Multi-GRAMMY and Academy Award winner Jon Batiste released his new album Big Money on August 22 via Verve/Interscope.
He’s now on tour, and he brings the Big Money Tour to The Anthem in DC on Friday, Oct. 31 with special guests Andra Day and Diana Silvers!
Described by The Guardian as “a certified musical genius,” Batiste continues to defy categorization with Big Money — a bold, groove-driven statement about humanity, capitalism, and Americana. Stripping things down to their most essential elements, the album delivers a richly textured sound layered with spirit, irony, joy, and depth. Written and recorded mostly live in single takes over the course of just two weeks, Big Money captures the raw immediacy of creative expression. The emphasis on collective energy and spontaneity draws on the roots of American music as a communal force — and offers an antidote to modern disconnection.
At the heart of the album is its title track — a percussive, hook-laden anthem sparked by a moment of inspiration following Batiste’s 2024 performance at The Ryman Auditorium. He wrote the song on guitar before he even knew he was making a new album. On the surface, it’s an infectious call for ambition. Beneath the rhythm, it’s a layered meditation on capitalism, survival, and what we choose to value.
“This is the circus of love. Under our tent there is revival and joy,” Batiste said. “You don’t lose your soul—you gain it. When Mama says, ‘Don’t be a dummy, everybody chasing that BIG MONEY,’ Mama is pushing you — while warning you. It cuts both ways.”
Watch the official music video for “Big Money” by Jon Batiste on YouTube:
Anchored by lyricism, heart, and the power of collaboration, Big Money reframes and recasts Americana for a new generation — drawing on Batiste’s New Orleans roots, his gospel and protest music lineage, and his love of raw, immediate expression. The sonic palette spans blues, soul, reggae, and minimalist balladry, daring to classify them all as part of a new, evolving genre: New Americana.
Variety has called Batiste “a protean pianist and megawatt personality”—a description embodied here as he dances between styles and philosophies without losing cohesion. Each track builds on the last to create a unified vision of music as both resistance and release.
“However you interpret the songs,” Batiste said, “you can’t help feeling them. You can’t help accepting an invitation into the tent. Come in and have fun…some deeply serious fun.”
Jon Batiste
W/ Andra Day and Diana Silvers
The Anthem
Friday, Oct. 31
Doors @ 6:30pm
$73.35
All ages
