Random: Mario Kart 8 Tournaments With A Live Jazz Band Is A Thing

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has some superb music; that much is certain. We've spent many hours bopping our heads along to the jazz-inspired tracks with our headphones on, but what if you could experience the music with a live jazz band instead?

Well, you can! If you're willing to travel to Oklahoma City, that is. As highlighted by The Guardian, a five-piece band simply called Mario Kart 8 Live has been hosting Mario Kart tournaments with accompanying live music to simulate both sound effects and the games' backing tracks.

The band is hard at work on learning every track from the game, but for the time being, participants will be limited to taking part in the Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup, Special Cup, Shell Cup, Banana Cup, Leaf Cup, and Lightning Cup. Four Pro Controllers are supplied during the tournaments, and the band has an all-ages event coming up on 30 March, 2024, so even the young 'uns can join in the fun.

In speaking with The Guardian, the band's drummer Ethan Neel, believes that this might be the first instance in the US of a live band providing music for the latest game in the franchise:

“Everybody has licks they remember from Mario Kart. Some really quintessential songs have come out of it. Live music played with Mario Kart has been done before, but we wanted to do the newest version of the game and, as far as we could see, no one had done that, at least not in the US. Pairing the two seemed really natural. At the end of the day, everybody loves Mario Kart. It’s always a great time.”

We'd definitely be up for this! Alas, it would mean travelling overseas for many of us. Regardless, we doff our red and green caps to the band for organising something so unique and fun. It looks wonderful.

Would you be up for a Mario Kart tournament with a live jazz band? Let us know with a comment down below.