Great tunes / great beer / great cause

Lately, music has been very good to The Breton Sound lead singer Jonathan Pretus. The band’s new EP Maps (or Cartography and the Art Of Generalization) was just released to rave reviews, and they just played their first Jazz Fest.

“It was a great experience for us,” said Pretus of Friday’s set at the Fair Grounds. “We had a great, great set, we were really happy with it, the crowd was good, they seemed really into it, It was a really good response.”

So Pretus and his bandmates thought this would be a great time to give something back to the musicians of their hometown of New Orleans.

Saturday, The Breton Sound will be curating a concert benefit for MusiCares (the Grammy Awards’ charitable outreach program) called Rock ‘n’ Hops at NOLA Brewing, 3001 Tchoupitoulas. Doors open at 8 p.m.

“MusiCares helps musicians and people in the music business in times of need,” said Pretus, a New Orleans native. “Whether it’s health needs or disaster relief. They provide funding, services, instruments if need be. They do a great service and they did a lot around here after Katrina.”

Saturday’s event will include two stages featuring a rotating line-up of bands and acoustic performances, from artists such as Shamarr Allen & The Underdogs, The Coyotes, Andrew Duhon, Liam Catching & The Jolly Racket, Bantam Foxes, and, of course, The Breton Sound.

All-you-can-drink craft beer will be available from NOLA Brewing, and Taceaux Loceaux will provide the food.

Recently named by Paste Magazine as one of the “12 Louisiana Bands You Should Listen To,” The Breton Sound includes guitarist Stephen Turner, drummer Jonathan Alcon, lead singer Jonathan and his brother, Brian Pretus, on bass.

Maps (think: the energy and feel of the Foo Fighters, the melodies of Weezer and guitar heroics that bring to mind Muse had they grown up on Van Halen) finds them reunited with producer Tom Drummond, best known as the bassist for New Orleans’ favorite alt-rock trio Better than Ezra.

“It’s been cool to watch these guys grow from the last EP we made to this one. The song writing has matured; the instrumentation is tight. The Pretus brothers’ vocals sound amazing against the backdrop of a really muscular band now,” said Drummond.

For this album, “our drummer John raised a really good point while we were making it,” said Pretus. “He thought it seemed like a lot of the songs have kind of a me-against-the-world mentality to some extent, kind of trying to overcome some sort of obstacle, and I’d say it’s maybe more just trying to find your place in life whether it’s in the music scene or the corporate world or whatever slice of life you’ve found yourself holding. It’s really about trying to find your place and being comfortable about where you are and who you are.”

Tickets for Rock ‘N’ Hops are available for $20 in advance at rocknhops.eventbrite.com/ or $25 at the door. Tickets include all-you-can-drink NOLA Brewing beer. Ages 21+.

For more information on Rock ‘n’ Hops, visit www.facebook.com/RocknHops.

For more information on The Breton Sound and its upcoming endeavors, visit www.thebretonsound.com or follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Brian Friedman writes about New Orleans for NolaVie.