 Some of the active N.O.musicians who have appeared with Onward include Gerald French, Freddie Lonzo, Marc Braud, Leon "Kid Chocolate" Brown, Tom Fischer, Dwayne Paulin, Shannon Powell, David W. Hansen, Kirk Joseph, Ernie Elie, Dimitri Smith, Louis Ford, and Christian Winther.The earliest known written references to the band performing can be found in "The Weekly Pelican", the weekly newspaper that published African-American news.