At the core of soul music is a vibrant, embracing spirit, one aimed at connecting the dots of humanity that reside on both sides of the microphone. 

“It doesn’t matter if there are 10 people in the audience or a 1,000,” says Jordan Anderson, lead singer/keyboardist for J & The Causeways. “It’s that sacrifice we make of our art, so that people can feel it that much harder the first time they hear you.”

In a serendipitous sequence of events, J & The Causeways was formed at the legendary Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans. A juggernaut soul/R&B ensemble, the group is filled with heavy backbeats and a soaring horn section, all swirling around the magnetic vocal stylings of Anderson.

“We definitely shine live because each and every member of this band loves to be onstage and in that genuine moment of performance,” Anderson says. “New Orleans is home to some of the finest singers and musicians on the planet, which also means you have to bring your A-game to every single show — you’re representing this city and the long history of beautiful music that’s been created here.”

As a kid, Anderson was first exposed to the power of music from his grandmother, a piano teacher in his small rural Louisiana hometown. It was her backroom record collection that mesmerized Anderson, where he found himself thumbing through the vinyl and discovering the likes of Otis Redding, Al Green, Queen, and Aretha Franklin. 

“I learned early on to not fall into the vanilla variety of pitch,” Anderson says. “It’s about finding a certain power that you can harness with the pure emotion of your voice, which is what all of those singers had — finding that spectrum of vocalists who put it all out there for the audience.”