Upcoming: Kenny Neal @ Terra Blues tonight

EVENTS Date Time Venue Event Description 6/8/2010 Terra Blues Kenny Neal Band from Louisiana Tues. 149 Bleecker St. New York, NY

Exclusive NolaFunk Discount: $5 Off Tickets for Anders Osborne / Tab Benoit Boat Cruise

To get your discounted tickets, just click HERE and enter "THANKU" in the Promo Code field. Your welcome.

i Anders Osborne CD Release Party! Anders Osborne / Tab Benoit Thursday, June 3, 2010 Rocks Off Concert Cruise Aboard The Temptress Boards: 7:00pm / Departs: 8:00pm W. 41st St. Maps & Directions WEBSITE MYSPACE Tab Benoit WEBSITE MYSPACE

ANDERS OSBORNE w/ Tab Benoit date: Thursday - 6/3/2010

Upcoming (on June 3): Anders Osborne / Tab Benoit @ Rocks Off Concert Cruise

Upcoming: 1/2 Price Sonny Landreth / Shemekia Copeland Tickets @ BB King's

Blues Singer Shemekia Copeland and Slide Guitarist Sonny Landreth at B.B. King's

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Still in her 20s, Shemekia Copeland is already one of the top singers in blues music today. She's opened for the Rolling Stones, headlined the Chicago Blues Festival, and earned praise from critics and audiences alike for her stunningly powerful, soulful voice. She'll perform alongside Louisiana slide guitar legend Sonny Landreth.

50% OFF TICKETS HERE.

New Orleans blues singer Marva Wright dies at 62

By Keith Spera, The Times-Picayune

Marva Wright, the powerhouse New Orleans blues and gospel belter who left her job as a school secretary to sing around the world, died Tuesday of complications from a pair of strokes she suffered in 2009. She was 62.

Ms. Wright died at the eastern New Orleans home of her eldest daughter, where she had been living since her health declined last year.

Enormously popular among fellow musicians, Ms. Wright moved easily between gospel spirituals and bawdy blues romps. In her late-blooming career, she released albums on local and international record labels, and performed across Europe, in Russia and Brazil, and at blues festivals around the United States. She drew large crowds at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell, and staged an annual Christmas concert at Tipitina’s.

“She truly was and will remain the Blues Queen of New Orleans,” said Adam Shipley, Ms. Wright’s manager. “She was one of the highlights to ever grace the stage at Tipitina’s.”

Ms. Wright grew up in Carrollton. As a child, she listened to her mother sing and play piano at Greater St. Stephen Baptist Church on South Liberty Street. Her mother had attended McDonogh 24 Elementary School with future gospel legend Mahalia Jackson, and they remained friends.

“I met Mahalia when I was 9 years old,” Ms. Wright recalled several years ago, “but I never realized she was that popular until I got older.”

Ms. Wright graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, then left Southern University in Baton Rouge after two years to marry her first husband. While raising her children, she confined her singing to home and church.

As her children grew up, she worked as a secretary at Eleanor McMain Secondary School. Encouraged to pursue singing as a profession, she wrestled with the notion of performing sacred gospel music in secular clubs. She consulted childhood friend and fellow gospel singer Jo “Cool” Davis, who urged her to make the leap.

“You can only go so far in gospel,” Davis said. “People want to sing, they are inspired to sing. But not everybody has that raw, natural talent like Marva. I’d put Marva in a category with Mavis Staples. Somebody that talented has to go another route.”

She nurtured her early career in such Bourbon Street clubs as the Old Absinthe Bar.

“I love Bourbon Street,” she said in 2008. “If it wasn’t for Bourbon Street, I wouldn’t be where I’m at now. You meet a lot of people from all over the world.”

In 1990, while singing at Bourbon Street Gospel and Blues, she met “60 Minutes” correspondent Ed Bradley. He became an ardent fan; up until his death, Bradley introduced Ms. Wright for her Jazz Fest performances.

Her tenth album, 2001’s “Marva,” was a typically eclectic affair, featuring such guests as Bo Dollis and Terrance Simien. She covered Bob Dylan’s “Serve Somebody” and “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.”

“To me, those are gospel,” Ms. Wright said at the time. “It’s new wave gospel, but it’s gospel.”

