The Best Local Bands to Swing Dance To

Southern California has some great bands to swing dance to, from authentic 20’s and 30’s bands, to big bands, to jump blues and rockabilly bands.  We are spoiled!  Currently, it seems that 20’s/30’s Gypsy Jazz/Dixieland Jazz is all the rage (just look at the number of bands in that genre). Of the bands in this category, the California Feetwarmers (see photo above) seem to have some of the most devoted followers (and for good reason – they are excellent).

There are probably a lot of great bands missing from this list, simply because I haven’t got a chance to see them yet in person… Many apologies to those not on this list..

20s/30s/Dixieland/Gypsy Jazz/New Orleans Jazz

• Alex Mendham and his Orchestra – One of my favorite bands to dance AND listen to. Alex is based in the U.K. but you MUST catch him when he plays in Los Angeles. They play authentic 1930s dance music. Look for them at the Cicada Club and Castle Green in Pasadena.
• The Barrel House Wailers – New Orleans jazz, great for dancing to. Based in Ventura, CA.
• The Benny Brydern Quartet – Led by jazz violinist Benny Brydern, this is one of my favorite bands playing 1930’s Swing classics. They don’t play very often, but make sure to catch them when they do.
• The Big Butter Jazz Band – Led by guitarist Conrad Cayman, this dancer favorite band plays New Orleans and Chicago jazz from the 1910’s to 1930’s. They always draw a lot of dancers!
• The California Feetwarmers – A dancer favorite playing authentic 30’s, Dixieland, Bluegrass, and Tin Pan Alley classics.  Instruments consist of guitar, banjos, accordion, horns, and clarinet. Percussion section is a bass drum and washboard – no drum kit, but the rhythms are no less potent.  Usually draws a good turnout of dancers.  Highly recommended if you like Balboa. Voted #4 best band in Southern California in the 2013 LA Lindy Hop Desert Island Swing Band poll. (Their photo is shown as the featured image at the top of this page).

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  Dave Stuckey’s Hot House Gang – Authentic 20’s and 30’s tunes with some great musicians.  No website, so the link goes to a YouTube video.  Excellent for Balboa, or just listening.  Look for them at the Culver Hotel. Voted the #3 best band in the 2013 LA Lindy Hop Desert Island Swing Band poll.
• Ellis Island Boys – Quartet which includes John Reynolds, playing 1920’s and 30’s jazz. Look for them at Disneyland and California Adventure.  Voted the #7 best band in the 2013 LA Lindy Hop Desert Island Swing Band poll.
• Fabus Four – Talented saxaphonist and singer Jason Fabus leads this talented young jazz quartet. Highly recommended!
• Hedgehog Swing – Young Gypsy jazz band based in Long Beach.
• The Hi-Fi Honeydrops – Five members with three electric guitars playing 1930’s hot jazz.
• Holy Crow Jazz Band – They play trad jazz from the 20’s and 30’s. Brush up on your Balboa. Good stuff!
• Janet Klein – They perform quirky, but really good and danceable, songs from the 20’s and 30’s.

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  Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five – Great Django inspired tunes, great for Shag and Balboa. One of my favorites.  They play all around.  A good turnout of swing dancers is almost guaranteed wherever they play!  They are the house band at Camp Hollywood and many other dance camps.  Voted the #1 best band in the 2013 LA Lindy Hop Desert Island Swing Band poll.
• Mora’s Modern Rhythmists – Authentic music from the 20′s and 30′s. Great for Balboa.  Usually draws a good crowd of dancers.
• The Pepper Moons – Popular band playing Swing favorites from the 30s and 40s. Lead singer Eva Mikhailovna also sings with Postmodern Jukebox, so they include some Swing style covers of modern songs.
• Strada Swing – I really love this French-influenced Gypsy Jazz band. You feel like you’re 1930’s Paris. They played at Grand Central Market in 2022.
• The Swingsations – Jim Ziegler’s band devoted to classic jazz and swing from the 20′s to the 40′s. Great for Balboa and Shag.

