George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners Announce New Instrumental Album ‘Porter’s Pocket’

George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners announced a new instrumental album, Porter’s Pocket, arriving on February 7, 2025 via Color Red. Color Red Vinyl Club subscribers will receive exclusive early access to the album as the club’s December 2024 vinyl selection. The first taste of the record from the legendary The Meters bassist, “Tito’s Dumpling Machine,” is out Friday, November 22 (pre-save/listen)

A New Orleans funk pioneer, Porter recalls a time when the music he and other NOLA artists played had no classification.

“Before there was ‘funk’ as people call it, New Orleans musicians always had a way of using rhythm in a way nobody else was,” he said. “I am just a student of Earl King and George French and that musical school and somewhere along the way, people out there decided it was ‘funk.’”

To capture the aptly named Porter’s Pocket, the bassist tapped his longtime band Runnin’ Pardners: keyboardist Michael Lemmler (Jubilation, TriFunctA), drummer Terrence Houston (TheFunky Meters, Toubab Krewe) and newest member guitarist Chris Adkins (Raphael Saadiq, Mark Broussard).

Porter’s Pocket lead single, “Tito’s Dumpling Machine,” begins with “a drum groove straight out of Uptown New Orleans circa 1970,” as per press materials.

“[M]y attitude has always been that the drummer defines where the song goes and so I really enjoy letting a drummer set up the tune,” Porter said.

“Tito’s Dumpling Machine” is due out tomorow (Friday, November 22). Fans can catch George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners live at their weekly residency at renowned NOLA venue the Maple Leaf Bar. The band was also handpicked by The Black Crowes to support their concerts at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York on December 21 and 22.

Find George Porter Jr.’s itinerary and ticket info below.