Raj Smoove, the greatest DJ in the world, takes on the New Orleans music...
Raj Smoove has never had a “real job.” No summers mowing lawns, no part-time gig stocking shelves over the holidays, no late-night restaurant shifts in the French Quarter. At age 14, he was hired by a...
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Ain’t No Limitations: The Soul Rebels pave the roads and knock down the doors
An object in motion stays in motion. For the Soul Rebels, that’s been an unspoken mantra since the band formed in 1991. Borne from the wellspring of traditional brass and marching bands with a goal of...
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Resistance & Existence: Brandan “Bmike” Odums’ Truth-telling Activism
“New Orleans is a place where you can just fall into art,” says Brandan “Bmike” Odums. “You can find it anywhere, without a cost of admission.” We’re sitting in his office at Studio BE, the 35,000...
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Adonis Rose and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra Swing Back onto the Scene
“We’re the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra; we live in New Orleans,” declares drummer Adonis Rose, who in 2016 took over the position of artistic director of the ensemble affectionately called NOJO. “The...
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Supreme Green Fairy: Tank and the Bangas reign over Krewe Bohème
Tarriona “Tank” Ball made a list of the great things Tank and the Bangas experienced in 2019. It’s a long list: a Grammy Award nomination for best new artist; performing at Carnegie Hall, the Apollo...
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The Iceman Special: Cross-Generational Collaboration And Family Ties
On a recent Sunday night at House of Blues, good vibrations radiated through the room, even though the evening’s headlining act, Arizona jam band Spafford, had yet to take the stage. Although being...
View ArticleSweet Crude Verve debut ‘Officiel//Artificiel’ blooms in coronavirus season
Sweet Crude, that sprightly synthesizer-and percussion-laden pop band from New Orleans, set the spring release date for Officiel//Artificiel months ago. Despite the coronavirus pandemic that’s slammed...
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Tragedy or Opportunity? Louisiana musicians take stock of their new reality
by Max Bonanno, Matt Hughes, Brett Milano and John Wirt TO ALL LOUISIANA MUSICIANS! Louisiana musicians tell OffBeat how they are coping with the COVID-19 virus restrictions and tell us what projects...
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Rickie Lee Jones puts down roots in New Orleans, and touches fans worldwide...
When OffBeat asked me to write the April cover story on Rickie Lee Jones for their French Quarter Fest issue, she was scheduled to appear for the first time ever at the two biggest festivals in her...
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Getting back with people to play with, Wendell Brunious grooves to Seven Days...
Wendell Brunious hasn’t played a live gig since March 13. A trumpeter, singer and composer from one of New Orleans’ great musical families, Brunious played two shows that day with the Preservation...
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Wanderlust, Suicide & Renewal: Ingrid Lucia is the luckiest girl in the world
Ingrid Lucia has spent a lot of late nights listen to trains go by from her Gentilly-area window. “We have all kinds of sounds in this city—the calliope on the river, the music. But for some reason, in...
View ArticleBon Bon Vivant’s creativity and savvy expands and succeeds
When Life Gives You Lemons Through conflict and turmoil, Bon Bon Vivant’s creativity and savvy expands and succeeds Spring 2020 was looking great for Bon Bon Vivant. After evolving from […] This...
View ArticleThe Vari-Colored Songs of Leyla McCalla
For Leyla McCalla, history is a living thing that ties us to the past “I always imagine if I could have met Langston Hughes that we probably have similar personality […] This content is restricted to...
View ArticleChristmas Magic: Debbie Davis was going to save Christmas, but Christmas...
Debbie Davis is a singer on a mission: She wants to give 2020 a better ending than its beginning or middle. And with a little Christmas magic up her sleeve, […] This content is restricted to...
View ArticleRobin Barnes: From Songbird to Firebird
According to the ancient Greeks, the phoenix—the firebird—was a long-lived bird that was cyclically born again and regenerated by rising from the ashes of its predecessor. As the ancient tales […] This...
View ArticleA Different Kind of Mardi Gras Story: How the Krewe of Red Beans Founder...
It all started with a Halloween bean suit. In 2007, newly arrived New Orleans transplant Devin De Wulf (née Meyers) was brainstorming costume ideas with a friend at Pal’s Lounge […] This content is...
View ArticleBest of the Beat: Lifetime Achievement in Music – Dirty Dozen Brass Band
In 2002, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band celebrated its 25th anniversary and several of its core members related the ensemble’s history and its remarkable rise to fame in the following […] This content is...
View ArticlePandemic as Opportunity: Stanton Moore and Tipitina’s expand ideas for the...
When Stanton Moore and his bandmates in the funk-rock band Galactic bought Tipitina’s, the iconic New Orleans music venue, the purchase was a major news story. In addition to much […] This content is...
View ArticleRighteous Aspirations: Ivan Neville and Dumpstaphunk are surviving and thriving
Echoing life for musicians everywhere, last year was strangely inactive for Ivan Neville and his bandmates in the funk-rock band Dumpstaphunk. When the coronavirus spread worldwide—hitting post-Mardi...
View ArticleSomething Special: Craig “Sparky” Klein lights up the town
Craig Klein just might have been the most heard and visible musician on the scene during this last year. The trombonist and vocalist stood in the spotlight at The Broadside […] This content is...
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