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Contents
F E B R U A RY 2 0 2 2
Events
11 6 8
VO LU M E 3 9 // I SS U E 2
Features
SHENANIGANS Stages are set across the region—with live music, theatre, and visual art
REFLECTIONS The Song Remains the Same by James Fox-Smith
NEWS & NOTEWORTHIES
50 54 56
Publisher
THE HANDS OF TIME Weedie Braimah’s Grammy-nominated debut is a musical journey from Africa to New Orleans. by Alexandra Kennon
THE ACADIAN ACCORDION Marc Savoy’s new memoir tells the story of the beloved Cajun instrument. by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
James Fox-Smith
Associate Publisher
Ashley Fox-Smith
Managing Editor
Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Alexandra Kennon
THE BATON ROUGE BLUES A new generation of musicians carries on the Capitol City’s rich musical tradition. by John Wirt
On the Cover
Creative Director
Kourtney Zimmerman
Contributors:
Kristy Christiansen, Paul Christiansen, Sam Irwin, Emily Ferretti, Charlotte Jones, Raegan Labat, Elizabeth Chubbuck Weinstein, John Wirt
Cover Artist
THE MUSIC ISSUE
Emily Ferretti
Cover image by Emily Ferretti
At the heart of cover story subject Weedie Braimah’s Grammy-nominated album The Hands of Time are the instruments. The djembe. The ngoni. The kora. The balafon. All weaving through and working with the electric guitar, the electric bass, the synth. It’s an altogether new sound, these tapestries—folding one culture into another, reverberating with songs of the past and visions for the future. As the son of a New Orleans jazz drummer and a Ghanaian djembefola, Braimah says this marriage is a poignant reflection of his personal history: “What you’re seeing is my life. You’re not hearing—you’re seeing my life, through your ears.” In our first ever issue dedicated entirely to the music of our region, we explore the power behind these tools of music, our instruments. In our feature story “The Acadian Accordion,” a German instrument becomes something singularly Cajun in the hands of a master—its altogether new sound altering the cultural identity of a people in just a short century. In the Bywater, we discover a playground of sound-inspired architecture; in Baton Rouge, a sculptor who makes birds of violins, bags out of cellos. We look back on Armstrong’s roots and find Fate Marable atop a steamboat, banging away at the calliope keyboard in gloves and a wash of steam. And we finish, appropriately, in Clarksdale, where they say the devil retuned bluesman Robert Johnson’s guitar in exchange for his soul.
Cuisine
48
BAYOU SAINT CAKE In her cakes, Bronwen Wyatt reinterprets traditional New Orleans pastries, fusing the old and the new. by Lauren Heffker
Mardi Gras
23
BON TEMPS
The only Carnival calendar you’ll need this year by Alexandra Kennon
4
Culture
50 52 54 55
THE MULES OF MARDI GRAS The history of the garbage mule’s rise to Carnival by Charlotte Jones
MUSIC BOX VILLAGE A metaphorical utopia of song and play
Escapes
56
62
by Kristy Christiansen
LOUIS AND FATE Armstrong’s first performance in Baton Rouge
by Sam Irwin
T(O) REX A children’s book on all things Mardi Gras
by Alexandra Kennon
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CROSSROADS,MS Finding refuge in the blues
by Elizabeth Chubbuck Weinstein
PERSPECTIVES Composer Dennis Parker uses unloved instruments to create whimsical sculptures. by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
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Reflections FROM THE PUBLISHER
B
ehind our house is a stand of pine trees. They were planted about forty years ago on a five-acre patch between the back yard and a large field, and they represent the first sign of surrender by my wife’s farming family, when dismal crop prices in the early eighties made clear that it was time to plant something besides corn and soybeans, and to start looking for another way to make a living. Like hundreds of other small farmers across Louisiana and Mississippi, my wife’s family signed up for the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Longleaf Pine Initiative, which paid struggling farmers to take their land out of row crop production and plant pine trees instead. Tall and graceful now, these pines stand east of our house, so the morning sun sends shafts of light flooding between the trunks. Or it would, if the patch hadn’t been overtaken by an impenetrable thicket of Chinese privet, which swallows the pine trunks in a dark tangle of undergrowth to a height of twenty feet or more, and serves as a secure hiding place for the deer that invade the backyard, having their way with my wife’s rose bushes each night.
