Bryan Batt suggests an early-morning walk through Audubon Park to any New Orleans newcomer. He raves about restaurants like Commander’s Palace, Clancy’s, Acme Oyster House and the Bourbon House. He fondly thinks of his short-lived stint as a member of the Singles, a band that opened up for NOLA-notable ’80s band, the Cold. Batt [...]
Partly in tribute to the recently departed Godfather of Soul, James Brown, and partly in celebration of the city that gave America its soul, trombonist Fred Wesley will team up with Meters’ bassist George Porter, Jr. and drummer Johnny Vidacovich on Friday, February 2nd at Tipitina’s. Wesley—whose decades of playing with Brown, the JBs and [...]
1 p.m. on a Sunday is a pretty early meeting time for any musician who had a Saturday night gig on Frenchmen Street, but St. Louis Slim has defied gravity and is ambling towards Coffea in the Bywater looking for a strong dose of caffeine. Slim’s Saturday night affairs at the Spotted Cat with his [...]
It’s good to be back at the Bodensee, or Lake of Constance. It’s a beautiful place, and I’ve had friends here for more than 10 years. It is a great place to escape the Louisiana summer heat, and it’s the place where I experienced Katrina. It is also where I experienced the reaction of the [...]
“He was a total stand-up guy.” “An extra good dude” “A great guy to know.” “A gentleman’s gentleman.” This is a small sampling of the beautiful things that musicians from around New Orleans had to say after the recent passing of our friend, guitarist and sound engineer Scott Thomas. Thomas was born and raised in [...]
It wasn’t really that long ago that Eric Lindell was doing scattered gigs at the Old Point Bar near his house in Algiers and playing every Monday night at the Circle Bar. On many nights during the early days of the Circle Bar gig, the audience was still sparse enough to make even the tiny [...]
You couldn’t park on the same block as the Notre Dame Catholic Church that bright Wednesday morning. Summer had settled into St. Martinville, but the Louisiana heat didn’t stop people coming from far and wide to say goodbye. Small waves of mourners and well-wishers continued to file into the already packed church during the service. [...]
“I don’t smoke crack, I don’t get high, I ain’t into sports. Music is what I do. The core of it is what I got from my grandmother and my grandfather.” Sitting on the couch of his studio in Hattiesburg, fifth-generation Mississippi musician and A-list guitarist Vasti Jackson is discussing the main impetus behind his [...]
“Our music and sacred steel music has always been about the congregation, and right now the congregation is starting to be the world.” These are the words of Chuck Campbell, master of the pedal steel and a decades old musical tradition that is only in very recent years being heard outside of a small number [...]
