Comedian Chris Champagne and entertainer Philip Melancon host “Ray Nagin: The Going-Away Party” on Sunday, May 26 at the Columns Hotel, 3811 St. Charles Ave.
Comedian Chris Champagne
It’s billed as a “long-deserved laugh at the legacy of Mayor C. Ray Nagin’s administration.” High time to poke fun at the high (and low) jinks and cronyism of his administration. Admission is $15. Reservations: (504) 330-9117.
Inside LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge this Memorial Day weekend, the annual two-day Bayou Country Superfest, May 25-26, will feature Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, The Band Perry and more country stars with performances from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. daily. Meanwhile, outside the gated stadium, country music fans can commemorate their experience during Bayou Country —ticket-free—at this year’s “Fan Fest,” the free event in Tiger Stadium’s parking lot A, from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. each day.
Country music festival hosts free stage this year.
Fans can also enjoy tailgating; games; FanPhotos; give-aways from local radio stations; and meet- and-greets with the Chase Tyler Band, Mark Adam Miller and Yvette Landry on May 25; and Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue, Kyle Turley Band plus Jaryd Lane and the Parish on May 26. The Visit Baton Rouge “Infeaux on the Geaux” cart will be at Fan Fest for those interested in exploring other local events. More Fan Fest information, including the Bud Light Stage schedule, can be found here.
Over 16 artists will perform starting May 25 at 5 p.m. with Aaron Lewis followed by Thompson Square, Darius Rucker, Miranda Lambert, and finally with headliner Lady Antebellum at 10 p.m. May 26 performances begin with Frankie Ballard at 5 p.m., followed by Rodney Atkins, The Band Perry, Luke Bryan, and close out with Zac Brown Band at 10 p.m. Tickets range from $50 general admission to $500 VIP packages. Children under the age of two are free. For overnight fans, RV parking can be purchased for $300, or $500 for weekend passes.
Lady Antebellum headlines Bayou Country Superfest on Saturday. May 25
If you are making a weekend of it, post-festival fun can be had at shows like the iMBEANCE showcase with Jordy Marilyn and Matsy at Spanish Moon on May 25 for just $8. The band 90 West is at Roux House at 9 p.m., or venture down “Tigerland,” the strip of bars south of LSU just off Nicholson Ave that LSU students frequent for traditional clubbing. Or stroll up Third Street downtown for a more mature club experience.
More Info: http://www.bayoucountrysuperfest.com/
You know what they say about New Orleans: there’s just something in the water here. And you know what they say about New Orleanians… that “je ne sais quoi” just runs in the blood. We would expect nothing less to be true of trumpet king and New Orleans ambassador Kermit Ruffins’ children. In fact, his entrepreneurial spirit is apparently also coded into his DNA, as this week his two daughters, Christina and Neshia, announced the launch of their new entertainment company, Ruffins Girls Productions, LLC.
Neshia Ruffins
The sisters, only 20 and 21 years old, partnered to form the event production venture in order to “create events to entertain and give exposure for the New Orleans music and arts community,” says Neshia, the younger of the two. She feels that “there are many talented young people in this city and we are excited to now be involved, not only on a performing level but a business level as well.”
Christina and Neshia are hosting their first series of events at a few of the city’s premiere venues like Café Istanbul and the recently re-opened Treme Center, just up the street from dad’s newest spot, Kermit’s Treme Speakeasy. The pair say they are open for business and ready to begin accepting event production inquiries now.
Christina Ruffins
Get a taste for the Ruffins Girls’ style this Friday, May 24 at their debut music showcase, “The Bachelor of Arts,” which opens with Kermit and the BBQ Swingers and closes with over a dozen local hip hop and R&B artists, including Kashflow, MidCity AB and the Baby Boyz Brass Band. The show kicks off at 5:00 p.m. at Café Istanbul.
Or check out their second edition at the Treme Center on Saturday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. featuring Nayo Jones, Mykia Jovan, The Sleeping Giant and Guitar Slim Jr. This concert will see not only Kermit and the Swingers again, but will also have plenty of dad’s world famous BBQ on deck. A swing dance contest and a ladies hat contest are among some of the other fanfare.
Take a swamp rock supergroup and a British rock god, and what you got? You got the double bill of Robert Plant and Lil’ Band O’Gold, which will be hitting five venues in Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee during July. Plant’s been a friend and fan of the Louisiana band since 2007, when he worked with them on a Fats Domino tribute and played live with them at Tipitina’s.
New Orleans' own CC Adcock of Lil' Band of Gold and Robert Plant reunite for a summer 2013 mini-tour
Plant has of course been a Louisiana music fan for decades, covering Phil Phillips’ “Sea of Love” with the Honeydrippers in 1985; that version was an even bigger hit than Phillips’ original. (In a press release, Plant enthused that LBOG were “like the original version of the Honeydrippers”).
