A high-energy funk and party-rock band built around pianist and bandleader Andy Frasco, a fixture of the modern jam-band and festival circuit known for relentless touring and a raucous live show.
The Short Version
Who Are They?
Andy Frasco is an American pianist, singer, and bandleader, and Andy Frasco & The U.N. is the funk and party-rock group he fronts. Formed in Los Angeles in 2007, the band blends funk, blues, soul, and jam-rock into an up-tempo, horn-driven sound built for the stage.
Two things define the act. First, the live show: Frasco is a boundlessly energetic frontman, and the band has built its reputation through a heavy touring schedule of festivals and clubs across the United States and Europe. Second, the range: the U.N. is a rotating cast of players anchored by a few long-serving members, framing Frasco's piano and vocals with saxophone, guitar, and a deep rhythm section.
Beyond the band, Frasco is also a popular podcast host, and the group remains a busy working act, releasing new records and staying on the road nearly year-round.
The festival stage, the natural home of a band built for the live crowd.From Los Angeles Clubs to the Festival Circuit
The Story
The story of Andy Frasco & The U.N. is one of near-constant motion: a band that made its name not on radio but on the road, playing hundreds of shows a year and building an audience one crowd at a time.
Piano at the center, funk and horns all around it.
2007
Los Angeles beginnings
Frasco, who had worked young in the music business, formed Andy Frasco & The U.N. in Los Angeles. The "U.N." tag reflected the band's shifting, international cast of players around a funk and jam-rock core.
2014
Half a Man
An early full-length, Half a Man, captured the band's funk and party-rock sound on record and helped establish Frasco on the festival and club circuit.
2016
Happy Bastards
The album Happy Bastards pushed the band's profile further, pairing horn-driven funk with the up-tempo, good-time energy that defined the live show.
2017–2019
Live records and Change of Pace
A live album, Songs from the Road, documented the band's stage strength, and Change of Pace in 2019 continued the run of studio releases as the touring schedule intensified.
2020–2022
Keep On Keepin' On and Wash, Rinse, Repeat
Keep On Keepin' On and Wash, Rinse, Repeat broadened the palette with soul and singer-songwriter touches while keeping the funk foundation intact.
2023
L'Optimist
The album L'Optimist arrived as the band remained a mainstay of the jam and festival world, with Frasco's podcast also drawing a growing audience.
2025
Growing Pains
The band released Growing Pains, another chapter in a catalog built on funk, jam, and party rock, and stayed on the road as one of the circuit's hardest-working acts.
Four Songs, One Introduction
Start Here
The band's catalog spans funk, soul, and jam-rock. These four official videos are the fastest way to hear the range, from early party-funk to the more recent, fuller sound. Watch in order.
01 · Early Funk
"Main Squeeze" (2014)
An early single that shows the band's core sound: piano-led funk, punchy horns, and the up-tempo party energy that carried the live show.
02 · The Groove
"You Do You" (2023)
From L'Optimist, a bright, funk-driven track that pairs the band's horn section with a big, singalong hook.
03 · The Songwriter
"Iowa Moon" (2023)
Also from L'Optimist, a warmer, more melodic side of the band that shows the soul and singer-songwriter reach beneath the funk.
04 · The Recent Sound
"Crazy Things" (2025)
A more recent single that folds the band's funk and party-rock roots into a fuller, contemporary production.
The Records to Know
The Albums 5 to start with
The band has released a steady run of studio and live albums. These five are a solid way in, tracing the arc from early party-funk to the broader, soul-touched later records. The highlighted cards are good places to begin.
2016
Happy Bastards
A defining early full-length that captures the horn-driven funk and up-tempo party-rock energy at the heart of the band's sound.
Two sets drawn from the studio albums: a First Listen of the up-tempo signatures to bring you in, and a Deep Cuts set of the melodic, soul-leaning tracks for when you want to sink in. Hit the button on either card to search it on YouTube Music.
Andy Frasco & The U.N. centers on Frasco's piano and vocals, framed by a band whose membership has often rotated over the years, with a few players serving as long-term anchors.
Horns and rhythm, the engine behind the funk.
Andy FrascoVocals / piano / bandleaderThe frontman and founder, whose piano, singing, and high-energy stage presence drive the band
Shawn EckelsGuitar / vocalsA mainstay of the group since its early days, a core part of the U.N.'s sound
Ernie ChangSaxophoneAnother longtime anchor, whose horn work is central to the band's funk arrangements
Andee "Beats" AvilaDrums / vocalsA key part of the rhythm section powering the band's up-tempo live show
Floyd KelloggBassBassist among the players who have filled out the U.N.'s rotating, evolving lineup
The Roots of the Sound
Influences
The band's funk and party-rock draws on a lineage of New Orleans funk, swampy roots-rock, and classic soul. Here is where much of that sound comes from.
Funk
The Meters
The New Orleans funk pioneers whose tight, syncopated grooves are a foundational template for the horn-driven, rhythm-first funk this band plays.
Frasco is a natural talker, and beyond the music he hosts a long-running podcast. His filmed conversations offer a look at the band, the touring life, and the music.
Interview · Podcast
Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast
Frasco hosts a long-running podcast of conversations with musicians and other guests, a window into the touring life and the world the band moves through.
Interview · Archive
The Filmed Conversations
Beyond the podcast, Frasco and the band have sat for a range of interviews and live-session features about their music and their heavy touring schedule. Search YouTube for clips and conversations.
Once the studio albums have you, the band's world opens into live recordings, collaborations, and a deep touring history.
The live records. Songs from the Road and Live on the Rocks capture the band in its natural habitat, where the funk stretches out and the show comes alive.
The early albums. Half a Man and Happy Bastards trace the band's roots and the raw party-funk sound it built its reputation on.
The collaborations. singles and guest features, from JJ Grey & Mofro to a range of jam and funk peers, show how connected the band is within the scene.
The podcast. Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast is a long-running companion to the music and a running document of life on the road.
The Way to Listen
Do yourself one favor: put on Change of Pace from start to finish, then L'Optimist. This is a band built for volume and motion, so turn it up and let the grooves carry you.
