April 2016
Letters
- April 2016 Letters to OffBeat Magazine
MARDI GRAS ATTENDANCE These letters are in response to Jan Ramsey’s blog post “Mardi Gras on the skids?” wherein she observed…
Mojo Mouth
- A True Family
Festivals are a tribute to our music and culture. They remind us of our visceral connection to each other through the…
Fresh
- New Quorum: The Value of Exchanging Ideas
The purpose of most artist-in-residence programs is to provide artists time and space to work on a particular piece. At the… - Ken Colyer: A Passion for New Orleans Jazz Creates an Ongoing Legacy
British trumpeter Ken Colyer’s passion for New Orleans traditional jazz has created a unique and ongoing legacy. The Ken Colyer Trust… - My Music: Wendell Brunious
“It’s very, very important to dress nice for a gig. Think of a lawyer’s office: If he’s got on a T-shirt… - Five Questions with Festival International de Louisiane’s Volunteer Emeritus Jimmie Duhon
How did you get involved with Festival International originally? I was a member of Les Amis des Artistes, which is Friends… - Hogs for the Cause Playlist
In honor of this month’s Hogs for the Cause festival, we’re going hog wild with this playlist presenting ten songs, mostly… - Five Questions with Becker Hall, CEO and co-founder of Hogs for the Cause
What is the origin of Hogs for the Cause? I went to school at the University of South Carolina and before…
Features
- FQF IQ: Your A-Z Guide to All the Artists at This Year's French Quarter Festival
French Quarter Fest 2016 will feature more than 1,700 local artists on 23 stages spread throughout the Quarter. Our comprehensive guide… - Valence and Chestnut: Caesar Brothers Play New Orleans Music the Way it Should Be Played
Drummer Rickey and keyboardist Norman Caesar were born and raised in New Orleans’ notorious Uptown funk neighborhood. Related to the Nevilles… - There’s Nothing Like Chubby: Grammy Winner Chubby Carrier Isn’t Afraid to Take Chances
“Isn’t that crazy, man?” Chubby Carrier says about being in his 27th year as a zydeco accordionist, songwriter and performing front… - Everything Old is New Again: The Batture Boys' New Vibe
The Batture Boys are a brand-new band; they’ve just been around for a long while. Tommy Malone and Ray Ganucheau have… - Following Your Bliss: Mason Ruffner Doesn’t Adhere to a Formula
Mason Ruffner had everything it takes to build a mainstream blues-rock career—everything but the desire to do so. Back in 1989,… - On the Move: The New Breed Brass Band is Making Noise
The New Breed Brass Band rolls at four major New Orleans festivals this year. In order of its appearances they include… - Medicine Man: Marc Stone’s Surge Of Sunshine
For a lot of New Orleans music fans, French Quarter Fest starts when Marc Stone kicks his band into high gear… - Ten Years Gone: Lafayette’s Brass Bed courts national attention
The Secret Will Keep You, the third album from Lafayette psychedelic-pop band Brass Bed, inspired national acclaim in 2013. NPR, The… - March 1, 1949: Louis Armstrong's Reign As King Zulu
In June of 1926, when Louis Armstrong was 24-years-old, the trumpeter and his Hot Five entered the Okeh recording studio and…
Obituaries
- Obituary: David Egan
Mavis Staples, Irma Thomas, Percy Sledge, Johnny Adams, Joe Cocker, Etta James, John Mayall, Solomon Burke, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Marcia Ball,… - Obituary: Louis Jay Meyers
(1956–2016) Louis Jay Meyers, one of the founders of Austin’s South by Southwest music conference and the New Orleans music…
French Quarter Fest Focus
- Asylum Chorus
ASYLUM CHORUS, 4/10, BMI, 3:45 PM “We decided to go bust and do our regular set anyway,” Asylum Chorus founder… - French Quarter Fest Focus: Sarah Quintana
SARAH QUINTANA AND THE MISS RIVER BAND, 4/8, WWL, 11 AM “We worked hard to find that sound,” Sarah Quintana…
In The Spirit
- Anna Mangiardi at Cosimo's
This is the 32nd installment in our cocktail series In the Spirit, featuring local bartenders who create drinks in honor of…
Dining Out
- Roux Carré
Good Work Network fosters the endeavors of local minority-owned and women-owned businesses. The non-profit’s most recent investment is Roux Carré, an…