Of “Marva,” she surmised, “You can’t say it’s a gospel CD, you can’t say it’s a blues CD, you can’t say it’s an R&B CD, you can’t say it’s a country CD. You can say it’s all of it.”

In the 1990s, her audience at the Uptown club Muddy Waters occasionally included a daughter of then-Vice President Al Gore, and Gore’s wife, Tipper. That led to an invitation to perform at the White House.

Hurricane Katrina inundated her home in eastern New Orleans with nearly 8 feet of water. She and her second husband, Antoine “Tony” Plessy, moved to Bel Air, Md., near Plessy’s adult children. Ms. Wright was not impressed with the culinary sensibilities of her home-in-exile.

“I cooked gumbo without the essentials — our crabs and shrimp,” she recalled in 2008. “And they didn’t have hot sausage. Somebody sent me some crab boil seasoning; I used that. I’ll never forget, I cooked gumbo for Thanksgiving. I put in chicken and smoked sausage — I don’t do that here because I don’t need to.”

By the fall of 2006, she had resettled in Harvey. At that year’s Voodoo Music Experience in City Park, she performed a tribute to Mahalia Jackson in the Preservation Hall Tent. An overflow crowd showed up for her Sunday morning set, much to her surprise.

“The Saints are playing in the Superdome, and I’m not no Red Hot Chili Pepper,” she said, referring to another act. “All I am is little ol’ me.”

She had lost weight during her year in Maryland, but her clarion voice was undiminished. Backed by a crackerjack band, she sat on a stool, eyes clenched, and dug into gospel standards “This Little Light of Mine,” “Soon I’ll Be Done With the Troubles of This World” and “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands.” She recast the Gloria Gaynor disco anthem “I Will Survive” as a dramatic statement of resolve.

From January 2007 through March 2008, Ms. Wright sang most weekends in the Ritz-Carlton’s On Trois Lounge. After leaving the Ritz — she apparently sang too loudly for the lounge — she returned to Bourbon Street with her band, the BMWs, an acronym for “Band of Marva Wright.”

In August 2008, Ms. Wright was among the Louisiana artists who performed at the delegates welcoming party of the Democratic National Convention in Denver. At the Colorado Convention Center, Ms. Wright sang “A Change Is Gonna Come,” accompanied by guitarist Tab Benoit.

In 2009, Ms. Wright suffered two strokes. She was first hospitalized in mid-May, then recovered sufficiently to resume performing. However, a far more traumatic stroke returned her to the hospital on June 6. In the difficult weeks and months that followed, she underwent dialysis treatments and struggled through rehabilitation. She never regained enough strength to perform.

Ms. Wright served as a de facto den mother to younger musicians. Indicative of her popularity, scores of performers appeared at an October benefit at Rock ‘n’ Bowl in her honor.

“Ms. Marva has always been so sweet,” benefit organizer Amanda Shaw said in October. “She’s been there for everybody, so we’re giving back.”

Survivors include her husband, Antoine Plessy; a son, James Kelly Jr.; three daughters, Jeanne Kelly, Elizabeth Gainey and Gerry McKey; 12 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

In Pictures: Tab Benoit @ Sullivan Hall

By Dino Perrucci Photography

Tab Benoit - Sullivan Hall, NYC 11/13/09


Tab Benoit - Sullivan Hall, NYC 11/13/09


Tab Benoit - Sullivan Hall, NYC 11/13/09


Tab Benoit - Sullivan Hall, NYC 11/13/09

In Pictures: Cyril Neville & Tribe 13 @ Sullivan Hall

By Dino Perrucci Photography

Cyril Neville - Sullivan Hall, NYC 4/18/09

More from Last Night:


Cyril Neville & Tribe 13 - Sullivan Hall, NYC 4/18/09

Upcoming: Tab Benoit @ Sullivan Hall

TAB BENOIT w/ Alex McMurray & Bill Malchow

Friday March 20th

Tab Benoit 10pm Official Website Myspace Youtube Guitarist-singer Tab Benoit is the real deal. Born and raised on the Louisiana bayou, this self-proclaimed “new kid from the old school” has been the standard bearer for a new generation of Cajun blues musicians – a traditionalist and an innovator at the same time, grafting elements of rock and soul to the indigenous sounds of the bayou. And if dedicating his life to his musical roots weren’t enough, Benoit has also been a tireless crusader in recent years – prior to the devastation of hurricane Katrina but even more so since – for the preservation of the rapidly vanishing wetlands of his native region. Alex McMurray & Bill Malchow

New Orleans guitarist Snooks Eaglin dies at 72

Snooks Eaglin, the idiosyncratic New Orleans rhythm & blues guitarist with fleet-fingered dexterity and a boundless repertoire, died Wednesday afternoon. He was 72.

