Joe Lastie, Jr.

Joe Lastie, Jr. was born into the heart of New Orleans music. The Lasties are a four-generation drumming family from the Lower Ninth Ward — a lineage that runs through gospel churches, brass bands, and the dance halls of the French Quarter.

Joe found his first beat behind the pulpit of his grandfather's church. That sacred rhythm — heavy on the two and the four, full of breath and call — became the foundation of everything that followed.

For more than three decades, Joe has held down the back beat at the Preservation Hall on St. Peter Street, anchoring the band that carries the city's traditional jazz forward, night after night, set after set.

He has toured the world with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, sat in with everyone from Trombone Shorty to Tom Waits, and led second lines down Tchoupitoulas at sunrise. But you'll find him most evenings right where he belongs: in the Hall, sticks in hand, smiling.