Issue Articles — Cover Story
Righteous Aspirations: Ivan Neville and Dumpstaphunk are surviving and thriving
Echoing life for musicians everywhere, last year was strangely inactive for Ivan Neville and his bandmates in the funk-rock band Dumpstaphunk. When the coronavirus spread worldwide—hitting post-Mardi Gras New Orleans […]
Pandemic as Opportunity: Stanton Moore and Tipitina’s expand ideas for the future
When Stanton Moore and his bandmates in the funk-rock band Galactic bought Tipitina’s, the iconic New Orleans music venue, the purchase was a major news story. In addition to much […]
Best of the Beat: Lifetime Achievement in Music – Dirty Dozen Brass Band
In 2002, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band celebrated its 25th anniversary and several of its core members related the ensemble’s history and its remarkable rise to fame […]
A Different Kind of Mardi Gras Story: How the Krewe of Red Beans Founder Devin De Wulf became a Covid relief superspreader
It all started with a Halloween bean suit. In 2007, newly arrived New Orleans transplant Devin De Wulf (née Meyers) was brainstorming costume ideas with a friend at Pal’s Lounge […]
Robin Barnes: From Songbird to Firebird
According to the ancient Greeks, the phoenix—the firebird—was a long-lived bird that was cyclically born again and regenerated by rising from the ashes of its predecessor. As the ancient tales […]
Christmas Magic: Debbie Davis was going to save Christmas, but Christmas saved her
Debbie Davis is a singer on a mission: She wants to give 2020 a better ending than its beginning or middle. And with a little Christmas magic up her sleeve, […]
The Vari-Colored Songs of Leyla McCalla
For Leyla McCalla, history is a living thing that ties us to the past “I always imagine if I could have met Langston Hughes that we probably have similar personality […]
Bon Bon Vivant’s creativity and savvy expands and succeeds
When Life Gives You Lemons Through conflict and turmoil, Bon Bon Vivant’s creativity and savvy expands and succeeds Spring 2020 was looking great for Bon Bon Vivant. After evolving from […]
Wanderlust, Suicide & Renewal: Ingrid Lucia is the luckiest girl in the world
Ingrid Lucia has spent a lot of late nights listen to trains go by from her Gentilly-area window. “We have all kinds of sounds in this city—the calliope on the […]
Getting back with people to play with, Wendell Brunious grooves to Seven Days of Satch
Wendell Brunious hasn’t played a live gig since March 13. A trumpeter, singer and composer from one of New Orleans’ great musical families, Brunious played two shows that day with […]
