Royal & Toulouse

Royal & Toulouse celebrates its southern roots and the sounds that influenced its members. The band surrounds the listener with Delta blues riffs on top of a driving rhythm section while Milyn commands the stage with her Texas swagger and sultry growl.
 

It all began at the H.O.B., not to be mistaken for the House of Blues, but rather a more colorful term for a local band house in Birmingham, Alabama. After yet another session, drummer Alex Troughton turned to Milyn and asked, “I think we’re a band, what’s our name?” He pressed her to recall the first place she knew she could sing, to which she replied, “For money? That was with Blind Boy Troy and Alicia Levy on the corner of Royal and Toulouse.” Just then, bassist Ricky Little walked in, catching the end of the conversation. “Are you talking about me and Gator’s old place on Royal and Toulouse?” he asked. Alex then revealed that his first gig had been on that very corner and, without hesitation, declared the band’s name. Since then, friends and fans have made a tradition of sending the band selfies with the French Quarter street sign. Geaux and tag #royalandtoulouse
 

Their 2009 debut release, ‘Skull Orchard’, sprang up much like their original jam sessions, spontaneous and raw, but soon garnered worldwide airplay on radio stations in the US, UK, New Zealand, Japan, and France. The 2011 follow up record, the 14 track ‘Southern Circus’, continued to explore Royal & Toulouse’s penchant for darkly beautiful lyrics and melodies while recruiting a bevy of talent such as keyboardist Matt Slocum (Susan Tedeschi, Jimmy Herring, Railroad Earth, Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit) and trombonist Chad Fisher (Greg Allman, Jason Isbell, St. Paul & the Broken Bones). The album won the group rave reviews and higher profile shows with the likes of Dax Riggs, The Weeks, Lee Bains & the Glory Fires, The Dexateens, Ralph “Soul” Jackson, and The Fiddleworms. They were featured in the “On the Rise” section of Relix Magazine and played the 2015 Chicago Blues Festival headlined by Buddy Guy.

Momentum continued with the 2015 EP ‘The Old & the New’ followed by the 2016 full length release ‘Shake That Reputation’, which launched a U.S. tour covering 13 states in 10 weeks. Along the way, the band recorded a five track session at Daytrotter Studios in Davenport, Iowa, later featured by Paste Magazine. Soon after, Royal & Toulouse won the Gulf Coast Blues Society Battle of the Bands alongside songwriter Abe Partridge, earning a spot at the 2017 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. Their 2017 tour stretched from The Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans to The Bowery Electric in New York City, hitting SXSW and cities across the country before securing multiple opening slots for The Seratones through 2019.
 

Royal & Toulouse had an extended pandemic hiatus after frontwoman Milyn welcomed her second daughter with husband and bassist Ricky Little in 2020. Their comeback proved powerful. The 2024 single “Money” racked up over 150,000 Spotify streams, achieved the #1 spot on the CDX TRACtion Positive Country chart, and landed on the ballot for the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards.
 

Raised somewhere between a gospel tent and a bar fight, Milyn sings like a thunderstorm rolling off the Mississippi. Equal parts Delta blues, New Orleans soul, and untamed Southern rock energy, she has built a career on gut instinct, late nights, and refusing to ask permission. If it sounds too polished, she will rough the edges back up. If it feels too safe, she will light the match herself.

In June 2025, Royal & Toulouse released the jazz record ‘To: Carole and Jerome’ with producer Misha Kachkachishvili at Esplanade Studios in New Orleans. The album honored Milyn’s late grandmother, Carole Hennessey, and her longtime musical partner Jerome Hopkins, Billie Holiday’s pianist and a Jazz Hall of Fame inductee.  ‘Summertime’ landed on the 68th Annual GRAMMY® ballot and receives international airplay.

Just two months later, the band released ‘Tell the Devil’, an EP of original material recorded between Little Town Sound and legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. The release marked a prolific and uncompromising return to form, pushing the band further into national recognition while continuing to blur the lines between blues, rock, soul, jazz, and Southern storytelling. Two songs from the project were placed on the 67th and 68th Annual GRAMMY® ballots while the release climbed to #4 on the RMR Top 50 Rock chart, #3 on the Roots Rock chart, and #3 on the Louisiana chart for six consecutive weeks. Tell the Devil also reached #26 on the U.S. Albums chart, landed in the AMA Top 100, and earned NACC airplay alongside national AAA and Blues rotation.

On April 19, 2026, Milyn was inducted into the Alabama Blues Hall of Fame alongside Eric Gales, LaDonna Gales, Mark ‘Muleman’ Massey, and numerous other legendary artists and contributors to Southern music culture.
 

Royal & Toulouse continues to build its reputation the old fashioned way through relentless touring, powerful songwriting, unforgettable live performances, and records that sound lived in rather than manufactured. Somewhere between Muscle Shoals, New Orleans, and the edge of controlled chaos, the band has carved out a sound entirely its own.