Round 10 (2018)

Cheryl Gerber: Cherchez La Femme: New Orleans Women

“Cherchez La Femme: New Orleans Women” by native photojournalist Cheryl Gerber celebrates notable New Orleans women with vibrant color photos. Inspired by the 2017 Women’s March, Gerber’s book includes some of the city’s most well-known women such as Leah Chase, Irma Thomas, and Mignon Faget, as well as everyday women who make the city so rich and diverse such as the all-female marching krewes like the Pussyfooters and Baby Dolls. To be published in the Fall of 2019 by The University Press of Mississippi, the book will also feature 12 essays by female writers Anne Gisleson, Alison Fensterstock, Cherice Harrison-Nelson, Constance Adler, Helen Freund, Karen Celestan, Karen Leathem, Kathy Finn, Katy Reckdahl, Kim Vaz de Ville, Sue Strachan and Melanie Warner Spencer. The full-color book highlights the contributions of women to the city, making it one of the only books completely devoted to local women.


Dance for Social Change (DSC)

Dance for Social Change (DSC) is an annual arts and leadership program created by Dancing Grounds that supports New Orleans high school artists in developing new artistic skills, self- and social awareness, and tools for social justice organizing. Youth from across the city work with professional dancers, musicians, poets, and visual artists to create original, site-adaptive performance pieces about pressing issues facing their communities. DSC culminates in a week-long festival produced by, and for New Orleans teenagers. The 2019 DSC theme is: “Gentrification, Displacement, and What We Call Home.”


The Claiborne Avenue History Project (CAHP)

The Claiborne Avenue History Project (CAHP) is a multi-platform documentary project that collects and curates history about North Claiborne Avenue focusing on civil rights, culture, and commerce from the Avenue’s heyday in the early 20th century, through its demise with the 1966-69 construction of the I-10 highway, and into North Claiborne today. This project hopes to place North Claiborne Avenue within its historical context as a commercial and cultural center for the African American community. To learn more about CAHP go to https://www.claiborneavenue.org/


The Rayo Brothers

The Rayo Brothers from Lafayette, Louisiana will release “Victim & Villain” in the Spring of 2019. This will be the band’s third full-length album and will be recorded at the legendary Dockside Studio with Tony Daigle engineering and Louis Michot of the Lost Bayou Ramblers producing, both Grammy-winners. The record will feature original songs and stylistic influences of country, rock, Cajun, and bluegrass. For more on the band and how to see them live go to https://www.rayobrothers.com/ .


Make Music NOLA

Make Music NOLA is a tuition-free, El Sistema-inspired music-for-social-change program in New Orleans. The mission of Make Music NOLA is to foster academic achievement, cultivate artistic expression, and promote the healthy growth and development of children in New Orleans through culturally relevant music instruction and performance. Make Music NOLA began in September 2011 under the name “Youth Orchestra of the Lower 9th Ward” with only five students. Since then, the program has expanded to nine locations, including five school-based programs and six after school string classes. Additionally, Make Music NOLA students perform up to fifteen concerts a year, participate in masterclasses and workshops, and have the option for summer study and field trips. For more info on this program go to www.makemusicnola.org


New Orleans Musician Clinic: 7th Annual Jamie Galloway Crawfish Boil

New Orleans Musician Clinic will produce the 7th Annual Jamie Galloway Crawfish Boil, a GIANT crawfish boil and block party celebrating the life of beloved chef and musician, Jamie Galloway. Anchored by the Maple Leaf Bar, this unique community celebration grows each year. Last year, more than 50 of New Orleans’ finest musicians (George Porter, Jr., Derrick Freeman and Monk Boudreaux to name a few) entertained more than 800 attendees on two stages, while Jason Seither and James Clesi served 3,000 pounds of crawfish and fixings on the world’s largest crawfish table. The New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic benefits from this special annual event. For info about the Clinic go to https://neworleansmusiciansclinic.org. For tix to the event click https://neworleansmusiciansclinic.org/jamiegalloway/