The Spot
- Charlie Halloran Hits the Spot
Nice shirt. I've always been into Caribbean stuff. I like the music, the food and the drinks, too. I've heard…
BackTalk
- Sonny, Sonny, Sonny
OffBeat’s April cover artist, local painter Dona Simons, has painted Sonny Landreth more than 30 times. Her Lakeview house is… - Sonny Landreth
Every spring, Sonny Landreth, master of the slide guitar and co-composer of the classic “Congo Square,” plays his annual marathon of…
Reviews
- Victor Goines, A Dance at the Mardi Gras Ball (Rosemary Joseph Records)
As the director of jazz studies for the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University since 2008, New Orleans native Victor… - REWIND: Deadeye Dick, A Different Story (Ichiban)
Singer songwriter Caleb Guillotte presses rewind on Deadeye Dick’s gold-selling 1995 release A Different Story. “Billy Landry had just joined… - Herlin Riley New Direction (Mack Avenue)
The African diaspora is Herlin Riley’s realm, from New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward to the heart of New York City. As… - Winfield Parker, Mr. Clean: Winfield Parker at Ru-Jac (Omnivore)
Winfield Parker was a Washington/Baltimore–based soul singer who—hauntingly—had a sound both vocally and stylistically similar to Danny White. (Fast forward: White… - Various Artists, Beef Ball Baby! The New Orleans R&B Sessions (Ace)
If New Orleans R&B could be compared to the Holy Bible, this CD would be considered the Book of Genesis—as in,… - Various Artists, Rare Soul Groove & Grind 1963–1973 (Rock Beat)
This sure was the year for R&B CD box sets. However, despite the Rare Soul moniker here, the quality of rarity… - 5 Card Stud, 5 Card Stud (Independent)
These suburban cowboys are the type whose Country comes naturally filtered through classic rock, but in this case that’s a good… - Clifton Chenier, Clifton Chenier’s Rockin’ Accordion (Jasmine)
Instead of featuring selected tracks spanning an entire recording career, Clifton Chenier’s Rockin’ Accordion focuses on his first six years recording… - Ernest James Zydeco, Automatic Harvester (Jam Rat Records)
On the chaotic opening seconds of “Automatic”—Automatic Harvester’s standout leadoff track—it sounds as if Ernest James Zydeco (EJZ) is trying to… - Joey van Leeuwen, Reflection (Independent)
Reflection” can mean a shimmering surface you can see yourself in, but it can describe the act of looking inside oneself… - Les White, Forty-Five Shades of White (Independent)
New Orleans’ Les White is a unique mix. A brilliant, even groundbreaking guitarist, he also has a satiric bent which he… - Vicky P, Can’t Hold Me Back (Independent)
If only everyone’s best intentions were enough when it came to The Children. You may have heard of Victoria Pike, a.k.a.… - Mark Rubin, Jew of Oklahoma Southern Discomfort (Independent)
Calling yourself the “Jew of Oklahoma,” not just in your album titles or songs but right there in your very stage… - Travis Matte and the Kingpins, Highly Influenced (Mhat Productions)
A few months ago, Travis Matte’s single “He Don’t Know You Like I Do” was burning up the KBON airwaves, sometimes… - Jon Hatchett Band, Jon Hatchett Band (Independent)
These local honky-tonkers’ debut CD opens with a song about a girl who is, as Pete Townshend would say, bleedin’ quadrophenic:… - The Nth Power, Abundance (Independent)
The Nth Power boasts many New Orleans connections, particularly for a band that is not based in the Crescent City (though… - John Sinclair, It’s All Good: A John Sinclair Reader (SinclairReader.com)
The pioneering music journalist, poet and activist John Sinclair had already accomplished the work of a lifetime when he came to… - New Orleans Cotton Mouth Kings, Still Thirsty (Independent) ; The Hot Club of New Orleans, Destination: Live! At St. Louis Cathedral (Independent)
These two records show how vibrant the swing tradition remains in New Orleans music. The Cotton Mouth Kings play a combination… - Magnetic Ear, Live at Vaughan’s (Independent)
A decade ago, Martin Krusche was using his pocket brass band Magnetic Ear as a small-combo platform for his complex, brass-based…