For years we’ve looked out at this wall of drab foliage and imagined doing something about it. Then for some reason last winter I went down to the edge of the thicket with a chainsaw and spent a satisfying afternoon clearing privet from around the nearest pine tree. The next weekend I cleared around another tree, then another. A year later the pine patch is about two-thirds cleared—the privet replaced by a dozen massive burn piles—and the tantalizing sight of the morning sun stealing through stands of newly-liberated trunks is enough inspiration to keep me at it until all the privet is gone. If Billy Joel doesn’t kill me first. Because here’s the thing: all the time I’m doing the heavy but strangely satisfying work of clearing privet, Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” will be stuck in my head. Remember that song? It’s the one where Billy repeats a chorus of “We didn’t start the fire / It was always burning / Since the world’s been turning. We didn’t start the fire / No we didn’t light it but we tried to fight it …” over and over until your brain surrenders and starts chanting along. It’s this chorus that goes round and round in my head while I’m plodding back and forth, arranging privet limbs into burn piles. If my brain was capable of reproducing the rest of the song, in which Billy reels off scores of headline-making events that
happened over the course of his lifetime (“Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again. Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock …”) it would be more interesting. But that’s not how earworms work, is it? This is weird—worse than the blisters, scratches, and poison ivy rashes that are also side-effects of a Saturday in the pine patch. Why this particular song? And why does my brain feel the need to spoil a perfectly good flow activity by regurgitating it over and over again? When and where did I even hear this song recently enough for it to have become so deeply embedded in my brain stem? In a gas station somewhere? In the local supermarket (always a reliable source of bombproof eighties radio hits)? Or has it been lurking there since 1989, like a benign tumor, waiting for the right combination of environmental cues to cause
it to flare up? Because it’s not like “We Didn’t Start the Fire” is stuck on repeat in my head while I’m driving to work or cooking dinner or mowing the lawn. There’s something about the specific pace and tempo of cutting, dragging, and stacking privet branches that brings it on. And lastly, why is it that the songs that end up stuck in your head are never ones that you like? I don’t have anything against Billy Joel particularly; it’s just that I never expected to be chased around a pine forest by him. So what’s the solution? Drowning Billy out with the lyrics to different songs (Monty Python’s “I’m a Lumberjack” springs to mind) doesn’t work. Nor does chanting nursery rhymes or turning on a radio. So maybe Billy’s trying to tell me something. Perhaps the best strategy is to stop trying to drown him out and do what he suggests: start the fire. Maybe, when the last of the privet is cut and all those huge burn piles are set alight—in my own redneck version of Burning Man (complete with effigy)—I will finally have succeeded in consigning Billy’s specter to the flames. Then my work here will be done. —James Fox-Smith, publisher james@countryroadsmag.com
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Solutions from Cells to Society LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center puts science to work for a healthier Louisiana. A world-renowned research leader based in the heart of Baton Rouge, our mission is to discover the triggers of chronic diseases through innovative research that improves human health across the lifespan. We're at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the causes of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia.
“ Our vision is to lead the world in eliminating chronic disease.” Interested in improving your health while contributing to Pennington Biomedical’s research? Visit pbrc.edu/clinical-trials to discover the range of ongoing research trials available.
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Noteworthy
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N E W S , T I M E LY T I D B I T S , A N D O T H E R
CURIOSITIES
LO O K C LO S E R
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Preserving the History of Turkey Creek THE RECENTLY-COMPLETED RENOVATION OF THE PHOENIX NAVAL STORES PAYMASTER’S OFFICE IS A VESTIGE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE IN MISSISSIPPI POST CIVIL WAR
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n 1866, a group of formerly enslaved individuals made a home along a tiny creek running parallel to the hcoast, just north of the bustling city that would later become Gulfport, Mississippi. On those three hundred and twenty acres of land, where local lore says wild turkeys roamed, their families settled in. Their isolation allowed them a sense of autonomy that continued through the Jim Crow years, during which their land wealth, self-governance, and steady employment at the nearby Yarayan Co. (and later the Phoenix Naval Stores Co.) plant allowed the people of Turkey Creek to thrive, cultivating a distinct heritage and identity as a community. In late 2021, a long-anticipated project honoring this history was completed in Turkey Creek: the renovation of the Phoenix Naval Stores Paymaster’s Office. From 1909 to 1958, a large percentage of Turkey Creek’s majority-Black residents were employed by the Yaryan Naval Stores Co., which was later purchased by the Phoenix Naval Stores Co. Manufacturing turpentine, creosote, and other pine sap products—the plant provided much-needed income to the community, though at a cost of the danger and health hazards that the jobs presented. In 1943, an explosion at the plant killed eleven men and wounded two others. With the decline of the naval stores industry nationwide, the Phoenix Naval Stores Co. halted production in 1958, removing the machinery and plant from Turkey Creek. The only remaining remnant of this era is the Paymaster’s Office, built in 1920 with a fireproof roof and walls. From 1950 until the late 1990s, the building served as a family home. In 2003, community activist Derrick Evans purchased the property in hopes of promoting its restoration as a monument to Turkey Creek’s significance during the history of post-Civil War Mississippi. In a letter of support written to accompany the project’s application for the National Parks Service Civil Rights Program Grant, Evans expressed the historical significance of the building: “An early and longtime site of African-American industrial work in coastal Mississippi and the Deep South (including its social inequalities, vulnerabilities, and workplace 8
tragedies), the one-time Phoenix Naval Stores turpentine plant office is now a rare and endangered vestige of the inherently interdisciplinary civil rights history and heritage of our community, nation, and state—including decades of seen and unseen advocacy for fair wages, worker rights, job safety, public health, and environmental justice for African American citizens of Gulfport, Harrison County, the state of Mississippi, and beyond.” Since 2015, the Phoenix Naval Stores Paymaster’s Office has been listed on the Mississippi Heritage Trust’s “Ten Most Endangered Places,” and unabridged Architecture has been providing services towards the project in the form of historic research, materials investigations, design, gathering oral histories, and more. Funded by a National Parks Service Civil Rights Program Grant, the renovation was completed in August 2021, transforming the building into a community history center and archive for the Turkey Creek community. —Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
Visitation is by appointment only, via (228) 688-0846.
Celebrating the rehabilitation of Phoenix Naval Stores Paymaster’s Office are: Judy Steckler, former Executive Director of the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain; Derrick Evans, owner; Rip Daniels, general contractor; Helen Aycock, former resident of the Gulf Coast Creosoting Plant; John and Allison Anderson, architects; and Lettie Evans Caldwell, long-time resident of Turkey Creek. Photo courtesy of unabridged Architecture.
