Tag Archives: Scott Billington

February 2012 Letters

JOHNNY AND SCOTT I first came across OffBeat back in the 1990s. I had discovered this new singer,

YouTube du Jour: The Soul Rebels

Yesterday on WWOZ, OffBeat‘s Lifetime Achievement in Music Business honoree Scott Billington recommended that people see

Best of the Beat Business Awards: Photos

Wednesday night, OffBeat celebrated the best of New Orleans and Louisiana’s music business community with the Best of the Beat Music Business Awards at the newly-opened Joy Theater. Irvin Mayfield’s Mayfield Productions was awarded Music Business of the Year, and Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to George Porter, Jr. in music and Scott Billington in [...]

Best of the Beat Business Awards: The Winners

Last night in an invitation-only event at the Joy Theater, OffBeat roasted George Porter, Jr. and saluted Rounder Records’ Scott Billington at its Best of the Beat Business Awards. Porter is this year’s Lifetime Achievement in Music honoree, and he was roasted by Cyril Neville, John Gros, Papa Mali, Billy Iuso and the Howlin’ Wolf [...]

Best of the Beat: On Schedule and On TV

[Updated] The Best of the Beat takes place Friday night at Generations Hall, and we now have a final schedule for the night. We’ll have music on two stages, and bands will play 45 minute sets.   Front Room 6 p.m. – Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses 7 p.m. – Glen David Andrews 9:45 [...]

Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music Business Award: Scott Billington

It’s hard to explain what Scott Billington has meant to New Orleans and Louisiana music in the past two plus decades. These following words must suffice: Classified. Give Him Cornbread. Funk is in the House. Irma Thomas. Tangle Eye. Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas. The Houseman Cometh. Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band [...]

Back to the Best of the Beat Awards

George Matters. Buttons and T-shirts proclaimed this simple truth years ago, and on Friday, January 27, 2012, OffBeat agrees when we recognize the great George Porter, Jr. with our Lifetime Achievement in Music at the Best of the Beat. Once again, OffBeat will recognize excellence in the South Louisiana music scene, and we will return [...]

Irma Thomas, The Soul Queen of New Orleans: 50th Anniversary Celebration (Rounder)

On which we celebrate the Queen’s 49th anniversary in show business, actually, counting from her first single, 1960’s “Don’t Mess with My Man.” But given the Queen, who wants to count? This celebration only counts material from the last quarter-century, too, finding Thomas’ voice huskier and just a touch more mannered than over her first [...]

Beau Jocque Cranks It Up!

1998 was a banner year for Beau Jocque. Last year’s release for Rounder Records, Lock It In, Crank It Up, his seventh recording in six years, was among the top-selling albums of the year by any zydeco artist. He and his band, the Zydeco Hi-Rollers, earned a last-minute spot on a David Letterman episode that [...]

The Year of the Wolf: Walter “Wolfman” Washington

When we began discussing possible covers for our 1991 year-end issue, the choice quickly became obvious. Only one act managed to release not one, but two strong albums of decidedly Big Easy music this year, while at the same time receiving very little coverage—Walter “Wolfman” Washington and his band, the Roadmasters (additionally, we figured they’d [...]