40s/Big Band/Swing

• The Esquires Big Band – Classic big band playing your swing favorites. They came in at a very respectable #9 in the 2013 LA Lindy Hop Desert Island Swing Band poll.
• The Jonathan Stout Orchestra, featuring Hilary Alexander – The 14-piece big band incarnation of Jonathan Stout’s band.
• The Ladd McIntosh Swing Orchestra – Plays authentic big band swing favorites.
• Pete Jacobs Wartime Radio Revue – Big band dressed in authentic military uniforms.  Look for them at PBDA.
• Sylvia and the Rhythm Boys – Play regularly around town and in the Long Beach / San Pedro area. They have danceable tunes and a following of dancers.
• The Swing Cats Big Band – This seventeen-piece big band is dedicated to the performance and preservation of big band music. They play at Downtown Disney and many other locations in Southern California.

Neo Swing

• Phat Cat Swinger – An unapologetically “neo-swing” in a time when most bands of that genre are well past the height of their popularity. Plays high-energy originals and covers of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and the Squirrel Nut Zippers, as well as vintage classics from Sinatra and others. See them if you’re tired of 20’s and 30’s music and want your guilty-pleasure fix of 40’s big band music done in a modern style. Lots of devoted fans!

Jump Blues

• Alpha Rhythm Kings – Trumpet player Robert Dehlinger leads this popular Swing / Jump Blues band from the Bay Area. A dancer-favorite for sure!

50’s/Rockabilly/Doo-Wop

• Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys – Popular rockabilly band with fast, danceable guitar-based original songs.
• Crown City Bombers – Rockabilly and 50′s-inspired tunes.
• The Leapin’ Lizards Featuring Aileen Quinn – Upbeat Rockabilly and dance friendly classics!
• Lil’ Mo And The Dynaflos – Excellent 50′s do-wop band catering to swing dancers (because many of the members are swing dancers..)
• Maureen and the Mercury 5 – Jump Swing and rockabilly songs that are very danceable.
• The Moontones – High energy dance band with electric guitar and horns section. They play classics from the 50’s, as well as stuff that sounds like Brian Setzer or even BBVD, and I mean that in a good way.

Western Swing

• Deke Dickerson – Quirky, fun western swing. Many songs have funny lyrics, but all are highly danceable!
• James Intveld – Fronts a popular Western swing/rockabilly band.  Catch them at Joe’s Bar.
• The Lucky Stars – Self-deprecating lyrics and danceable tunes make this Western swing band really awesome.  Check them out at places like Joe’s Bar.  They came it at #8 in the 2013 LA Lindy Hop Desert Island Swing Band poll.
• Petunia and the Vipers – Western band complete with yodeling. Much darker songs than Deke or the Lucky Stars. From Canada, but they stop by LA on their tours every so often. Has a strong core of fans.
• The Stagecoach Looters – Consisting of mostly members of the California Feetwarmers, this incarnation plays Western Swing accompanied by accordion on occasion.

Roots/Americana

• Dustbowl Revival – Really popular large roots/jazz/Americana band. They don’t always play danceable songs, but they’re always good and have tremendous energy. The Dustbowl Revival were voted the #1 live band in LA by LA Weekly magazine (beating out bands from all other genres). WARNING: lately a trusted source has told me that they are playing mostly pop/rock now and now swing-danceable songs.

Electro Swing

• Caravan Palace – French Paris-based electroswing and hot jazz band. Highly infectious and catchy! Find their videos on YouTube. The best electroswing band around, in my opinion.
• Red Light District – A more acoustic take on electroswing, if that makes sense (i.e., they don’t sound like DJ’d loops).

Other Resources

• Hey Mister Jesse Podcast – long-running podcast about Swing music.
• Live Collegiate Shag music on Bandcamp – this site has Shag music selected by local dancer Kendall Roderick.
• Rockstep Radio – Online radio station with music for Swing dancers!

Please leave a comment if there is a good band that I have left off! Thanks, Brian