Mississippi: A Tapestry of American Life
THE NATCHEZ LITERARY AND CINEMA CELEBRATION RETURNS THIS FEBRUARY
F
or the thirty-third year, the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration (NLCC) will draw some of the nation’s most intriguing minds to the Bluff City. Held from February 24–26, this year’s conference will feature a slate of filmmakers, Pulitzer Prize winners, authors, and historians who will spend the weekend exploring Mississippi as “A Tapestry of American Life”. “Over the years, the scholarship in this area has quadrupled,” said Betty Jo Harris, Coordinator of the NLCC. “With new technology and what scholars are able to discover, there have just been a plethora of books being written about the lower Mississippi region.” With a background that includes coordinating events at an independent book-
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shop, teaching history, and fundraising—Harris could not have been more perfectly poised to curate the lineup for this year’s Celebration. Things will kick off with Thursday night’s film night, featuring screenings of Natchez native Brian Duong’s short film Smoot’s and Patrick O’ Connor’s documentary on the changing of the Mississippi state flag, Look Away, Look Away. Friday will proceed with a series of panel discussions and lectures from regional scholars, including Dr. Cory James Young from the University of Nebraska, who will discuss the history of the Pennsylvania businessmen who came to Natchez to make their fortunes and left behind some of the area’s most iconic plantations, including Melrose and Dunleith. A lecture from Sarah Duggan of the
Historic New Orleans Collection will follow, featuring examples of Pennsylvania furniture and decorative arts still present in Natchez homes. The day will end at the Mississippi School of Folk Arts with indigo dyeing workshops, jambalaya, and the Krewe of Phoenix Mardi Gras Parade. Highlights from Saturday’s schedule include a reading from New Orleans author Maurice Ruffin from his short story collection The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You and a lecture from 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner Caleb McDaniel, author of The Sweet Taste of Liberty. —Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
Learn more about this year’s NLCC at colin.edu/nlcc or by calling (601) 446-1104.
Suited for the Streets
A NEW INTERNSHIP FOCUSED ON THE PRESERVATION OF MARDI GRAS (BLACK MASKING) INDIAN SUITS
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f all the many grand tradhitions of New Orleans’ hMardi Gras, perhaps none is so powerful as encountering a Mardi Gras (or Black Masking) Indian Big Chief in his full regalia, defending his neighborhood with quietly colorful prowess amid an enraptured throng. Countless long, tedious hours go into sewing each storytelling bead into these costumes; into gluing on the bright plumes that paint the streets with vibrant glory when Fat Tuesday comes. But what becomes of these elaborate suits on Ash Wednesday, and after? Or when after many Mardi Gras spent second lining, they become cultural assets in a museum? How should they be cared for, to ensure their beauty is preserved for generations to come? These questions have inspired the Historic New Orleans Collection to launch a paid internship with the goal of answering them, with the intent of ultimately creating a guide to the care and preservation of Mardi Gras or Black Masking Indian suits that can be utilized for years to come. The idea was hatched by HNOC’s first-ever Curator of Decorative Arts Lydia Blackmore and CEO Daniel Hammer along with President of the
Mardi Gras Indian Council and Creole Wild West Tribe Chief Howard Miller, and brought to fruition with the help of the Decorative Arts Trust’s IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equality, Accessibility, and Leadership) Grant. The concept arose when Chief Miller sold the HNOC a Mardi Gras Indian suit that is currently on display as part of the Making Mardi Gras exhibit. When a museum acquires anything, a full catalogue entry must be created for the item detailing how it’s made, what it’s made of, its history, and its care. “And so we thought, what better way to to get this very accurate catalog description than to have an intern—preferably somebody from the Mardi Gras Indian community—to study the suit itself?” Blackmore said. When Blackmore and I spoke in mid-January, the HNOC had just finished accepting applications, and was in the process of choosing from over twenty candidates to start the internship in mid-February 2022. “I think preserving these suits is important for New Orleans culture, but also American culture. I think Mardi Gras Indian suits are the epitome of American folk art. It’s all self-taught
craftsmanship passed down through the generations. It’s such a unique cultural expression of the Black community in New Orleans, that you can’t find anywhere else.” Blackmore also emphasizes the unique challenges maintaining Mardi Gras or Black Masking Indian suits poses—because of their size, delicacy, and the fact that their being worn to dance in the streets inevitably causes wear and tear before they make it into a museum. She added, “You can find similar things across the world, like in in the Caribbean or in South American cul-
tures. But the New Orleans Black Masking culture is unique, and these suits are amazing works of art and really need to be preserved.” —Alexandra Kennon
You can see Chief Howard Miller’s grand red-plumed suit, on display until May 8, 2022 as part of the HNOC’s comprehensive exhibit Making Mardi Gras. hnoc.org.
Oh Chelsea, How We’ve Missed You THE BELOVED BATON ROUGE INSTITUTION’S RETURN
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t felt like the end of an era when Dave Remmetter announced Chelsea’s closure in 2015. Over the course of its twenty-eight years of business and its two locations, the beloved eatery and live music venue served as a connective force between genertions of Baton Rougeians, who shared common memories of the iconic concerts and unrivaled tomato soup enjoyed within its walls. In mid-January, though, Remmetter opened the doors to his re-imagined
version of the institution, Chelsea’s Live. “I didn’t think there would be a third chapter in the life of Chelsea’s,” said Remmetter, expressing his excitement at offering a new live music venue for the city.” Forgoing the food in favor of focusing on the music, Remmetter enlisted the help of talent buyer Aaron Scruggs, who said: “To be able to share a life long vision with a community that has had a void for the past three years is one of the more satisfying things I’ve ever done in my life.” —Jordan LaHaye Fontenot chelseaslive.com
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Events
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The Historic New Orleans Collection’s exhibit Making Mardi Gras, on display now at the Exhibition Center at 520 Royal Street, covers Carnival traditions from mainline parade krewes, to Mardi Gras/Black Masking Indians, to all the eclectic cultural phenomena in between. Photo by Alexandra Kennon.