Jamey St. Pierre

Jamey St. Pierre’s first full-length studio album will contain a collection of original compositions. New Orleans native, Jamey St. Pierre, has been a Frenchmen street staple for over fifteen years and currently frequents the House of Blues songwriter series. Jamey’s soulful vocal style sprouted from the church hymns he sang as a child, and the songs his mother played on the front porch with her guitar. He can often be seen on stage belting songs from his favorite artists, such as Allen Toussaint, Bill Withers, and Billie Holiday. Jamey’s original compositions hang amongst the flowering fruit of these beloved artists, infusing the city’s traditional music scene with his “New Orleans Authentic Soul”. For more on Jamey check out https://jspandthehoneycreepers.com


Goat in the Road Productions

Goat in the Road Productions will combine forces with musician Aurora Nealand to create a captivating concert based on Ms. Nealand’s self released album, The Monocle in Concert, to be performed at the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center, March 28 – 30, 2019. Using themes of Nealand’s music, GRP and Ms. Nealand will present an accompanying visual world that showcases her unique talents as a storyteller and musician, and brings to life her virtuosic, heartbreaking musical world. The performance will feature Ms. Nealand, as well as New Orleans musicians Free Feral, Tiffany Lamson, and Alexis Marceaux. To learn more about GRP go to www.goatintheroadproductions.org/


Upturn Arts Master Guest Artist Series

Upturn Arts Master Guest Artist series incorporates local professional artists as single-day guest instructors in their holiday and summer camps. These artists spend one or more hours with their youth demonstrating their craft and providing them with a once-in-a-lifetime, up-close-and-personal experience. The artists engaged encompass disciplines in music, dance, visual arts, theatre, and are drawn from a diverse palette of styles intended to inspire all demographics we serve. To that end, an emphasis has been placed on hosting jazz musicians, bounce music artists, second-line dancers, Mardi Gras Indians, dance companies and other artists central to a well-rounded exposure to New Orleans’s cultural heritage. For more on this worthwhile program go to www.upturnarts.org/


The Write Brothers

The Write Brothers are preparing to record a follow up to their 2014 CD First Flight. The new record will be produced by Andre Bohren (Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, Rory Danger and the Danger Dangers) and is tentatively slated to be recorded at Marigny Recording Studios in New Orleans pending the final schedule. Musicians in addition to the Write Brothers will include Andre Bohren on drums and keyboards and Dave Pomerleau on bass. For more on this unique collaboration of some of the cream of the crop of local songwriters check out their Facebook page www.facebook.com/The-Write-Brothers-1560184620896946/?tn-str=k*F


Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival

Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival 2019 fifth annual festival is set for a six-day run January 8, 2019 through January 13, 2019. This festival will again offer a mix of school clinics, workshops, panel discussions, interviews and live music performances at a variety of venues. The 2019 festival will be headquartered at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, which will host events for 3 days, Friday, January 11, 2019–Sunday, January 13, 2019. The festival will also continue to present a popular series of events at other sites around the city, including the Prime Example, Snug Harbor, the George and Joyce Wein Center, Bullet’s Sports Bar, and the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music. The live music performances will feature an all-star array of New Orleans artists and international special guests including legendary Haitian guitarist and educator Claude Carre`, Italian guitarist Fabrizio Sotti, and Senegambian kora master Morikeba Kouyate. Attendees at the festival’s Patron Party Tuesday night, January 8, 2019 will have the opportunity to participate in a live auction of a “New Orleans Saints” model Schecter guitar autographed by Drew Brees with proceeds benefitting the festival. For more information and tickets go to www.dannybarkerfestival.com


Dave Jordan

Marc Stone, local musician and DJ on WWOZ, has described Dave Jordan as “one of the great songsmiths and bandleaders of my generation.” Raised in Mandeville, Dave started his first bands at LSU in the early ‘90’s. As 2018 marks Dave’s 20th year as a full time, New Orleans musician, he is celebrating by collaborating with various bandmates in his ever evolving band, the Neighborhood Improvement Association, as well as various guests from the New Orleans music community, to create Burning Sage, a collection of new, original material. A longtime staple of the club and festival scene, this will be his 7th album to date, 4 as a “solo” artist and 3 with his former funk ensemble, Juice. Once described as “the personification of the New Orleans ethos”, his style runs the gamut of south Louisiana culture and music- from roots rock to blues to funk to country, even touches of zydeco. And in a very personal twist, this will be his first collaboration with his son, photographer Miles Jordan, currently a student at UL-Monroe. For all the low-down on Dave go to www.davejordanmusic.com


