The Jon Cleary Band draws large crowds of locals at classic New Orleans venues like Tipitina’s and the Maple Leaf Bar. They are also a mainstay at the annual Jazz and Heritage Festival and have played at Bonnaroo as well as other music festivals. Critics agree with the locals, and Cleary receives the lion’s share of praise.

Rolling Stone’s David Fricke wrote of the “Pin Your Spin album “Cleary can be an absolute monster on his own, but Cleary’s full combo R&B is as broad, deep and roiling as the Mississippi river, the combined swinging product of local keyboard tradition, Cleary’s vocal-songwriting flair for moody Seventies soul and the spunky-Meters roll of his Gentlemen.”