OffBeat cover subject MyNameIsJohnMichael will be part of the contingent from Louisiana going to Austin, Texas for South by Southwest, the annual music festival and conference. This year, more than 20 acts will play official or unofficial showcases over the long weekend from March 17-20. One of this year’s highlights will take place [...]
Dirty Bourbon River Show: The Circus is in Town
When most New Orleans musicians think of a carnival, the brass and second lines of Mardi Gras come to mind. However, the sounds employed by the Dirty Bourbon River Show are more like those typically associated with the circus. According to front man and songwriter Noah Adams, his affection for the genre is deep-seeded, having [...]
Clark Vreeland: Ten Years After
Founding member of the Rhapsodizers Clark Vreeland returns to Snug Harbor March 13 to play in New Orleans after a decadelong hiatus. He’s bringing with him his latest project, Spanky and the Love Handles, but he promises a retrospective show that will include some of the musicians he used to perform with, including David Torkanowsky, [...]
Changes at the Ogden Museum
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art has been adjusting to several significant changes since the start of the year. Following the retirement of Museum Director of 10 years J. Richard Gruber in December, two staffers have begun to share co-directing duties at the Ogden. While splitting museum-directing responsibilities may seem unusual, institutions in New York [...]
A Family Affair
When Canadian indie rock sisters Tegan and Sara started talking about where to write their new album in 2008, New Orleans came up.
Right after Hurricane Katrina, Sara Quin came to New Orleans during a break from touring. “Sara had this really amazing experience,” Tegan Quin says. “She said, ‘The people there are amazing, and everyone [...]
Be Your Not-So-Super Self
”That first year, we had it in Blake’s living room, and everyone just had an amazing time” says Rotary Downs drummer Zack Smith. “The next year, we had it in Blake’s backyard, and we had people sliding on the ground and partying their asses off.”
Along with co-creator Blake Haney of Dirty Coast and others, Smith [...]
Grammy Business
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards are filled with ties to New Orleans and Louisiana. From the nominations of Harry Connick, Jr. in the Pop category and Allen Toussaint and Terence Blanchard in Jazz categories to the acknowledgements of the True Blood soundtrack and Dave Matthews’ latest effort (recorded at Piety Street Recording), the diversity of [...]
New Orleans Bingo! Show: A New Game
The circus is pulling out new tricks for the New Year. A new cast of new characters and a transition from their typical rhythm and blues beat to rock ’n’ roll has the New Orleans Bingo! Show enthused for the new year.
Fans familiar with cabaret-inspired performers, well acquainted with the theatrics, the costumes and the [...]
The Saints Get Crunk
Every time the New Orleans Saints kick off this season, another “Who Dat?” question is raised: Who dat singing dat song? A high school horn part over a hip-hop track has become the soundtrack to Saints kickoffs, and since they’ve been scoring at a prodigious rate, people are hearing it a lot.
The track is “Halftime [...]
Down Bohren’s Road
“I don’t even really think of myself as an educator,” Spencer Bohren humbly states, “I’m just an artist.” Tell that to the thousands of students who have benefited from Bohren’s “Down the Dirt Road Blues” performance lectures. On January 23, he’ll receive The Blues Foundation’s prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive Award in Education in Memphis, [...]
