Photo by Manfred Werner via Wikimedia Commons.

New Orleans Artists Announce Bernie Worrell Tribute

The inaugural Bear Creek Bayou Music Festival will take over Mardi Gras World on September 30 and October 1, and now it looks like there’s a pair of after shows to complement the day festivities.

bernie_tribueOn Saturday, October 1, the Howlin’ Wolf will host a late-night tribute to funk pioneer Bernie Worrell, who passed away earlier this year after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. The Parliament-Funkadelic icon and Talking Heads collaborator will be honored by an all-star band featuring Ivan Neville, Nick Daniels, Ian Neville, Nigel Hall, Nikki Glaspie, Sam Williams, Ryan Zoidis, Eric Bloom and Jennifer Hartswick.

Additionally, future funk outfit The Floozies will will team up with a one-off live band for a “Funk Court” after show at the Republic on Friday, September 30. The show will find the band backed by John Medeski, Skerik, Ryan Zoidis and Jesus Coomes for a night of open-ended jamming.

With the possible exception of Sam Williams, all of the artists at the aforementioned after shows will perform at the Bear Creek Bayou Music Festival. The first-year event–which is a spin off of Florida’s now-defunct Bear Creek festival–will feature sets from The Flaming Lips, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Lettuce, Soulive, Foundation of Funk, Lotus, Budos Band, Earphunk and many more.

Tickets for the Bernie Worrell tribute are on sale here, while tickets for the Funk Court show are available here.