During 2007 the two forces collaborated on a pair of Fats tracks for a Tipitina’s Foundation benefit album; Plant made his Tipitina’s guest appearance on April 21 of that year. Along with the Fats songs they played a couple of Elvis Presley numbers, plus a Slim Harpo medley that found Plant throwing in bits of a few Led Zeppelin songs. During that trip to New Orleans, Plant was also spotted catching George Porter Jr. at the Maple Leaf, and buying records at the Louisiana Music Factory.
The LBOG are about to release an all-Domino album that will include the Plant tracks along with some newer recordings. For this tour the lineup’s mainstays—including singer/guitarist C.C. Adcock, accordionist Steve Riley and pianist David Egan—will be joined by first-generation swamp-rocker Tommy McClain of “Sweet Dreams” fame, and longtime Louisiana bandleader Lil’ Buck Sinegal.
Dates of the tour, including the July 17 stop in New Orleans, are:
Thursday, June 20: The Palladium, Dallas, TX
Friday, June 21: The Bayou Music Center, Houston, TX
Sunday, June 23: The ACL Moody Theater, Austin, TX
Saturday, July 13: Live In The Garden, Memphis, TN
Wednesday, July 17: The Mahalia Jackson Theater, New Orleans, LA
Beginning Wednesday, the highly-anticipated foodie extravaganza, the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience (NOWFE) began its 21st anniversary of celebrating local wine, food and culinary achievement with wine dinners that paired local chefs and wines.
The always-popular Royal Street Stroll food and wine tasting.
The rest of the event, which takes place at venues all over New Orleans and in the New Orleans Convention Center, includes wine tastings at the “Royal Street Stroll” tonight, seminars and seminars (at the Marriott Meeting Rooms, 859 Convention Center Boulevard) and “grand tastings” of wine and food at the New Orleans Convention Center. Flow Tribe closes out the event at 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday evening, and the Nigel Hall Band plays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday’s events also include the Seventh Annual Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off hosted by the Louisiana Seafood Board. Winner of the cook-off will represent Louisiana in the seventh annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off on August 3.
There’s also the dessert showcase—“The Gateaux Show”—Friday from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the grand Ballroom at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, featuring those hot little cupcakes Trixie Minx & her Beauties.
The entire schedule of the event and ticketing information is here.
ENTER TO WIN A FREE PASS TO SATURDAY’S GRAND WINE TASTING EVENT AT NOFWE!
Two-Step Contest Instructions:
1. Visit the OffBeat.com store here and purchase a minimum 1 year subscription home delivery of OffBeat Magazine ($39).
2. Complete and submit the online form below by Friday, May 24 at 12:00pm. Please provide your order confirmation number, if available, in the form message box .
* The first [3] people to follow these instructions will each win [1] free full access pass to the NOFWE’s Grand Wine Tasting event on Saturday, May 25 at 2:00pm at the Convention Center, featuring 175 wineries, 75 chefs and more! ($100 value)
Questions? contests@offbeat.com
*In order to qualify to win a NOFWE Grand Wine Tasting Pass, you must complete this form AND visit the Offbeat.com store to purchase a 1 year subscription to OffBeat Magazine.
Winners will be notified via Email by 1pm on Friday, May 24..
Opa! Lakeview will be ablaze with blue and white this weekend as New Orleans’ Greek Festival turns 40.
The celebration, beginning on Friday and running through Sunday of this weekend , will give festival- goers its annual shot of great Greek cuisine, fun, music, dance and culture.
The festival takes place at Holy Trinity Cathedral and Hellenic Cultural Center (1200 Robert E. Lee Boulevard). Greek and Mediterranean food is showcased and sold; special cooking demonstrations of the cuisine are held; and the festival also includes its annual Greek Festival Run/Walk Race. Visitors can tour Holy Trinity Cathedral and can hear live music from the Alpha Omega band and watch the Hellenic Cultural Center dancers. The best part: wear a toga on Sunday and you get into the fest for free!
Holy Trinity Cathedral, on the banks of Bayou St. John in Lakeview, is the beautiful setting for the New Orleans Greek Festival.
Since eating will surely be high on the to-do list, the food focus this year is on live demos on how to prepare traditional Greek foods such as Greek Caponata and Mediterranean Tapenade, with free demonstrations at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on May 25. Demonstrations will be held in the hall next to the popular Gourmet Greek Grocery on-site. (don’t forget to buy your feta!).
The Greek Festival Run/Walk Race will be held Friday, May 24 at the corner of Robert E. Lee Blvd. and Wisner Blvd. and will begin with registration at 6 p.m., the one mile starting at 7 p.m. with the 5K starting at 7:20 p.m.
One of the more interesting facts about Holy Trinity Cathedral is that it is actually the very first Greek Orthodox Church in the Americas (established in 1864). Take in a little history of the Greek community in New Orleans and the cathedral with a tour of the facility. The Hellenic College Holy Cross seminarian chanters will assist in the tours and will also chant hymns i in Greek and English. All tours will feature a display of religious artifacts and celebrate the 150th anniversary of the church.
