Mad Skillet was born of a late night show in New Orleans, Louisiana during Jazz Fest 2015. It came out kicking and screaming, laughing and wailing, laying down a deep New Orleans groove steeped in jazz, blues, psychedelic rock, and R&B.

Band members are lead keyboardist John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood, The Word), Grammy nominated guitarist/bandleader Will Bernard (Medicine Hat, Party Hats), New Orleans native sousaphone player Kirk Joseph (Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Backyard Groove), and drummer Terence Higgins (Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Ani DiFranco) also a New Orleans native.

Medeski and Bernard's yearly quest to play together during Jazz Fest found a special chemistry with the addition of Joseph and Higgins. The eclectic, far-reaching backgrounds of Medeski and Bernard alongside this legendary NOLA rhythm section generated what Medeski calls "a vast musical universe with limitless potential."