Just hours after Bobby Brown made a brief appearance and then bailed at Whitney Houston's funeral ... he showed up to perform with New Edition in Connecticut ... and stayed.

Bobby has performed numerous times since Whitney's passing, the first time just hours after she died. 

Bobby gave another shout-out to Whitney and again referred to himself as ... "bad ass Bobby Brown."

Still classy as ever.

Hours after Whitney Houston is laid to rest, her ex-husband Bobby Brown will hit the stage at an Indian Casino in Connecticut ... TMZ has learned.

Brown is booked to perform with the guys from New Edition at the Mohegan Sun Indian Casino at 8 PM EST on Saturday night.

Whitney's funeral is scheduled to begin at noon EST in Newark, NJ. It's unclear if Bobby plans to attend the funeral.

It's kind of like bookends, because hours after Whitney died Bobby performed on-stage with his group in Mississippi.

The passing of Whitney Houston has hit the band New Edition hard, as one would expect, and they are all praying for her family ... the band tells TMZ. 

In a statement, the group tells TMZ, "We are absolutely shocked and saddened by the sudden and untimely death of our dear sister Whitney. As a group, we are extremely close; when one of us hurts, we all hurt."

Bobby Brown, Whitney's ex-husband and father of her only child, is a member of the band.

They continue, "As much as we are in pain right now, we will continue to draw strength from God, as we support and comfort our brother Bobby, their daughter Bobbi-Christina and Whitney's mother Cissy Houston. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the entire Brown-Houston family today and always."

As TMZ first reported, Brown is with the group in Mississippi where they have a show scheduled this evening. As of now, it will go on as planned.

Bobby Brown is distraught and "in and out of crying fits" ... after getting the news that Whitney Houston is dead -- but his New Edition band mates are by his side trying to console him.

New Edition has a concert tonight in Mississippi -- and believe it or not sources close to the group tell TMZ ... not only will New Edition go on as scheduled, but as of now Bobby is also planning to perform.

We're told Bobby is going to try to get through the entire show.

Bobby and Whitney had an infamously tumultuous 15 year marriage.


We're told Bobby started the show by addressing the crowd, pointing to the sky, and saying, "I love you."