NOLA Community Blog
New Orleans is the city that lives in you, no matter where you live. And this website is for all of us who don’t live in New Orleans to stay connected with the Big Easy. Welcome to Church of New Orleans!
Khris Royal - Funk
Raj Smoove’s In Your House Party - Various/DJ
Mannie Fresh - Various/DJ
Amy Trail’s “Stuck-Home Syndrome”: A Piano Bar Experience
Celebrating International Whisk(e)y Day!
John Dunlop
International Whisk(e)y Day, observed on March 27th each year, is a celebration of whiskey by whiskey fans from around the world. The name uses a parenthesis to indicate support of Scottish, Canadian, and Japanese whiskies (no e) as well as Irish and American whiskeys (with an e). The day publicly supports Parkinson's disease research in addition to enjoying Whiskey. International Whisk(e)y Day is not to be confused with World Whisky Day or National Bourbon Day which fall in May and June respectively. Oh, no, no, no! By all means, we need multiple days to celebrate whisky, whiskey, and bourbon!
Where Dat? Here's Da Answer to the Game!
John Dunlop
Stained glass window by the back staircase at the Columns Hotel in the Garden District. Did you guess it?
Celebrating the Birthday of Marva Wright
John Dunlop
Vocalist Marva Wright was born in New Orleans on March 20, 1948, and started singing in church at age 9, with her gospel singer, piano player mother accompanying her. The world-renowned “Queen of Gospel” Mahalia Jackson was an early friend of the family. Wright turned professional in 1987, at nearly 40 years old, after she was discovered while working as a secretary. She began singing as a second job to support her family. While Wright sang traditional jazz and gospel, she was better known for sultry, sometimes bawdy blues songs.
During a live set at Tipitina's in 1989, Wright made her first recording, Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean., and in 1991, she made her national television debut and met the late CBS news anchorman Ed Bradley, who encouraged her career and introduced her at every JazzFest. Wright's first full-length release, Heartbreakin' Woman, appeared later that year, and was named blues album of the year by the Louisiana Music Critics Association. Her album Born With The Blues was released in France in 1993, and worldwide in 1996. Her 2007 effort, After The Levees Broke, addressed the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed her house and all her belongings. In August 2008, she performed with the Louisiana Wetlands All Stars at both the Democratic National Convention in Colorado and the Republican National Convention in Minnesota.
Wright also sang backup for such artists as Allen Toussaint, Glen Campbell, Joe Cocker, Cyril Neville, Harry Connick, Jr., Bobby McFerrin, Aaron Neville, Fats Domino, Lou Rawls, and Marcia Ball. Sadly, she passed away on March 23, 2010. On this day, we celebrate the life of the Blues Queen of New Orleans, Marva Wright.
Happy Birthday, Marcia Ball!
John Dunlop
Blues singer and pianist Marcia Ball was born on March 20, 1949, in Orange, Texas, and was raised in Vinton, Louisiana. Ball was born into a musical family and started piano lessons when she started school, showing an early interest in the New Orleans style piano playing of Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, and James Booker. Irma Thomas, the “Soul Queen of New Orleans” was Ball’s chief vocal inspiration. While at Louisiana State University in the 1960s, Ball played in a band called Gum, and in 1970, she started a progressive country band called Freda and the Firedogs in Austin, Texas, ultimately beginning her solo career in 1974.
Ball's piano style includes elements of zydeco, swamp blues, Louisiana blues, and boogie woogie. She began her recording career as a solo artist in the 1980s, and her 1998 album, Sing It!, which featured vocalists Irma Thomas and Tracy Nelson, was nominated for a Grammy Award and a Blues Music Award (BMA) for "Best Contemporary Blues Album." Ball received the 1998 Blues Music Award for "Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year" and "Best Blues Instrumentalist-Keyboards." She was awarded "Contemporary Blues Album of the Year" for her albums Presumed Innocent (2002) and So Many Rivers (2004). The same year she also won "Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year-Female." She won the "Best Blues Instrumentalist-Keyboards" again in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009. The BMA for Keyboards has since been renamed the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award and Ball has won it in 2012, 2015, and 2019. Her 2003 release, So Many Rivers, was nominated for a Grammy as were Live! Down The Road (2005) and Peace, Love & BBQ (2008). She was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame in 2018.
On October 25, 2018, Ball was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, where she first appeared during their inaugural season in 1976. She continues to play at nightclubs, particularly in Austin and New Orleans, and performs at music festivals in North America and overseas. Happy birthday to an incredible musician!
Photo by: Lilly M
Where Dat? This photo was taken somewhere in New Orleans ... do you know where dat?
John Dunlop
Where Dat? The answer will be revealed on Saturday, 3/21/20!