UNTIL FEB
24
th
ART EXHIBITS HEALING HISTORY Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and its Artist Advisory Board are celebrating Black History Month and its theme “Black Health and Wellness” with an art exhibition in the new Shell Gallery at the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center titled Healing History, curated by local artist and activist Kristen Downing. Artists featured in the exhibition include Kristen Downing, Randell Henry, Antoine Lacey, Kayla Magee, Darlene Moore, Rayne Myers, Ashli Ognelodh, and Mike Weary. The Shell Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am– 4:30 pm, and on Saturdays in February from 10 am–2 pm. artsbr.org/shell. k
UNTIL FEB
27th
ART EXHIBITS SWAMP ART SPECTACULAR Baton Rouge, Louisiana
BREC’s third annual Swamp Art Spectacular brings together work from
local artists in the fields of Fabric Arts, Fine Arts, and Photography under the umbrella of this year’s theme: “Impressions of Louisiana Nature”. Visitors will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite pieces, and the winner will receive a prize at the closing of the show. A Meet the Artist Reception will be held on February 27 from 2:30 pm– 4:30 pm. Free. brec.org. k
UNTIL MAY
8th
CULTURE EXHIBITS FIT FOR A KING: THE REX ARCHIVES AT THNOC New Orleans, Louisiana
The Krewe of Rex has rolled in New Orleans since 1872, each year crowning a distinguished Rex, or “King of Carnival”. To mark The Krewe’s 150th anniversary, The Historic New Orleans Collection is presenting an exhibition titled Fit for a King: The Rex Archives at THNOC on the second f loor of the Williams Research Center in conjunction with the larger THNOC exhibition Making Mardi Gras. Free. Tuesday–Saturday from 9:30 am–4:30 pm. hnoc.org. k
UNTIL MAY
8
th
CULTURE EXHIBITS MAKING MARDI GRAS New Orleans, Louisiana
Just in time for the start of Carnival season comes The Historic New Orleans Collection’s exhibition Making Mardi Gras, sponsored by Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World and Kern Studios. We’re all familiar with the grandeur of the rolling parades and unbridled joy of second lines, and this exhibit takes viewers behind the scenes into the vibrant float dens, long sewing sessions, and high-intensity dance rehearsals that all go into bringing Mardi Gras to life. From elaborate costumes and royal finery, to festive specialty parade throws like Zulu’s hand-designed coconuts, to float artists of centuries past, to roaming walking krewes, and even homebound house-float visionaries—all of the glitter, sweat, and heart that gets poured into Carnival year after year will be on display in THNOC’s Tricentennial Wing. The displays are structured to emphasize the differences between formal and informal Mardi Gras traditions, while also highlighting how “the line
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Events
Beginning February 1st - February 4th
between the ballroom and the street is often blurred”. The exhibition center is open Tuesday–Saturday from 9:30 am– 4:30 pm, and Sunday from 10:30 am– 4:30 pm. Free. hnoc.org. k
UNTIL DEC
11th
CULTURE EXHIBITS REX: THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SCHOOL OF DESIGN New Orleans, Louisiana
Featuring over sixty extravagant costumes of New Orleans’ foremost Mardi Gras krewe’s kings, queens, and courtiers in a collection spanning a century, the Louisiana State Museum’s exhibition Rex celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Rex Organization this year. The first daytime parade in modern Carnival set the standard of excellence that New Orleanians now expect from New Orleans Mardi Gras, and continues to inspire other organizations across the country. In addition to the Louisiana State Museum’s unrivaled collection of costumes, the exhibition will also feature dozens of sets of rare crown jewels, recently-acquired European collections, and other rarelyseen artifacts on display in the Presbytere. louisianastatemuseum.org. k
FEB
1st - FEB 8th
CREATIVE CLASSES STILL LIFE 101 WITH MIKE WEARY Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Local artist Mike Weary will guide students through the steps of depicting an inanimate object with oil paint. Designed for local high school students, the four-session course, held at the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center, will focus on refining skills like color mixing, form, composition, and value. Free for high school students attending East Baton Rouge schools; $50 for non-East Baton Rouge students. All supplies provided. 5 pm–6 pm. eventbrite.com. k
FEB
1st - FEB 28th
CONCERTS TIPITINA’S CONCERT SCHEDULE New Orleans, Louisiana
The famous Tchoupitoulas venue is open and swingin’, bringing a wide variety of New Orleans’ favorite musical acts to Professor Longhair’s legendary stage. Here’s what’s happening: February 3: Sean Patton Live Special Taping + Cipha Sounds. Doors 6:30 pm, show 7 pm. February 3: Sean Patton Live Special Taping + Cipha Sounds. Doors 9 pm, show 9:30 pm. February 5: Perpetual Groove. Doors 9 pm, show 10 pm. February 6: Hiss Golden Messenger + Alexa Rose. Doors 9 pm, show 10 pm. February 17: Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen and Cha Wa. Doors 7:30 pm, show 8:30 pm. February 18: John “Papa” Gros 7th Annual Carnival Kickoff. Doors 9 pm, show 10 pm. February 19: Water Seed’s Mardi Gras Masquerade. Doors 9 pm, show 10 pm. February 20: Carnival Fais Do Do With Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band. Doors 4:45 pm, show 5:15 pm. February 24: Tank & The Bangas + The Suffers. Doors 9 pm, show 10 pm. February 25: Dumpstaphunk + Flow Tribe. Doors 10 pm, show 11 pm. February 26: Galactic Featuring Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph. Doors 10 pm, show 11 pm. February 27: Anders Osborne Bacchus Bash With Special Guests George Porter Jr., Stanton Moore, Tommy Malone, The Hornstars, & David Torkanowsky. Doors 8 pm, show 9 pm. February 28: Galactic Lundi Gras Featuring Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph. Doors 10 pm, show 11 pm. tipitinas.com. k
FEB
1st - MAR 1st
ART EXHIBITS ELIZABETHAN GALLERY’S ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH ART SHOW
CREATIVE CLASSES CREATIVE WRITING AND PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Designed for students ages fifty five and older, this special workshop at the West Baton Rouge Museum will guide participants to build their creative and observational skills and a portfolio of poems, journal entries, short essays and stories, and photos to inform their writing. No experience necessary, supplies provided. 2 pm–3:15 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays through March 29 (excluding Mardi