Art Klub for Kids Brass Jam

Art Klub for Kids Brass Jam is a weekly educational program that teaches, mentors and inspires students through music instruction on trombone, trumpet, sousaphone and drums. Students will have an opportunity to explore all of the instruments, since Art Klub has them on site. Families may borrow the instruments and take them home and once the student has decided upon their instrument of choice, Art Klub will help the family purchase or rent it for the child. New to the program this year, music director Clifford McPeek is teaching the students how to read music and composition. He is also introducing exploration of sounds and rhythms on electronic keyboards and drum kits which he so generously brings in for the kids every week. Classes are every Monday from 4:30 to 6 and during that time the kids are given a snack and break for free play. The parents often contribute to the snack time and there is also often potluck dinners after class. This community time is very beneficial to the social development of the kids. In the Spring they are looking to grow the program by way of adding a Saturday afternoon class for the the advanced level students. For more on this program go to https://www.facebook.com/events/295687394625987/?event_time_id=295687397959320


New Orleans Jazz Celebration: Nickel-A-Dance

New Orleans Jazz Celebration for Nickel-A-Dance is a free, family friendly concert series that revives and perpetuates the neighborhood dance hall tradition that was wide spread across our city decades ago. Nickel-A-Dance events allow participants (spectators and dancers) to experience New Orleans’ traditional jazz, and its rich cultural heritage for which New Orleans is famous worldwide. Nickel-A-Dance musicians are deeply rooted in the New Orleans traditional style jazz, and are consistent performers in bands presented every year at other festivals and events like New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, French Quarter Festival, and Satchmo SummerFest. Nickel-A-Dance events remind us of the Economy Hall concerts where enthusiastic audiences are inspired to dance and second-line to the music of the city. In the same way, Nickel-A-Dance events pay tribute to and celebrate the music, culture, and heritage of New Orleans. For more on this wonderful series go to https://www.nojc.org/nickel-a-dance/


Sweet Cecilia

Sweet Cecilia will create a record that will pay tribute to their mentor/father, Al Berard, who passed away suddenly in 2014. Berard was a Grammy nominated Cajun musician/songwriter. With the direction of Grammy award winning producer/recording engineer, Tony Daigle, the project will consist of new renditions of some of Berard’s finest music. All profits from this recording will benefit the Al Berard Memorial Music Fund at Community Foundation of Acadiana. For more on Sweet Cecilia you can go to www.sweetceciliagirls.com


VH1 Save The Music

VH1 Save The Music will provide pre-K-5th grade students at a chosen New Orleans Public school in the 2019-20 school year with an ‘Intro to Music Grant’ to purchase 150+ general music instruments including world drums, xylophones, hand-held percussion, triangles, tambourines & recorders as well as method books, professional development access for music teachers and program support for 10 years. VH1 STM is a foundation that is presently partnering with public schools in New Orleans to provide comprehensive music education programs within schools in the district. Since 1998 VH1 STM has jumpstarted 24 programs in New Orleans and in particular assisted post-Katrina in salvaging programs by taking responsibility for all instruments as students returned to the city. In 2015 VH1 STM also stepped in to help provide up to 10 full-time music instructors in St John the Baptist Parish School District ending a 12 year drought in music education there. Building off of a 2018 Music Education Convening meeting in NOLA which included educators, national funders and city, school and district leaders discussing the future of music education in New Orleans, VH1 STM has endeavored to team-up with local organizations to close the music education gaps that exist in the 30+ schools throughout the city and to ensure every child has access to a quality music education. To learn more about Save The Music please visit www.vh1savethemusic.org .


Frenchmen Street Fais Do Do

The Frenchmen Street Fais Do Do begins its 10th series of helping to preserve the lovely Cajun tradition of a dance party while the children are put down to sleep.  In this iteration however the party is for the kids as well and includes 2 bands over 3 hours of continuous Cajun, Zydeco and even some Country music. Lee and his lovely wife Sue serve as host, hostess and organizers so if you haven’t come to one then plan to join the fun soon!  Fais Do Do takes place on pre-announced Saturdays from 4-7pm at the Maison on Frenchmen Street. It’s free to the public and family friendly with 2 stages offering continuous dance music in the Cajun, Zydeco and Country genres.

For more information and how to keep our regional culture thriving donate or become a member of Threadhead Cultural Foundation.