"He was the most New Orleans of all the New Orleans acts that are still living," said Mid-City Lanes owner John Blancher.

Even in a city and musical community known for eccentric characters, Mr. Eaglin stood out. Extremely private, he lived with his family in St. Rose. For many years, he refused to perform on Friday nights, reportedly because of religious reasons.

The digits on Mr. Eaglin's right hand flailed at seemingly impossible angles as he finger-picked and strummed a guitar's strings. A set by the so-called "Human Jukebox" could range from Beethoven's "Fur Elise" to Bad Company's "Ready for Love."

He thrived on feedback from onlookers, gleefully took requests and challenged his musicians to keep up. Utterly unselfconscious, he would render fellow guitarists slack-jawed with a blistering run, then announce from the stage that he needed to use the bathroom.

Mr. Eaglin was born Fird Eaglin Jr. in 1937. As an infant, glaucoma robbed him of his sight. He earned his "Snooks" nickname after his mischievous behavior recalled a radio character named Baby Snooks.

As a toddler, he received his first instrument, a hand-carved ukulele strung with rubber bands. As a boy, he learned to pick a guitar to songs on the radio. He attended the Louisiana School for the Blind in Baton Rouge. By 14, he had dropped out to work full-time as a musician.

His first steady job was with the Flamingos, a popular seven-piece rhythm & blues band that also included a young Allen Toussaint on piano. Post-Flamingos, Mr. Eaglin briefly billed himself as Lil' Ray Charles. In the late 1950s, he performed on street corners and recorded two acoustic albums for a folk label. His studio work included the guitar parts on Sugarboy Crawford's "Jockamo."

In the early 1960s, Mr. Eaglin released a handful of singles for Imperial Records under the name "Ford" Eaglin. He logged three years in the house band at the Playboy Club off Bourbon Street.

After the British Invasion decimated the market for New Orleans rhythm & blues, he semi-retired. The launch of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1970 brought with it fresh opportunity.

Mr. Eaglin performed with Professor Longhair during the pianist's "comeback" gigs. He also contributed to Longhair's landmark "New Orleans House Party" album and the Wild Magnolias' early recordings.

In 1987, Mr. Eaglin released "Baby, You Can Get Your Gun!," his first album on Black Top Records. Several more well-received albums on Black Top further heightened his profile.

His annual appearances at Jazz Fest were hugely popular. In addition to legions of local fans, Mr. Eaglin's admirers included prominent musicians from around the globe.

It was Robert Plant, in fact, who first made Blancher aware of Mr. Eaglin.

In 1990, not long after he took over the Mid-City Lanes, Blancher received a call from Plant, who wanted to throw an after-party at the bowling alley. He asked Blancher to book Mr. Eaglin, whom he met years earlier when the guitarist performed at a party in New Orleans for Plant's former band, Led Zeppelin.

The after-party didn't happen, but the Mid-City Lanes became Mr. Eaglin's preferred venue. He played as frequently as once a month.

"He's an irreplaceable guy," Blancher said. "More celebrities came to see Snooks than anyone. His reputation was as big as anyone's in New Orleans. And he wouldn't travel, so if you wanted to see Snooks you had to come to Rock 'n Bowl."

During the 2000 Jazz Fest, Bonnie Raitt showed up at the Mid-City Lanes to hear Mr. Eaglin. He exclaimed from the stage, "Listen to this, Bonnie! You gonna learn something tonight, girl!" She later lent a hand by replacing a broken string on his guitar.

Photo courtesy of John BlancherBonnie Raitt swaps out a broken string on Snooks Eaglin's guitar at the Mid-City Lanes Rock 'n Bowl in 2000.