The Elizabethan Gallery continues its tradition of celebrating Black History Month with an art show—this year’s is curated by artist and longtime Baton Rouge art teacher Keith “Cartoonman” Douglas. A closing reception will take place at the gallery’s Mid City Art & Design Cultural District location on February 24 from 5 pm–7 pm. elizabethangallery.com. k 12
FEB 1st - FEB 28 th
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Port Allen, Louisiana
Gras). Space is limited, and advanced registration is required. Free. Register at artsbr.org/writing-in-color. k
FEB
3rd
CONCERTS THE WILLIAMS FAMILY BAND AT THE ACADIANA CENTER FOR THE ARTS Lafayette, Louisiana
The Acadiana Center for the Arts continues to bring unique touring acts, local legends, and more to Cajun Country this month with a performance by The Williams Family Band. They’ve been a fixture in Michigan for more than three decades, and now are bringing their unique brand of bluegrass, folk, Gospel, and country to Lafayette. $35-$55. 7:30 pm. acadianacenterforthearts.org. k
FEB
3rd
VENTRILOQUISM TODD OLIVER & IRVING THE TALKING DOG Covington, Louisiana
Todd Oliver takes ventriloquism to the next level, passing on superpowers to his pup Irving. Sit back and listen to their banter, which will have you rolling around the Fuhrmann Auditorim floor before you know it. Doors open at 6:30 pm. $20 online; $25 at the door. Tickets at bontempstix.com. k
FEB
3rd - FEB 6th
MUSICALS SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Theatre Baton Rouge is ecstatic about the return of its Young Actors’ Program with its production of Seussical the Musical. 7:30 pm. $35, $25 for students and seniors. theatrebr.org. k
FEB
4th
SIPS & STROLLS UNCORKED ART WALK Sunset, Louisiana
Sip in Sunset with the locals for the Uncorked Art Walk. Galleries along Napoleon Avenue—including Artworks by Ted Bertrand, boho, The Funky Flea, and Jerilyn’s Fused Glass Art Gallery—will be open for viewing and shopping, with many of the artists present to discuss their work. Café Josephine will provide wine and horsd’oeuvres at each gallery. 6 pm–9 pm. Free. (337) 662-6222. k
FEB 4th - FEB 5th
TRIBUTE CONCERTS RESPECT: AN ARETHA FRANKLIN TRIBUTE Slidell, Louisiana
A gorgeous tribute to the Queen of Soul, featuring fresh renditions of the most
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Events
Beginning February 4th - February 5th cherished hits: “Respect,” “Knew You Were Waiting,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Precious Memories,” “Think,” “Until You Come Back to Me,” “Daydreaming,” “Freeway,” “Natural Woman,” and others. 8 pm each night. $32. cuttingedgetheater.com. k
FEB
4th - FEB 13th
THEATRE JEFFERSON PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY PRESENTS FLY Metairie, Louisiana
Telling the story of the 332nd Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Force, known today as the “Tuskegee Airmen,” Jefferson Performing Arts Society’s production of Trey Ellis and Ricardo Kahn’s stage play Fly presents a microcosm of race relations in America—taking the audience along with the experiences of four Black servicemen during the 1940s. Performances will take place at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and on Sundays at 2 pm. $63; $58 seniors and military; $53 students; $23 for children twelve and younger. jpas.org. k
FEB
4th - FEB 26th
LIVE MUSIC L’AUBERGE CONCERTS Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Catch these shows when you want a safer bet: February 4: Robert Cray Band. 8 pm. $25. February 11: An Evening with Travis Tritt Solo Acoustic Tour. 8 pm. $40. February 26: The Chee-Weez. $10. 9 pm.
FEB 5th
GOOD EATS WILD GAME COOKOUT 2022
lbatonrouge.com. k
FEB 4 - FEB 26 th
exploration of traditional cobalt painting techniques. Participants will learn about Dinh’s process of referencing imagery from his childhood, and will get the opportunity to develop and explore their own personal and cultural iconography. The workshop includes a tour of the exhibit Nail Salon, featuring porcelain works by Christian Dinh. Finished works will be fired after the workshop; all materials are included. 10 am–1 pm. $45. ogdenmuseum.org. k
th
CONCERTS LIVE MUSIC AT RED STICK SOCIAL Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Red Stick Social keeps the live music coming in Mid-City’s historic Electric Depot, usually at 8 pm Friday and Saturday nights and noon Sundays. redsticksocial.com. k
FEB 5th
CREATIVE CLASSES ARTIST WORKSHOP WITH CHRISTIAN DINH New Orleans, Louisiana
Join ceramicist Christian Dinh for an
Erwinville, Louisiana
The twentieth annual Wild Game Cookout will be a full day of cooking by teams from all over East and West Baton Rouge parishes (and sometimes further). The teams will be grilling, stirring, and frying all manner of wild game followed by dinner, a silent auction, and a rowdy live auction. Entertainment will be provided by Passing-OutLaws. This event is a fundraiser benefitting Dream Day Foundation which supports St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital patients and families. Dinner tickets are $15 on the day of the event. Donations are welcome for the live and silent auction. Cooks arrive at 7 am, dinner served at 4 pm. More
information on how to participate, register, or donate to the Wild Game Cookout can be found at dreamdayfoundation.org. k
FEB
5th - FEB 6th
THEATRE THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES Covington, Louisiana
Based on Agatha Christie’s first novel, Playmakers’ Theater’s newest production will tell the story of the strange world of Styles Court. There’s a murder, of course (poison!), and suspicion percolates. See the show at 7 pm on Saturdays and 2 pm on Sundays. bontempstix.com. k
FEB 5th - FEB 26th JAM SESSIONS SAVOY MUSIC JAM Eunice, Louisiana
Marc Savoy’s Saturday morning jam sessions are one of Acadiana’s worst-kept secrets, having been featured in Good Morning America, National Geographic, and Smithsonian Magazine. People drawn to Cajun music from just down the street and from all over the world convene every Saturday morning at the Savoy Music Center for a cultural exchange led by the old guard of Cajun fiddlers and accordionists. 9 am–noon. Free. savoymusiccenter.com.
