NolaFunk Lagniappe

Walter "Wolfman" Washington & The Roadmasters

Here's a picture of yours truly with the Wolfman:


Monster Funk: Jon Cleary & His Absolute Monster Gentleman

“We do a bit of everything really,” Cleary describes the band’s current set. “We play mostly new stuff we have written but we also have a fairly large tip of the hat to all the guys that came before us. I think a lot of local musicians agree that we’re all just standing on the shoulders of giants, amazing people who have changed the way New Orleans music was played, from Jelly Roll Morton to Professor Longhair and Fats of course and Dr John and James Booker, so we’ll play a couple of Professor Longhair tunes and a couple of Meters tunes and we like to mix it up. Mostly it’s our own stuff but the nature of the music here is that it’s been a very natural evolution so it’s not a big deal to switch from a 1990s tune to a 2007 tune and then hop all the way back half a century to Professor Longhair or even go back to the 1920s to do a little Jelly Roll Morton mix and it all fits in ‘cause it all comes from the same place. So it’s like a little broad taste of the history of New Orleans funk.”


beniceorlevee's "Motivated": A Trip to the House of Dance & Feathers

I was visiting this year’s Krew de Vue King and proprietor of the House of Dance and Feathers, Ronald Lewis, who has a considerable reputation in the Lower Ninth Ward. A former Mardi Gras Indian, president of the Big Nine Social and Pleasure Club, and lifelong resident of the Lower Ninth, Lewis has always had a lot vested in his neighborhood. Because of his involvement with CITYbuild, the reconstruction of the House of Dance and Feathers, and the repair of his home in 2006, he and his property have become a sort of flagship for the opportunity still offered in the Lower Ninth.

Stephanie Jordan Named Jazz All-Stars 2008 by New Orleans Magazine

Jordan is the fifth performer to emerge from a family of New Orleans bred musicians. As the daughter of saxophonist Edward “Kidd" Jordan, Stephanie's musical roots run deep. Her siblings include flutist Kent, trumpeter Marlon, and violinist Rachel Jordan. Music is the one savior I have right now. I thank God every day ... Jazz feeds the spirit. The more you give, the more you receive back."

Stream vintage Preservation Hall Jazz Band shows for Free


Listen to a show from 1968 San Franciso HERE.

If Bill Graham should be given credit for anything it is the fact that he opened up hundreds of new performers and numerous genres of music to a public that was then very eager to hear and sample anything new and different. This was the third of three nights that the Preservation Hall Jazz Band played the Fillmore West to a primarily hippie audience on a bill that included the Grateful Dead and Sons of Champlin. Highlights of this show include “Gully Low Blues,” “Bourbon Street Parade,” and the old time blues gem, “In The Racket.” Not to be missed.

From Levees.Org: Demand the 8/29 Investigation Act!

Click the above link and follow the simple steps below to demand the 8/29 Investigation Act, a truly independent and truly complete analysis of the flood protection failures in metro New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

Related: Engineer society flap reinvigorates call for new levee commission

Learn about Papa Mali

On first listen, those Crescent City polyrhythms work their voodoo all over you bringing forth the spirits of great Louisiana albums past. In the background you can hear Buddy Bolden’s brass, feel the kinetic pulse of all the parades and hail the return of the Dr. John The Night Tripper in Papa’s “Gris Gris”-ish grooves. “I am never far from the spirit of that landmark recording,” Welbourne explained. “That made a huge impact on me at a very young age. I grew up in Louisiana in the 60s..." Welbourne naturally followed that dark walk on guilded splinters to Dr. John and “his crew of freaky junkyard zombies."

ENTER to win a free signed merch pack from Galactic including a poster and a copy of From The Corner To The Block!

The 60-Second Interview: Richard Shea on competitive eating

The oyster eating contest returns! This is almost as big as the Neville Brothers finally coming home.

New Orleans is the only city in America where a bunch of people showing up to eat as much food as they possibly can would signify a return to normalcy. We're excited to come back to the French Quarter Festival and to celebrate the levity of life.

Nola Rev's "Fest With No Rest"

"April really is the cruelest month, because it's absolutely impossible to attend every single one of the festivals happening in the Greater New Orleans-South Louisiana area this month, and it's almost impossible to choose between them. There's just no rest for the fest-inclined in New Orleans and South Louisiana this month. Oh well. Wonder what the rest of the country is doing in April? Likely, wishing they were here."