Toussaint, who headlined last year, is featured again this year, along with Don Schlitz and J.D. Souther. Souther is known for penning several hits for the Eagles including “Best of My Love” and “The New Kid in Town,” while Schlitz wrote over a hundred cuts, including Kenny Rogers’ iconic hit, “The Gambler.”

The festival showcases some of New Orleans and America’s premier songwriting talent, and hopes to shine a light on the people and the process of how the words in popular song come into existence and to prominence. It is also expanding to include more venues and an educational element in the form of songwriting panels. It has also added a hip-hop component which, Tower says, was long overdue. “We would be derelict if we didn’t include hip-hop. For cripes’ sake, Lil’ Wayne and Juvenile are from here,” he says. “We are featuring the first ever panel, headed by Al Kapone, where young artists can come learn about the craft of constructing a rap song, and learn what producers expect of you once you make it into the studio.”

Also included on the bill is an open mic night, along with performances from some of the city’s rising musicians, including Andrew Duhon, Glasgow’s Sam Craft and John Michael Rouchell of MyNameIsJohnMichael. The fest even includes a return for former Saint Kyle Turley, who has started working on a music career in Nashville.

Tower has high hopes for the festival going forward, and the plan for next year is to add a jazz component to the fest, to better encompass all genres of music produced by New Orleanians. Right now, he just wants to take a page from the boys in black and gold. “Like the Saints, we just want to take it one game at a time, and make sure we win the one in front of us,” he says. “But we are excited about the future of this festival.”

For a schedule of events, go to NOSongFest.com.

Randy Newman talks to Variety about coming up with the music for Disney’s new The Princess and the Frog animated feature. “I’ve been dredging those 30 months I spent in New Orleans for all I could in my life,” he says.

While Lil Wayne isn’t so unassailable as “The Best Rapper Alive,” as he was immediately after The Carter III was released, he’s still a fascinating man who’s as famous as anyone in America these days. Check out a glimpse of the new documentary detailing 6 months of his life here and Rolling Stone’s quick rundown of what to look for.

The NYSE and mtvU recently awarded a team of Tulane students the highest honor in their “Movers and Changers” competition for social entrepreneurs. Jay Zhao, Nic Lagatta, and Shea Shelton were awarded $25,000 in startup funds for their concept, WET Tea.  They were in New York this past week and put in touch with a variety of mentors in the business community, including Snoop Dogg.  Forbes reported the story, and here’s a picture of Shelton and Snoop ringing in the opening of trading.

Wynton Marsalis has popped up in the New York Times, discussing Michael Feinstein’s involvement with the jazz program at the Lincoln Center.

A collection of the sights and sounds of Voodoo Music Experience at night. These were some of the art installations, as well as impromptu performances that took place at Voodoo 2009 on Halloween weekend.

Rapper Dee-1 is part of the Hip-Hop for Hope concert Saturday night at Tipitina’s. OffBeat‘s Kyle Shepherd interviewed him in the Musicians’ Village earlier this year.

Photo by Mick Murray

Their most recent album, 2008′s Fan The Fury, features tracks that run the length of your average pop song, but despite their harmonies and at times anthemic choruses, the result is more reminiscent of the  hazy regret of the Wrens, than anything you’d hear on the radio. This is evident on “Hard Up in the 2000s” and “Sometimes I Feel Like a Vampire.”  The songs feature de la Osa’s and Beguiristain’s voices respectively, and despite the latter’s title, they’re not quite ready to cash in on the bloodsucking craze.

A question in that vein during a recent telephone interview prompted immediate laughter from the band, and a “Tell him the story, Henry” from de la Osa.

Beguiristain says, “We were playing an in-store at a Hot Topic in Fayetteville, and they were super-nice, I’m not trashing them, but we were literally standing in front of a display for Robert Pattinson T-shirts and New Moon. And it came to playing that song and I just thought, ‘Oh God.”’

The band is coming straight out of the studio onto tour, and where they’ve been looking to add refinement to their, at times, careening arrangements. Beguiristain says during a recent telephone interview, “We’ve been listening to a lot of Broken Social Scene and Feist and it’s starting to really influence our new stuff; it’s not so in your face. Every instrument has a reason being there.” Feist’s catalog is one more delicate than these rockers’; their upcoming show should showcase some of this four-piece’s attempts at finer orchestration.

In what hasn’t been a good year for New Orleans rappers vis-a-vis the law, B.G. has picked up a gun charge according to mtv.com.

Even the New York Times can’t resist the allure of a repaved Oak Street. Check out its writeup of the upcoming Po Boy Fest.