Childhood comes and goes in a blink. We’re here through the stages of your life, with the strength of the cross, the protection of the shield. The Right Card. The Right Care.
01MK7641 11/21
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Events
Beginning February 5th - February 10th Continued from page 14: Read Managing Editor Jordan LaHaye Fontenot’s story on Marc Savoy’s new book and his handmade Acadian accordions on page 40. k
FEB
5th - FEB 28th
ART EXHIBITS ELECTRIC DREAMS AT GALLERY 600 JULIA New Orleans, Louisiana
Welcoming the return of Carnival season, Gallery 600 Julia presents a Mardi Grasthemed group show, featuring a special presentation of neon paintings by William B. Crowell. Artist reception Saturday, February 5, 6 pm–8 pm. The gallery is open 9 am–3 pm, Monday–Saturday. gallery600julia.com. k
FEB
5th - FEB 28th
ART EXHIBITS ARIODANTE GALLERY FEBRUARY EXHIBITION New Orleans, Louisiana
New works will be on display this month at Ariodante Art Gallery on Julia Street in New Orleans, beginning with an opening reception from 4 pm–8 pm. Works include
paintings by Jennifer Psalmonds, jewelry by C. Wilson, crafts by Juli Juneau, and a group show featuring Payton Trim. ariodantegallery.com. k
FEB
6th
BOOK TALKS MYSTERY OF THE HEART SHAPED LOCKET PRESENTATION AND SIGNING Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Louisiana’s Old State Capitol and Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin are hosting a special Free Sunday event featuring author Rannah Gray. Gray’s book Mystery of the Heart Shaped Locket is about twin sisters who discover a heart-shaped locket that contains secrets of an important figure in Louisiana’s history. Gray will speak, and copies of the book will be available for purchase. 2 pm– 4 pm. louisianaoldstatecapitol.org. k
FEB
6
th
OPERA ON SCREEN THE METROPOLITAN OPERA PRESENTS EURYDICE
Acadiana Center for the Arts brings Eurydice to the screen. The undying love of Orpheus and Eurydice has influenced many artists for centuries, and composer Matthew Aucoin brings his own view of the story to life. With the story being told from Eurydice’s point of view, the screening of the opera in HD will be something to remember. 2 pm. $15 for members, $10 for non-members. acadianacenterforthearts.org. k
FEB
Gardeners themselves at the Main Branch Library on Goodwood. Carol Paine will present a talk called “Let’s Get Rosey,” and Donna Montgomery will speak on “Super Plants”. 6:30 pm–8:30 pm. Free. ebrmg.wildapricot.org. k
FEB 8th
CONCERTS NEW ORLEANS FRIENDS OF MUSIC CHAMBER CONCERTS New Orleans, Louisiana
6th - FEB 20th
CREATIVE CLASSES POTTERY BASICS Covington, Louisiana
Learn the basics of pottery with Janie Dick through three workshops brought together by the St. Tammany Art Association. Taking place over three weekends, students will learn how to create the basic objects such as mugs, plates, and bowls, and use stamps and glazes to finish off their pieces. Must be age sixteen or older. $200 for members, $250 for non-members. Sundays February 6–20. 1 pm–3:30 pm, 4 pm–6:30 pm. sttammany.art. k
FEB 8th
GREEN THUMBS MASTER GARDENER TALKS
Lafayette, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Experience the Met Opera in HD as the
Get the scoop straight from the Master
The New Orleans Friends of Music 20212022 season continues with performances from some of chamber music’s most accomplished artists. This month, enjoy the sounds of Stephen Hough on piano. 7:30 pm at Tulane University’s Dixon Hall. $35. (504) 895-0690 or friendsofmusic.org. k
FEB
8th - FEB 9th
DEMONSTRATIONS CERAMICS DEMO BY JESSICA BRANDL Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Drop into the galleries at the LSU Museum of Art to observe a demonstration by artist Jessica Brandl in The Boneyard ceramics studio space. 9 am–11:30 am and 1 pm–4 pm. Entry into the museum is $5 for visitors thirteen and older; free for members, students, and veterans. lsumoa.org. k
LIVE AT THE EVENT CENTER
GIN BLOSSOMS
FRANK FOSTER
CANDLEBOX WOLVES TOUR 2022
NEW MISERABLE EXPERIENCE LIVE CELEBRATING 30 MISERABLE YEARS
FRIDAY, MAR 4 9PM
SATURDAY, MAR 12 9PM
FRIDAY, APR 15 8PM
PURCHASE TICKETS AT For more information, visit LBatonRouge.com • 866.261.7777 Must be 21 years of age or older to enter Event Center and Casino. Entertainment is subject to change or cancellation without notice. Tickets may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster. Tickets are non-transferable and non-negotiable. Subject to availability. Management reserves the right to cancel, modify or refuse this offer without notice at any time. Offer not valid for self-exclusion program enrollees in jurisdictions which Penn National Gaming, Inc. operates or who have been otherwise excluded from the participating property. ©2022 Penn National Gaming, Inc. All rights reserved.
GAMBLING 16
PROBLEM?
F E B 2 2 // C O U N T R Y R O A D S M A G . C O M
PLEASE
CALL
800.522.4700.
