Meet Ally Chapel | Co-founder, Brass Queens

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ally Chapel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ally, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor is our members. In our case, as a band, this exact mix of people is what defines our sound, which is our product. Our members are also the core of our community which extends to all of the people around us that support us. This community that we have built has given us all of our success. People can see that community my our streams on spotify, attendance at our shows, engagement on social media, etc. All of that turns into bigger and bigger opportunities for us.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Brass Queens is a New Orleans style brass band that features an all-female horn section. All of its members are active in New York City and national brass communities. Our members have played with several different brass bands in NYC, composed and arranged original music for brass bands, and marketed and run these ensembles to spread the love of the brass band tradition. The brass band community is typically dominated by male musicians, including many all-male or mostly male groups to the exclusion of female performers. Brass Queens formed to reverse the typical brass band narrative by empowering female musicians, spreading our love of the genre to new audiences with a focus on female performance, and creating our own female brass tradition.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First stop in Denver is City Park. Being from NYC, we know a great park and that’s exactly what City Park is with gorgeous views of the skyline and the mountains! Extra bonus is that in the summer you can catch City Park Jazz on Sundays! Actually, on July 17 they will be having brass band night! How perfect.

Also in City Park is the museum of Nature and Science, which is great. Sometimes you’re just in the mood for tours so we always recommend The Capital and The Mint (a must), they are usually open for tours and come with lots of history about Colorado and the gold rush.

Can’t go wrong with the The Colorado History Museum and the newly renovated Denver Art Museum, which are both downtown and right next to each other. The Denver Art Museum has very cool architecture too, if you don’t have time to check it out on the inside, it’s worth walking or driving by.

If you’re staying in Denver but want to get out of the city a bit, Golden is a great town and not too far from downtown Denver, an eaasy drive. The historic main street is very quaint with lots of fun shops. Also nice places to eat by a river. In Golden there is also the Colorado Railroad Museum! You could also rent bikes and be among the mountains but on very well groomed and protected paths.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We are deeply inspired by the music of New Orleans. We wouldn’t be what we are without the culture and the creatives that have paved the way and defined the sound that we strive for. All of our success we owe to New Orleans.

Website: https://www.brassqueensnyc.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brassqueensnyc/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/brassqueensnyc?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brassqueensnyc

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPANaEUj4JrODNKmLaRtpeQ

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1EKoLMMmw6n1FOhnnelZHn?si=MtpcBrihT-alaSSNGCCImw

Image Credits
All images provided courtesy of Brass Queens.