RollingStone.com reviewed performances by Eminem, the Flaming Lips and Lenny Kravitz at the Voodoo Music Experience.

“We bring an entertaining show that couples would want to go to, that’s a little naughty and a little risqué, but classy and glamorous. Not the sleazy atmosphere you find in the clubs on Bourbon.”

Along with women, the shows will also feature magic, dancing, singing, and comedy, all sharing the stage with a live, five-piece jazz band led by local musician Matt Dell. Delaup says, “This is the first national festival with a live jazz band accompanying the main event—the Queen of Burlesque competition— and many of the other shows. This is the way burlesque used to be, with live music, and I think it’s a very important part that we’re trying to bring back.”

Several headliners from across the country will compete for the Queen of Burlesque title and participate in other performances, workshops and panels. The main performances will be at Harrah’s Theatre and the House of Blues, while other venues will host the smaller events.

“Burlesque stars and the clubs were really promoted by the city because they realized it was a tourist attraction and they could make money from it,” Delaup says. “Now, they’re trying to bill New Orleans as a family-friendly destination, which is a shame. I hope by starting this fest, it’ll put more of a spotlight on the history of burlesque in New Orleans and how it was culturally significant at one point in time.”

A “new” New Orleans is a reality we all confront and construct for ourselves. Nova Nola, founded by Astral Project’s Steve Masakowski, is one attempt to address New Orleans’ evolving musical landscape. “With Nova Nola, I really wanted to feature ‘new’ New Orleans and I wanted to feature what’s fresh about the New Orleans music scene and have a chance to play with talented, up and coming musicians.” These musicians include his children, 22-year-old vocalist Sasha and 19-year-old bassist Martin, who, along with veteran drummer Ricky Sebastian and vibraphonist James Westfall, comprise New Orleans’ preeminent Brazilian jazz quintet.

The band’s last set at their most recent gig at Snug Harbor included the Antonio Carlos Jobim standard “Agua de Beber.” Sasha’s graceful Portuguese vocals drew you in, then Steve and James Westfall took contrasting solos, Masakowski a flurry of scales next to Westfall’s contemplative, relaxed effort. Sasha followed Westfall, and her vocalizing was echoed by her father. This interplay led to shared smiles between couples in the audience, along with the occasional, familial glance onstage.

This family band has been in the works since 2006 when the Masakowskis started playing at the now-defunct Club 300 on Decatur St. When Club 300 closed, Steve considered ways to keep the unit together, as well as address his lifelong love of Brazilian music. “I was looking for a way to play with some of the new talent on the scene, my children included, and trying to find a band that wasn’t horn-oriented—not loud and blaring, more subtle and sophisticated,” he says.

The Masakowski clan represents yet another talented New Orleans family, but Steve doesn’t view his children’s talent in genetic terms. “They grew up in a household hearing music all of their lives,” he says. “Environmental learning is a way to learn without realizing it, and music is a lot like a language. Being in an environment where you’re surrounded by it all of the time, you just pick it up by osmosis.”

Sasha quips, “I think they secretly wanted us to be lawyers or doctors.”

Sasha Masakowski’s formal training began at NOCCA, where she was a musical theater student. “It wasn’t really until after Katrina that I began to connect with jazz,” she says. “Katrina brought everyone back to their roots.” Her first semester at UNO was interrupted by the hurricane, but she used that time to study jazz at a conservatory in Rotterdam as part of UNO’s exchange program. “It was such a surreal time with all of the events, and this was compounded by being followed by a camera crew.” The UNO exchange students were the subject of a Dutch TV show, but her 15 minutes of Dutch fame ended when she returned to New Orleans, where she continued her training and supported herself wholly with music. Nova Nola gives her a feeling unique to the family band. “Sometimes, in-between songs, I have these flashbacks where I’m five years old, jumping on the bed and faking the lyrics in Portuguese, trying to sing along with the LPs dad would play,” she says with a laugh.

Even though Nova Nola’s debut album is nearing completion, Martin Masakowski is off to the Netherlands, and the band will continue with guests on bass until his return. He is set to follow in older sister’s footsteps and travel, immerse himself in jazz culture, and enroll in the same Rotterdam-based program that she did. His education has taken him to NOCCA and UNO, but following the events of 2005, he decided he would be best served by taking the better part of a year off from high school. During that time, he practically taught himself the bass and designed and constructed his own instrument, a 15-foot-long contrabass recorder made of PVC pipe. Still, Europe beckons. “It’s such a hip scene,” Martin says. “I was able to visit for a week when Sasha was there and met so many talented people. I’m so excited to go back.”