FEB 9th
and 1 pm Sunday matinée; 6:30 pm Sunday evenings. Tickets start at $60.50. saengernola.com. k
Online
FEB
ART TALKS CATCHING UP WITH JULIEN HUDSON (1811–1844) One of the earliest professional artists of African descent in the U.S. and the first securely-documented native New Orleans artist, Julien Hudson (1811–1844) is one of the most important figures in Louisiana art history and was part of New Orleans’ extraordinary community of free artists and artists of color. Ten years after the only retrospective of his brief but vital career, which was co-organized by The Historic New Orleans Collection and the Worcester Art Museum in 2011–2012, exhibition co-curator Dr. William Keyse Rudolph reminds us of Hudson’s role in Louisiana art and shares what we’ve learned since then in this virtual talk from the Gallier House. 6 pm–7:30 pm. Free, but registration is required. hgghh.org.. k
FEB
10
th
CHEERS RARE WHISKEY RAFFLE AND TASTING Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Calandro’s annual Rare Whiskey Raffle in South Baton Rouge has been a staple for a decade. This year, rather than being
10th - FEB 25th
LIVE MUSIC FEBRUARY AT THE RED DRAGON Baton Rouge, Louisiana
In its modest digs on Florida Boulevard, the Red Dragon Listening Room pulls in well-known and emerging songwriters, and with the venue’s non-profit status, all money raised at the door goes directly to the artists. Join the eager audience for these concerts:
The national tour of Frozen— the coldest Disney musical to warm the most hearts—is coming to the stage of the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans from February 10–20. Photo by Deen van Meer.
held in the last two weeks of December, it’s going down in time for Mardi Gras, instead. The event allows participants to enjoy whiskey and wine samplings, and more, along with the signature Whiskey Raffle, which allows winners to purchase very rare whiskeys and bourbons, such as Old Rip Van Winkle the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, and others at normal retail prices. All proceeds will go directly to the local chapter of Folds of Honor, helping the families of deceased and disabled veterans. calandros.com. k
FEB
10th - FEB 20th
MUSICALS FROZEN AT THE SAENGER New Orleans, Louisiana
The sister epic of the ages is coming to the Saenger, featuring all of the most-beloved numbers including “Let it Go”. The Disney blockbuster that captured the hearts of a generation is now on stage, cooler and more heartwarming than ever. Performances will take place Tuesday–Sundays; 7:30 pm weeknights; 8 pm Friday and Saturday nights, with a 2 pm Saturday matinée
February 10: C.J. Chenier & Red Hot LA Band. $40. February 17: Dale Watson (Full Band). $50. February 18: Jimbo Mathus Band. $30. February 25: Reverend Horton Heat (Full Band). $50. Shows usually start at 8 pm. (225) 939-7783. Tickets at paypal.me/reddragonlr; mention the artist in the message line. k
FEB
11th
FUN FUNDRAISERS BROADWAY, BITES, AND BUBBLIES 2022 New Iberia, Louisiana
Just in time for Valentine’s Day weekened, join the Iberia Performing Arts League
Save the Date
Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin and The Louisiana State Archives present
FRIENDS OF THE LOUISIANA STATE ARCHIVES
THE TRADITIONS OF NEW ORLEANS’ MARDI GRAS
present
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
THE INAUGURAL
SPRING GALA
Mystery of the Archives
A historic showcase featuring archival treasures and never-before-seen Carnival photography!
Sunday, March 6, 2022 2:00PM - 5:00PM
January 5 - April 14, 2022 Monday - Friday 8:00AM - 4:00PM
EON E R F SSI I
ADM
Louisiana State Archives
Louisiana State Archives 3851 Essen Lane Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Saturday February 5 March 5 April 4 9:00AM - 5:00PM 3851 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70809
For ticket information call: 225.922.2521 or visit
225.922.1000
https://friendsofthelaarchivesgala22 eventbrite.com // F E B 2 2
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Events
looking to try performing for the first time. Here are the offerings:
Beginning February 11th - February 17th
for an evening filled with drinks, food provided by local chefs, music, and sneak performances by the stars of The Producers!. All money raised from this event will go towards the Spring Production The Producers! 7 pm. $50. ipaltheater.com. k
FEB
11
th
- MAR
FEB
12th
TRIBUTE SHOWS DEAN Z - THE ULTIMATE ELVIS
2
nd
Vidalia, Louisiana
CULTURE EXHIBITS MARDI GRAS MAMBO & ALL THAT JAZZ Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Mid City Artisans is celebrating Carnival through the eyes and work of local artists and vendors. An opening reception for the exhibition featuring live jazz from local school-age musicians and king cake will be held February 11 from 6 pm–9pm. mid-cityartisans.com. k
FEB
is talking the stage of the newly-renovated River Center backed by the power of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. 8 pm. Tickets start at $37. brso.org. k
The Delta Music Museum is raising funds with the help of Dean Z—The Ultimate Elvis. See the show at the Vidalia Convention Center. Tickets for the event can be purchased in advance by calling the Delta Museum Gift Shop. 6 pm. $25 for adults, $15 for high school students. Tickets will be $5 more at the door. deltamusicmuseum.com. k
FEB
12th
12th - FEB 26th
CREATIVE CLASSES CLASSES AT THEATRE BATON ROUGE
CONCERTS EMMANUEL AX WITH THE BATON ROUGE SYMPHONY
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Grammy Award-winning pianist and 2022 Irene W. and C. B. Pennington Foundation Great Performer in Concert Emmanuel Ax
Theatre Baton Rouge is offering a variety of classes in the coming month for those looking to dust off their chops after being off-stage for a while as well as for those
