January 2018
BackTalk
- Johnny Mathis Talks Back
In 2016, elegant pop balladeer Johnny Mathis celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of his Columbia Records debut. The golden-toned singer of “Chances…
Cover Story
- Lifetime Achievement in Music: The Poet Laureate of Mardi Gras Indians, Monk Boudreaux
Monk Boudreaux was born to be a Mardi Gras Indian. It is not a career, a craft or a profession, though…
Features
- Lifetime Achievement in Music Business: Steve and Cézanne Nails
After a car crash left musician Steve Nails paralyzed in 1984, he searched for a way to stay in music. Dockside… - Lifetime Achievement in Music Education: Michael Pellera
“I always suspected I might have a talent for teaching because my mind always wanted answers to questions,” says pianist Michael… - Positive Vibrations HeartBeat Award (Culture Bearer): Clarence Johnson III
“I’m not necessarily just trying to play music, I’m using music to imitate life,” says the ever-soulful and spiritual saxophonist Clarence… - Positive Vibrations HeartBeat Award (Musician): Anders Osborne
When Anders Osborne started his Send Me a Friend foundation last year, he had a simple goal: He wanted musicians in… - Bon Voyage!: Music on the High Seas
The coming months will find a few local favorites taking to the high seas. Concert cruises have become a big deal… - The complete list of nominees for Best of the Beat
The OffBeat Music and Cultural Arts Foundation’s Best of the Beat Awards 2017 nominations are in. We solicited nominations from musicians… - Simply the Best: The 50 Best Albums of 2017
We’ve polled our writers and editorial staff and have gathered 50 of our most recommended albums of the year. We didn’t…
Fresh
- Celebrating the City’s 300th in Song
OffBeat magazine, now celebrating 30 years, has always been dedicated to the music of Louisiana. We will celebrate the city’s 300th… - My Music with Cliff Hines
“I never thought I would become a musician, but my mother was very musically oriented, and from a young age she… - Celebrating 30 Years: Dr. John Interview, 1992
OffBeat Magazine is celebrating 30 years and reached that milestone with our November 2017 issue. To mark the anniversary, over the… - New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness: Giving Today for Tomorrow
While the great Allen Toussaint sadly left us on November 10, 2015, his musical and philanthropic legacy lives on. Fittingly, the… - Barking All Over: Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival
With a career spanning more than seven decades, banjo virtuoso Danny Barker mentored generations of New Orleans musicians and is the… - Five Questions with Kathleen McCulla, Director of Special Events at Ochsner Health System: King Cake Festival
How has the King Cake Festival evolved since that first edition in 2013? I think it’s become part of the Mardi…
In The Spirit
- In the Spirit with Carlos Quinonez at Coquette
“If someone asks me for something special, this is what I make for them. It’s basically a weird take on a…
Letters
- Letters to the Editor
Fats Domino Circle I’ve got nothing against the Revivalists but do they compare with Fats, a true world treasure? Didn’t he…
Mojo Mouth
- Mojo Mouth
Why We Do It I’m hoping that you are able to come to OffBeat’s 23rd annual Best of the Beat Awards…
OffBeat Eats
- The Dish: Chef Daniel Esses on Three Muses’ Pork Belly Sliders
What do the pork belly sliders at Three Muses say about the kind of restaurant you run? The dish was conceived…
Dining Out
- Dining Out: The Daily Beet
For many of us, the start of a new year signals an annual rejuvenation of our health consciousness. Following a six-week…
Reviews
- Germaine Bazzle, "Swingin’ at Snug" (Musikbloc)
“Please welcome to the stage, the wonderful Miss Germaine Bazzle,” Lawrence Sieberth graciously introduces New Orleans’ high priestess of jazz vocals… - Lloyd Price, "This Is Rock and Roll" (Double L Records)
At 84, Kenner native and rock ’n’ roll pioneer Lloyd Price has released a new album. Hearing Price performing his This… - Jon Hebert, "Bayou Wild" (Independent)
Jon Hebert’s first full-length album fits nicely into the steadily growing New Orleans singer-songwriter scene. Don’t make the mistake of thinking,… - Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys, "Allons Zydeco" (Lockdowne Records)
Allons Zydeco, the fourth album from Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys, expands upon the groundwork laid on 2014’s Back on… - Louise Cappi, "Mélange" (Independent)
While straightforward and not breaking any new ground, Louise Cappi’s Mélange covers a lot of musical styles familiar to New Orleanians.… - Rockie Charles, "Born For You" (Orleans Records)
“Wow, who is that?” was the reaction of many on first hearing Rockie Charles’ 1996 disc Born For You. The album,… - Louie Fontaine, "The Sun Ain’t Black" (Independent)
Sometimes losing a loved one can bring one full circle. In the case of Louie Fontaine, it was the 2010 death… - Bon Mot, "Cheap Drinks, Poor Lighting" (Proper Channels Music)
The simultaneous presentation of high and low fidelity permeates the debut solo release of MC Bon Mot, one-third of a group… - Toonces, "Milk For My Tears" (Independent)
It took over two years for the spastic six-piece Toonces to lay down their unique sound in an official album. And… - John Fohl, "Hands On You" (Independent)
John Fohl came down from Montana in the old century and made himself an indispensable member of the New Orleans music… - Jamison Ross, "All For One" (Concord Jazz)
Expectations—rarely trust-worthy inclinations—were that as the winner of the prestigious 2012 Thelonious Monk Institute’s Drums Competition, Jamison Ross would make his… - Jason Marsalis and the 21st Century Trad Band "Melody Reimagined: book 1" (Basin Street Records)
Melodies suggest melodies that often lead to either new or familiar paths. Think of a song and the next thing you… - Grayson Brockamp and the New Orleans Wildlife Band, Self Titled (Paytone Records)
It’s difficult to effectively walk the line between modern jazz and gospel music in a way that comes across as genuine… - Revival!, "Now Is the Time" (Independent)
There is a quality to Southern rock music that gives it a constant upward current. The Allman Brothers Band had it.… - Keith Frank, "One Night at Cowboy’s" (Soulwood Records)
For the past several years, Keith Frank has celebrated his October birthday at Lafayette’s Cowboy’s Nightclub, so when it came time…