“Hopefully he’ll open some connections over there and we’ll be able to go over to Europe, too,” Steve Masakowski says. “On the one hand, it’s a drag that he’s leaving, but it’s a way of growing, too.” The Masakowskis have all been expanding their musical horizons. In addition to Nova Nola, Steve has continued his association with Astral Project and was a regular performer in the Hi Ho Lounge’s Scatterjazz improv series this past spring. Sasha sings in James Westfall’s jazz rock band, Bionica.

Nova Nola’s focus is New Orleans, and Steve Masakowski recognizes the city’s growth, along with its potential for improvement and innovation. “I think New Orleans has become a younger city and is kind of a clean slate and an opportunity to build something from basically scratch,” Masakowski says. “There are a lot of creative things happening with younger people that you may not necessarily know about. There are a lot of seeds growing, and these young people are doing exciting things.”

In early 2008, Stephen Rehage received a surprising message. “I randomly got an email asking if I could go to the Essence offices for a meeting. I did, and that’s where it all started,” says Rehage, the head of concert promotion company Rehage Entertainment. That meeting was where Essence Communications told him of its decision to go in a different direction for their annual flagship event, the Essence Music Festival, which takes place yearly over the July 4 weekend in the Louisiana Superdome. This year’s event starts July 3 with a night that includes Ne-Yo, John Legend and Beyoncé.

This announcement caught many New Orleanians off-guard, as Jazz Fest promoters Festival Productions was involved in the creation of the event and had successfully produced it since its inception in 1995. The timing of the announcement was not ideal for anyone involved when it was made January 18, 2008, as it dealt an unexpected blow to one of New Orleans music’s iconic production companies and gave Rehage Entertainment only 5 months to prepare for what has come to be known as “The Party with a Purpose.”

However, Rehage Entertainment was not without experience, having founded the Voodoo Music Experience in 1999, and it has steadily grown it into one of the fall’s premier music festivals. Rehage was also no stranger to the Essence festival. “I had known Michelle Ebanks (President of Essence Communications) for a number of years from working with her on various projects and had been to the festival a number of times as a spectator,” he says, but he points out that he had no official involvement prior to 2008. Ebanks told The Times-Picayune in 2008, “This speaks to the opportunity we have to keep the festival fresh and exciting and innovative…. It’s just a reflection of how we want to evolve the festival.”

The 2008 event featured few noticeable changes for spectators, the exception being a brand new main stage, and the production team was able to utilize much of the infrastructure put in place from the previous year’s event. This resulted in a fairly seamless transition from Festival Productions and Rehage Entertainment, with little noticeable difference for the attendees. According to Rehage, “The event spoke for itself last year, both in terms of the production values and the fact that we had four months to produce it, broke attendance records, and for the most part had a flawless production.” He downplays his role, though, adding, “It’s really just taking the older festival and adding some bells and whistles.”

Those “bells and whistles” could not be fully implemented in 2008 due to the late change in production teams. As a result, both Rehage and Essence Communications targeted 2009 and the Essence Fest’s 15th Anniversary as the time for Rehage Entertainment to make its mark on the fest. “The Road to Essence” was one this year’s additions—a three-pronged tour that goes into many of the major media markets, holding concerts and showcasing New Orleans and what Essence has been doing in the city over the past decade and a half. Rehage Entertainment is also responsible for producing a brand-new Essence Fest-related television show, along with all audio/visual coverage of the events, seminars and concerts.

Fans of local artists should not be troubled by these efforts to broaden the Essence festival’s national base. Rehage has no plans to phase out New Orleans music, and a full third of all artists on the bill this year are local, including Irvin Mayfield, Marva Wright, Little Freddie King, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave. and the Rebirth Brass Band. Also on the bill are some high profile former New Orleanians—Ledisi and the Knux. “It’s a music fest in the greatest musical city in the country, and it’s our heritage; local musicians will always have a large part to play,” Rehage says. The superlounges provide an intimate atmosphere in which to see the locals, but the only one to play on the main stage is DJ Soul Sister, who’ll spin music between sets every night.

The roots of Essence Fest seemed to be threatened on another musical front after the release of the preliminary 2009 schedule—a schedule with perennial Essence closers Maze featuring Frankie Beverly conspicuously absent. Despite rumors to the contrary, “there wasn’t any scandalous drama,” Rehage says. “It’s not like Essence didn’t want him or he didn’t want to play. The Frankie Beverly snag was a matter of them changing the booking agent without informing anybody, and that booking agent telling the Frankie Beverly camp that we were not interested at a certain level.” It took some time and some direct intervention, but the issue was eventually resolved. “I called Frankie directly, and once we got to speak cell phone to cell phone, there was a deal in 15 minutes.”