Boogaloo In Place! Enjoy Classic Bayou Boogaloo Performances this weekend!

Bayou Boogaloo is an annual springtime favorite celebrating community, art, music and culture along the banks of Mid-City’s beloved Bayou St. John. This year it’s been postponed, and while we’re bummed we can't be out on the bayou this weekend, that doesn't mean we can't Boogaloo In Place! Join the festivities on Facebook this Friday-Sunday for LIVE stream videos of some classic Boogaloo performances for 2016! 

Friday, May 15th - 6:15 to 9:15pm Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers * The Wailers

Saturday, May 16th - 12:15 to 9:15pm Creole String Beans * Lost Bayou Ramblers * Irma Thomas * Lowrider Band

Sunday, May 17th - 2:20 to 8:30pm Billy Iuso & Restless Natives * George Porter, Jr. and Runnin’ Pardners * TBD

*All times listed are for New Orleans, CDT!

UP FROM THE STREETS New Orleans: The City of Music - Virtual Release May 15th

For New Orleanians, music is a way of life and the foundation of their cultural resilience. Eagle Rock Entertainment and Michael Murphy Productions, Inc. present Up From The Streets: New Orleans: The City of Music, a feature length documentary that showcases the culture of New Orleans thru the lens of music. Hosted by Oscar nominee and six-time Grammy Winner Terence Blanchard, the film tells stories of music as a vehicle to help battle racial injustices, unite people in good times and bad, and how music continues to be a vital form of expression today. 

Beginning May 15, you will be able to buy a ticket to a virtual cinema release of Up From The Streets ®: New Orleans: The City of Music, the celebrated New Orleans documentary. Viewers will buy a $12 ticket from a local cinema and watch the film at home, allowing them to support one of 50 local movie theaters nationwide (available here), as well as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s Jazz & Heritage Music Relief Fund, a statewide relief initiative that supports New Orleans and Louisiana musicians who have lost income due to the pandemic.The ticket order is good for 7 days, and viewers will have 72 hours to watch the film once they’ve started watching it.

Enjoy this engaging, award-winning documentary about the most unique U.S. city, New Orleans!

Celebrating the Birthday of Sidney Bechet

Sidney Bechet was a jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer who was born in New Orleans on May 14, 1897. Bechet is considered one of New Orleans’ greatest jazz musicians, along with King Oliver and Louis Armstrong. By the age of 13, Bechet was a professional jazz musician, and by 16 he was touring the South with pianist and singer Clarence Williams. In 1919, Bechet began touring with trumpeter King Oliver, eventually going on to Chicago, New York and Europe. He was a master of improvisation, becoming one of the first important soloists in jazz, playing lead parts that were usually reserved for trumpet. Known for his heavy vibrato, his unequaled energy made him king of the soprano saxophone, and also one of the most original and innovative clarinetists in jazz. From 1925 to 1931 Bechet lived and played in Europe, playing in England, France, Germany and Russia, and it was there where he achieved his greatest success. Bechet has had a deep and lasting influence on the way jazz clarinet and soprano saxophone are played, inspiring countless musicians along the way. Sidney Bechet passed away in Paris, France, on May 14, 1959, on his 62nd birthday. On the date of his birth, we celebrate his life.

Celebrating World Cocktail Day!

The common myth is that cocktails originated in New Orleans in the 1830’s. The story goes that Antoine Peychaud ran an apothecary shop in the French Quarter, and sold his own homemade bitters. After a time, he recognized that his bitters tasted especially good mixed with cognac, sugar and water. And, since he measured out this concoction with an egg cup, know as a "coquetier" in French, the “cocktail” was born.

However, World Cocktail Day is a global celebration of cocktails, marking the publication date of the first definition of a cocktail on May 13 in 1806. The New York tabloid The Balance and Columbian Repository defined a cocktail as "a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters". It was written by editor Harry Croswell in response to a reader’s inquiry.

Whether you believe cocktails originated sometime before 1806 or sometime in the 1830s in New Orleans, I’m just thankful someone created them! Cheers!

Celebrating the Birthday of King Oliver!

Jazz cornet player and bandleader Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver was born on May 11, 1885, in Aben, Louisiana, and moved to New Orleans in his youth.  He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of mutes in jazz to alter the sound of his horn. Also a notable composer, he wrote many tunes still played today, including "Dippermouth Blues", "Sweet Like This", "Canal Street Blues", and "Doctor Jazz". He was the mentor and teacher of Louis Armstrong, who said his influence was such that "if it had not been for Joe Oliver, Jazz would not be what it is today." Sadly, Oliver suffered from ill health and financial troubles before his death at age 52 on April 8, 1938. Today we celebrate King Oliver’s significant influence on the music of New Orleans and the world. 

Happy Mother's Day! Celebrate with WWOZ and Irma Thomas!

This Sunday would've been Irma Thomas's 37th annual Mother's Day performance at the Audubon Zoo. Since it can't happen this year, WWOZ will be broadcasting an archived concert of hers to keep up the longstanding tradition for all the moms out there.

Listen in to this special set from the Soul Queen of New Orleans with your mom noon to 2pm NOLA time, 10am to noon L.A. time, wherever you are, at this link. 

Audubon also has a number of special digital resources going on to keep up the mom connection and celebration-- check those out here!