Cyril Neville will receive the 2026 Music Influencer Award on August 28 during the 34th annual Cutting Edge CE Conference in New Orleans.
The 34th annual Cutting Edge CE Conference and Events will present its 2026 Music Influencer Award to Cyril Neville, the spiritual patriarch and heartbeat of New Orleans funk.
The award presentation will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, August 28, at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, located at 400 Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans. The event is free and open to the public. An RSVP is appreciated but not required.
The Cutting Edge CE Conference and Events will be held August 26–29 at the InterContinental Hotel New Orleans. The conference will also feature music business sessions, NewWorks artist showcases, a songwriters camp, film and interactive programming, Creators House, the Roots Music Gathering, and additional events.
With all blessings to Neville family matriarch Amelia Neville and Aaron Neville, the 34th Cutting Edge CE Conference and Events is honored to present the 2026 Music Influencer Award to Cyril Neville.
Cyril Neville has always had the fire, passion, smoldering glare, and direct stride that are the envy of hipsters around the world. That stride has never failed him as it has taken him down many roads throughout his musical life.
Neville first performed with the legendary New Orleans funk band The Meters alongside his brother Art Neville, George Porter Jr., Leo Nocentelli, and Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste. Together, they created funk classics including “Cissy Strut,” “Fire on the Bayou,” and the New Orleans favorite “They All Ask’d for You.”
That stride took him on another musical journey with his brothers Art, Charles, and Aaron in their family band, The Neville Brothers. Together, they produced landmark funk albums including Yellow Moon and Brother’s Keeper, setting a standard for the New Orleans funk groove.
It was the recording project led by their uncle, George “Big Chief Jolly” Landry, that brought the brothers and The Meters together with producer Allen Toussaint to record the seminal New Orleans funk album The Wild Tchoupitoulas. The album brought Mardi Gras Indian call-and-response chants to the forefront of New Orleans funk.
Like his unmistakable stride, Cyril’s personal musical style has evolved into a distinctive funk groove: never wasteful, always moving, engaging, and relatable. His journey is on display on his new album, Don’t Wait ’Til I’m Gone.
Robert H. Cataliotti of Living Blues praised the album, describing Cyril’s music as “the heartbeat of New Orleans.”
That is why Cutting Edge will not wait to give Neville his flowers. It is the organization’s honor to present Cyril Neville with the 2026 Music Influencer Award.
The presentation will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, August 28, at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, located at 400 Esplanade Avenue. The event is open to the public, and an RSVP is preferred but not required.
RSVP: [email protected]
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