Issue Articles — Cover Story
Cyril Neville Preserves Neighborhood Culture
If you see Cyril Neville perform this year, you’ll probably hear a song called “Don’t Wait ’Till I’m Gone.” It’s a typically fiery bit of funk, with lyrics that say what a lot of well-traveled musicians are probably thinking: “Give me my flowers while I can still smell them, hear my stories while I can still tell them. Give me my medals while I can still wear them. Don’t wait till I’m gone!”
You Can Call Me Al: SaxKixAve dynamic duo Albert and Alfred
At a recent Tipitina’s show, SaxKixAve, the project of rapper Alfred Banks and multi-instrumentalist Albert Allenback, converted a packed house into a fan base. They are hip hop-fluid as you haven’t heard it before. In lesser hands, this would be a recipe for a muddy mess. The high-level Al’s, though, finesse it so well. One can’t help but pause the next day with awe that what they pulled off in an exceptional way is about to thrill festival goers.
Living That Vison: Singer-Songwriter Lynn Drury Endures To Open A New Chapter
Years ago, Lynn Drury pedaled her bicycle along the narrow streets of the French Quarter. Moments into her ride she stopped and realized that, 20 years ago, she had a vision of exactly what she was doing that day. “I remember thinking, ‘I’m living that vision’” she said.
The Spirit of Fi Yi Yi: Victor Harris, Sr. hits the streets for the last time
“For me, it’s a blessing,” declares Victor Harris on having his “given spiritual cultural anatomy” revealed to him as the Spirit of Fi Yi Yi 40 years ago. “I’m a chosen one, I’m a servant of God. I want that joy and healing to spread around the world.”
David Russell Batiste, Sr.: Best Of The Beat Lifetime Achievement In Music
David Russell Batiste Sr., this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Music honoree, has a strong legacy of family, music, and education. As his son Jamal put it, “My father has a continuing fire to share his music and touch people.
Reclaiming Roots: Loose Cattle took 10 years, two cities and one pandemic to lock into place
The New Orleans band’s earliest roots are in New York City where the two principals—Kimberly Kaye and Michael Cerveris—got together to play cover songs to blow off steam and keep the flame of their relationship burning. An album of cover songs, and a Christmas record followed. It only took a breakup, a personal health crisis, an eventual relocation to New Orleans, a new rhythm section, a pandemic, and a lot more confidence writing original songs for Loose Cattle to emerge wholly new. The band’s forthcoming self-titled album of largely all originals, marks the occasion.
December 2023 larger cover image
The Cover Club offers an OffBeat cover of your choice printed on canvas so you can hang your favorite OffBeat Magazine covers on the walls of your home! The December 2023 cover can be purchased here. […]