Blancher would often pick up Mr. Eaglin in St. Rose and drive him to and from shows at the Rock 'n Bowl. Along the way Mr. Eaglin regaled him with stories.

Among the most infamous is the time Mr. Eaglin drove the Flamingos home following a Saturday night gig in Donaldsonville. The musicians were so intoxicated that they decided their blind guitarist was the most qualified driver.

Mr. Eaglin claimed he navigated the curves of the road from memory. The crunch of gravel under the tires warned him when the '49 Studebaker strayed onto the shoulder. The story concludes with Mr. Eaglin pulling up to his house early Sunday morning and his mother suggesting the musicians proceed directly to church.

Mr. Eaglin met his future wife, Dorethea "Dee" Eaglin, at a Flamingos gig during Mardi Gras 1958. They married in 1961 and she became his constant companion and confidant. Dee would sit nearby as her husband performed.

Blancher was among the few music industry figures that Mr. Eaglin allowed to visit his house. But even he was unaware of the guitarist's deteriorating health. Blancher learned in January that Mr. Eaglin had been battling prostate cancer.

Mr. Eaglin last performed at the Mid-City Lanes in July. Blancher spoke to him recently about booking a show in March. "He said, 'I'm going to wait until Jazz Fest. I'm not going to do any gigs until then,'" Blancher said. "I was surprised by that."

Mr. Eaglin checked into Ochsner Medical Center last week. With regret, he told his step-daughter, Carolyn Gioustover, "I've got to call Quint Davis and tell him I won't make it to Jazz Fest."

He went into cardiac arrest on Tuesday.

Mr. Eaglin often said his mother took care of him until Dee took over. He died on his mother's birthday.

Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Stacey Eaglin Hunter; a step-son, Allen Ancar III; and two step-daughters, Carolyn Gioustover and Deborah Ancar Randolph.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Tonight (2/6) Eric Lindell Live on WWOZ

Tonight @ 10:30 pm (EST): Eric Lindell Live Broadcast from Mid City Lanes - Rock' N' Bowl

On Friday, February 6, at 10:30 p.m. (EST), WWOZ will present blue-eyed soul singer/guitarist Eric Lindell broadcast live from Mid-City Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl. His roots-rock band includes Derek Huston and Jimmy Carpenter (saxes), Scott Jackson (bass), Chris Davis (drums), and Marc Adams (keys). Don't miss this powerhouse of original soulful mix of funk, blues, rock, and swamp pop.

Get the live web stream HERE.

» Read more about Eric Lindell

» Visit Eric Lindell's website

Health Wanted: Snooks Eaglin (c/o Weekly Beat)

We've been worried about the health of beloved guitarist and singer Snooks Eaglin (pictured), who is being treated for prostate cancer. Recently, a call went out for blood because he had been hospitalized. He's out now and seems to be in recovery. Those who wish to help the Eaglins can contact his daughter Stacy Hunter at PO Box 10871, New Orleans, LA 70181 to see how to do so.

Here's a slightly outdated profile written by John Sinclair:

Human Jukebox: Snooks offers a gift for the wretched

Snooks Eaglin is the Crescent City's secret weapon, a blind bombardier of the electric guitar who plays, nearing age 60, with more intensity, taste, mastery, and musical command than most anyone you can think of. And the kicker is, he gets better all the time.

The past 10 years -- since Snooks signed with BlackTop Records -- have been good to Eaglin's fans, giving us many hours of musical enjoyment by way of his albums (Baby, You Can Get Your Gun, Out of Nowhere, Teasin' You, and Soul's Edge), his exhilarating performances at JazzFest and around New Orleans, and some rare personal appearances outside Louisiana. His early work as a street singer is available on several CDs; his great R&B sides of 1960-'63, produced by Dave Bartholomew, were reissued by Capitol in 1995 as The Complete Imperial Recordings.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

In Pictures: Sonny Landreth @ BB King's

Photos by Dino Perrucci

Sonny Landreth - BB King's, NYC 1/27/09


Sonny Landreth - BB King's, NYC 1/27/09

Upcoming: Henry Butler @ Cutting Room (tonight)

10/17 Henry Butler (solo) @ Cutting Room


here's his official bio, from the website...