For kids, an “Athenian playground” will be set up next to the Bayou and give the rug-rats a chance to climb the “Mount Olympus” rock wall, 400-square-feet of climbing rock standing at twenty-four- feet tall. Face-painting and kids’ crafts as well as canoe rentals and inflatable castles will be available as well as this family-friendly event.
Alpha Omega performs live authentic Greek music and dance lessons for the “Zorba” and other traditional Greek dances on the Bayou will be highlights for sure. The official 2013 Greek Festival poster was designed by local artist James Michalopoulos (do ya think he’s Greek?), festival t-shirts, and other authentic Greek books, art and merchandise.
Admission to the festival is $5 daily and children under 12 get in free. More information about the festival, including directions and a volunteer form are here.
Todd Rundgren is coming to Louisiana in a big way: Not only is he playing the House of Blues (on June 23) and hosting his Toddstock fan convention at the Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, but he’ll be making a side trip to the Upper 9th Ward on June 19, where he’ll join the Youth Orchestra of the Lower 9th Ward (YOL9W) to celebrate his 65th birthday. Todd and the local musicians will share birthday cake, do some jamming together, and he’ll give a brief talk about his musical history.
Rundgren takes Louisiana.
YOL9W is an after-school program, which runs Monday-Thursday from 3:30 -6:30 p.m. throughout the school year. The program consists of top-notch music instruction, implemented by a diverse staff of professional musicians and college students; opportunities to participate in workshops with guest artists and local musicians; and community relevant performances. Children receive a healthy snack, help with homework, an evening meal, and transportation to those who need it. Currently 42 children from local elementary schools are enrolled in the program at Arise Aademy, KIPP Leadership Primary, and the All Souls Church and Community Center.
Rundgren has done virtually everything in the past 40 years, producing commercial hits and cult classics, playing everything from power pop to progressive epics to the electronica of his latest album State. (Look for an exclusive interview with the man in the June issue of OffBeat). And he’s never failed to involve fans in his various interests and causes. This month he launched a fan campaign to raise money for the YOL9W; as of this week they’d taken in more than $3,000. He’s also invited fans to design a logo for the Orchestra; the winning entry will be unveiled at the event. The after-school music program aims for social change through music; the group has played eight concerts this year and worked onstage with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
As part of the visit, the group will perform at least one of Rundgren’s songs with him. They haven’t announced which one yet, but if you look over his catalog, the possibilities are endless. For instance…if they’re able to master all 30 minutes of “The Ikon,” our hats are off to this crew forever!
Memorial Day weekend brings with it the coronation of summer as well as a time to commemorate the country’s men and women who have served in its military. This Memorial Day weekend (May 24-27), the Marine Crops Band New Orleans will host concerts on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday to ring in the holiday. Founded in 1978, the MCBNO might be overlooked as a cornerstone of the city’s music scene, perhaps, because in years past its area of operation spanned the entire United States. However, due to fiscal constraints, the band’s service is now restricted to a 100 mile radius from its home base. But, as Staff Sergeant, Enlisted Conductor and drummer Josh Campbell explains in this week’s episode of OffBeat’s Look-Ka Py Py Podcast, the band has long since prided itself on its ability to bring the sounds of New Orleans around the country and sees its current status as an opportunity to get more involved in the local scene and play in various clubs around town as well as larger, public performance spaces.
Though commonly associated with its concert and ceremonial bands, the MCBNO’s ensembles also include a jazz combo, a brass band and a brass quintet. Friday (May 24), its brass quintet will play Veterans Memorial Plaza at 9:30 a.m., and its brass band will play the French Market at 3:00 p.m. Its concert band will perform at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (May 25) at the World War II Museum and on Sunday (May 26) at 6:00 p.m. at St. Louis Cathedral. On Monday (May 27), its brass band will deliver a special Memorial Day program at 10:00 a.m. at the World War II Museum. To find out more about the Marine Crops Band New Orleans and to hear more about its upcoming plans as well as to get to know Sgt. Campbell, tune in below.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:57 — 19.4MB) | Embed
Son of a gun, a good time was had on Bayou St. John last weekend (May 17-19) as music filled the air, paddle boats bobbed along the banks, trapeze artists swung from the trees and burlesque dancers let it all hang out at the eighth annual Bayou Boogaloo. OffBeat photographer Kim Welsh had her camera handy and snapped these fun shots of the celebration. Highlights include pics of Bonerama, Fleur de Tease, Alvin Youngblood Hart, the Fi-Yi-Yi Mardi Gras Indians and more… Enjoy!
Roxie le Rouge of Fleur de Tease at the 2013 Bayou Boogaloo (Photo: Kim Welsh)
![Irving \](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5328/8790560724_6fba2c6e6a_s.jpg "Irving \")
All photos courtesy of Kim Welsh. For more photos from the New Orleans music scene visit OffBeat’s Flickr page.
