Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars pours their heart into every performance

Picture a crowded bar in New Orleans. It’s hot. It’s humid. Cramped onto the tiny stage is a band playing horns, drums and a stand-up bass. At the front, a long-haired singer pours his heart into every song and story. That’s where you’re headed today in this session with Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars.

That captivating frontperson is Salvatore Geloso. He’s a wandering soul who found a home in New Orleans, where he started out busking and fell in love with the region’s music, culture and history.

Today, the band performs live, and Geloso talks about how the group came together — and about the big break they got after entering the NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest, which led to an official Tiny Desk Concert earlier this year.

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.