An eight-time W.C. Handy “Best Blues Instrumentalist - Piano” award nominee, Henry Butler knows no limitations. Although blinded by glaucoma since birth, Butler is also a world class photographer with his work displayed at exhibitions throughout the United States. Playing piano since the age of six, Butler is a master of musical diversity. Combining the percussive jazz piano playing of McCoy Tyner and the New Orleans style playing of Professor Longhair through his classically trained wizardry, Butler continues to craft a sound uniquely his own. A rich amalgam of jazz, Caribbean, classical, pop, blues and R&B influences, his music is as excitingly eclectic as that of his New Orleans birthplace. Mastering baritone horn, valve trombone and drums, in addition to the piano, at the Louisiana State School for the Blind in Baton Rouge, as a youngster, Butler began formal vocal training in the eleventh grade. He went on to sing German lieder, French and Italian art songs and operatic arias at Southern and Michigan State Universities, earning a Masters degree in vocal music. He has taught music workshops throughout the country and initiated a number of different educational projects, including a residential jazz camp at Missouri State School for the Blind and a program for blind and visually impaired students at the University of New Orleans. Mentored by influential jazz clarinetist and Michigan State University teacher Alvin Batiste, Butler was encouraged to explore Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and other Caribbean music. With Batiste’s help, he successfully applied for National Endowment for the Arts grants to study with keyboard players George Duke, then with Cannonball Adderley’s Quintet, and the late Sir Roland Hanna. He studied with Harold Mabern, pianist for the late Lee Morgan, for a summer and spent a long afternoon studying with Professor Longhair. While his early albums were jazz trio recordings featuring such top-notch instrumentalists as Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins, on “Fivin’ Around” in 1986, and Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette, on “The Village” two years later, Butler has increasingly turned to New Orleans music and the blues. His 1990 album, “Orleans Inspiration,” recorded with Leo Nocentelli of the Meters, was followed by “Blues And More” in 1992. Although he briefly returned to jazz with “For All Seasons” in 1996, he’s remained immersed in the blues since releasing “Blues After Sunset” in 1998. Collaborating with Corey Harris on a duo album, “Vu-du Menz,” in 2000, Butler spent the next three years touring with the Delta blues-influenced guitarist/vocalist. That fascination with the blues has continued to be reflected in his solo work. After releasing a power-packed, all electric, blues-rock album, “The Game Has Just Begun,” in 2002 on the New Orleans-based indie label Basin Street Records, Butler takes things even deeper with his latest outing on that label, “Homeland,” released in April 2004. “This album is a real turning point,” he said. “It was the first time that I’ve brought a blues and R&B band into the studio with me. On this record, I’m feeling closer to my roots.”

Snooks Eaglin in need of blood donations

Snooks Eaglin in need of blood donations

Posted by Keith Spera, The Times-Picayune

Legendary rhythm & blues guitarist and vocalist Snooks Eaglin is a faithful WWOZ -FM listener who makes regular on-air appearances during the station's semi-annual fund drives. The fall fund drive is underway now. But instead of asking listeners to send money to the station, Eaglin is asking for donations of blood for himself.

Mid-City Lanes Rock 'n Bowl owner John Blancher, a longtime friend, fan and confidant of Eaglin's, appeared on WWOZ Friday afternoon to relay the news that Eaglin is hospitalized with an unspecified ailment, and in need of blood.

Blancher said that interested donors should report to the first floor of the main Ochsner Medical Center complex at 1514 Jefferson Highway and give blood in the name of Fird Eaglin -- Snooks' given name.

Expressing the views of many, Blancher said it would be hard to imagine Rock 'n Bowl, and New Orleans, without Snooks Eaglin. Dubbed the Human Jukebox for his ability to conjure most any song from the R&B, blues and New Orleans repertoires, Eaglin's distinct style of dexterous finger-picking has won him legions of fans around the world. Former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant famously loaded up on Eaglin's music during a shopping spree at the Louisiana Music Factory.

Eaglin has been a Rock 'n Bowl regular since the venue opened more than 18 years ago. Health problems have curtailed his performances as of late, but Blancher is optimistic that Eaglin will recover and return to the stage.

"Snooks, if you're listening," Blancher said on the air, "we're pulling for you."