New Orleans Film Festival - 10/16-24/2019

New Orleans shines ever brighter as an epicenter of culture and creativity during the New Orleans Film Festival, with 500+ filmmakers from every corner of the world in attendance at 220+ films. An anticipated 30,000 people will gather over the course of 8 days to champion film in New Orleans and engage with visionary films, directors, and other film lovers. NOFF is one of the few film festivals that is Oscar-qualifying in all three Academy-accredited categories.

Celebrating the Birthday of Jelly Roll Morton! 10/20

Ragtime and early jazz pianist and composer Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was born in New Orleans on October 20, 1890 (though some say 1885). He was a pivotal figure in early jazz. He was the first arranger in this genre rooted in improvisation, proving that jazz could retain its essential characteristics and spirit even though notated. 

Morton learned to play piano at age 10, and within a few years he was playing in the red-light district bordellos, where he earned the nickname "Jelly Roll." Blending the styles of ragtime and minstrelsy with dance rhythms, he was at the forefront of a movement that would soon be known as "jazz." His composition "Jelly Roll Blues", published in 1915, was the first published jazz composition.

Jelly Roll Morton passed away on July 10, 1941, in Los Angeles, California. Whether or not Morton invented jazz, as he had claimed, he is regarded as one of its great innovators. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 1998, and he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

Happy Birthday, Wynton Marsalis! 10/18

Trumpeter, composer and teacher Wynton Marsalis was born in New Orleans on October 18, 1961, into a family of musical royalty. He is the son of jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr., and brother of saxophonist Branford, trombonist Delfeayo, and drummer Jason. While sitting at a table with trumpeters Al Hirt, Miles Davis, and Clark Terry, his father jokingly suggested that he might as well get Wynton a trumpet, too. Hirt volunteered to give him one, so at the age of six Marsalis received his first trumpet. Since that time, he has been awarded nine Grammy Awards and was the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. In addition, Marsalis is the only musician to win a Grammy Award in jazz and classical during the same year. The artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, he also promotes classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Happy Birthday to one of the all time greats!

Eric Delmar - Given with permission from author

Tab Benoit at Saint Rocke on 10/23/19

One of the most impressive guitarists to emerge from the rich Bayous of Southern Louisiana in recent years, Tab Benoit’s guitar tone can be recognized before his Otis-Redding-ish voice resonates from the speakers. He doesn’t rely on any effects and his set up is simple. It consists of a guitar, cord, and Category 5 Amplifier. The effects that you hear come from his fingers.

New Orleans Zombie Run - 10/19/2019

The morning of Saturday, October 19, 2019, New Orleanians must escape the zombie apocalypse that is upon us! Wear your bio-hazard suit, gas mask, zombie make-up, or other monster costume and join in the third annual New Orleans Zombie Run on Saturday, October 19, 2019 at 9:00am for a zombie-infested 2-mile race through the Warehouse District. Escape the clutches of the Big Easy Rollergirls who are the Zombie Killers! The outbreak is contained in downtown New Orleans where a quarantine zone has been mapped out for zombies, humans, and monsters alike. Stay in costume and enjoy the Krewe of BOO! Halloween Parade in the French Quarter as it rolls at sundown.

Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival - 10/18-20/2019

The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is an award-winning event, with two stages of music, a dozen of the best barbecue vendors in the region and a huge arts market. The 14th edition of this community celebration of Southern soul is bound to be one for the record books. Admission is free! This is, after all, an event produced and presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation – the nonprofit that owns Jazz Fest and uses the proceeds from that world-famous festival for free, year-round programs in education, economic development and cultural enrichment.

Houma guitar hero Tab Benoit, the legacy-continuing Allman-Betts Band, R&B “swing” singer Tucka, slide guitar maestro Sonny Landreth, soul belter Erica Falls, harmonica ace Johnny Sansone, guitar shredder Jonathon Boogie Long, gospel legends the Zion Harmonizers and New Orleans blues favorite Little Freddie King are just a few of the great artists who will perform. Don’t miss it!