ticketed show.

For midcoast Maine, the April 17 date offers a rare chance to encounter a tradition that rarely travels this far north in a venue this intimate. Tickets and full event details are available through the Chocolate Church Arts Center.