The stellar crew of New Orleans musicians who make up NOLA Resistance will be breaking out of their Covid-necessitated ban on public performance with a “live” show recorded at Tipitina’s on Monday, December 28. The show will be streamed on-demand for free on Nugs.tv, Tipitina’s show-hosting service, the following night, Tuesday, December 29 starting at 9pm EST. It will also be available on NolaResistance.com.
The players are all A-list avatars of classic New Orleans jazz and funk. Led by Matt Dillon, they include Leo Nocentelli, Kermit Ruffins, Herlin Riley, Bill Summers, Darrell Lavigne, June Yamagishi, James Andrews, Gralen Banks, Casmè Barnes, Chris Severin and others. This was the team that recorded and independently released the CD entitled “NOLA Resistance” in the fall of 2019. The goal then was to create a protest record. The inspiration now is more hopeful. “After a very tumultuous time in American life, we can finally start fresh again,” says Matt.
Hopefulness aside, the players will remain socially distant from each other during the performance and there will be no live audience. The program will showcase tracks from “NOLA Resistance” (including remakes of socially-conscious Seventies-era titles like Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” and Sly Stone’s “Family Affair”) alongside more care-free classics like The Meters’ “Cissy Strut.”
The brainchild of longtime music promoter Matt Dillon and longtime labor organizer Brian D’Arcy — a couple of old friends — “NOLA Resistance” was designed to combine the eternally buoyant spirit of New Orleans music with the progressive activism of organized labor. The CD was funded by Working Californians, as is this new concert. Allied with the IBEW’s Local 18, Working Californians is devoted to the creation of good-paying union jobs for communities of color.
“This is a way for us to connect with fans all over the world who’ve only heard our record and watched us online,” says Matt. “Now they’ll be able to see us perform live.” Admirers of NOLA Resistance will be pleased to learn that the team is planning to produce a new album in the new year.