February 12–March 5: Musical Theatre Dance with Hope Vaughan Carline. $100. Ages twelve and older. Saturdays at 9 am. February 12–March 5: Youth Voice Class with Beth Bordelon. $100. Ages eight through fourteen. Saturdays at 10:30 am. February 12–March 5: Improvisation for Teens with Kaitlyn Stockwell. $100. Ages thirteen through eighteen. Saturdays at 9 am. February 12–March 5: Drama for Young Actors with Amy Himel Gomez. $100. Ages nine through twelve. Saturdays at 10:30 am. February 14–March 11: Scene Study for Adults with Georgia Roger Ferrier. $200. Ages sixteen and up. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 pm. February 15–March 10: The Playwright’s Process with Greg Williams Jr. $200. Ages sixteen and up. Mondays and Fridays at 6 pm. theatrebr.org/education-at-tbr to register. k
FEB
12th - JUL 24th
ART EXHIBITS LUIS CRUZ AZACETA’S WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD New Orleans, Louisiana
Over the course of the last four decades, multi-media New Orleans artist
Luiz Cruz Azaceta has used art as a way to process the world around him—the violence, war, racism, environmental collapse, pandemic, oppression. Viewing his work as a weapon for change, he works in the realms of figurative expressionism and narrative abstraction, presenting large scale artworks instantly recognizable for their “highly charged color and narrative depth”. Luiz Cruz Azaceta: What a Wonderful World, on display at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, brings together a works from 1975– 2021 in the artist’s largest retrospective exhibition yet. ogdenmuseum.org. k
FEB
14th
VALENTINE’S SERENADES AT THE ARCADE Ferriday, Louisiana
For Valentine’s Day, visit Serenades at the Arcade at the Delta Music Museum & Arcade Theatre, with romantic live music by Butch King from the sixties and seventies, roses, catered dinner, a dance f loor, and a chance to take sweet pictures with those you love. For more information and tickets, call the Delta Music Museum in Ferriday’s Gift Shop at (318) 757-4297. deltamusicmuseum.com. k
“It is a privilege to be part of your child’s growth, development and well-being. The trust you have placed in me is invaluable, and I look forward to knowing and growing with your family.”
Welcoming to
Dr. Tijani joins Drs. Jacob LaBas and Lacey Clark at Lane Pediatrics.
To schedule an appointment, please call 225-658-4070. Same day appointments are available.
Shola Tijani, MD
Highlights
Dr. Tijani is here to help you with the most important job in life raising your children and keeping them healthy.
Board certified in Pediatrics
Services for newborns, toddlers, children and teens include: • Well-baby Exams • Preventive Checkups • Immunizations • School & Sports Physicals • Developmental Screenings • Primary Care Services • Flu Shots • COVID-19 Vaccinations
Received Doctor of Medicine from St. George’s University School of Medicine Completed residency in Pediatrics at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Dr. Tijani is now accepting new patients.
Lane Pediatrics • 6110 Main Street, Suite B, Zachary • 225-658-4070 • LaneRMC.org 18
F E B 2 2 // C O U N T R Y R O A D S M A G . C O M
FEB 14th
CONCERTS LOVE SONGS FOR COUPLES Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dip into the romantic side of Henry Turner Jr.’s vast catalogue at this Valentine’s Day concert at Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room. Tickets are $50 per couple and include a champagne toast and potential to win giveaways. 9 pm–11 pm. henryslisteningroom.com. k
FEB 15th
MUSICALS RENT 25TH ANNIVERSARY FAREWELL TOUR Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jonathan Larson’s powerful reimagining of Puccini’s La Boheme set in the 1990s in East Village, on stage for the twenty-fifth anniversary at the River Center. 7:30 pm. Tickets start at $55. ticketmaster.com. k
FEB
16th
CONCERTS DYLAN LEBLANC AT SINGLETON’S LISTENING ROOM Arnaudville, Louisiana
Coming to the town of Arnaudville, singer and songwriter Dylan LeBlanc will perform a solo show at Singleton’s
Listening Room, playing songs from his studio albums. This Shereveport native has four studio albums and another on the way, his show will be something you don’t want to miss. 6 pm. $20 donation recommended. nunuaccollective. homesteadcloud.com. k
FEB
17th
PRESERVING HISTORY LOUISIANA’S HISTORIC PRESERVATION TOOLKIT MEETING SERIES New Roads, Louisiana
Join the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation at one of a series of meetings designed to equip citizens with the tools and resources to help save historic structures right in their own backyards. Learn about tax credits, advocacy programs, and more. 5:30 pm–7 pm. Free. lthp.org. k
FEB
17th - FEB 19th
MUSICALS FROZEN, JR.
Denham Springs, Louisiana
CYT’s production of Frozen, Jr. is based on the 2018 Broadway musical, a story of true love and acceptance between sisters. With a cast of beloved characters and loaded with magic, adventure, and plenty of humor, Frozen Jr. is sure to thaw even
After a year on hiatus, the Cajun Coast’s Eagle Expo is back on for 2022, including special highlights like a photography workshop with C.C. Lockwood. See listing on page 20. Image courtesy of Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau.
CAPTURING YOUR TRUE LOVE STORY IN THE MOST UNLIKELY PPCES.
Wedding packages starting at $1995 + tax. hello@eyewanderphoto.com 225-366-4567 // F E B 2 2
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Events
Beginning February 18th - February 24th
the coldest heart and delight kids and grown-ups both. 7 pm Thursday and Friday, 10 am and 3 pm Saturday at Abundant Life Church in Denham Springs. $15. cytbatonrouge.org. k
FEB
18th - FEB 19th
Presentation and Friday night social. Then sign up for the boat tours of your choice. Tickets for individual boat tours range from $35 – $70 for adults. cajuncoast.com. k
FEB
18th - FEB 19th
KNOWING NATURE 17TH ANNUAL EAGLE EXPO
CONCERTS STEVE LANDS: REARRANGING THE PLANETS
Morgan City, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
The Eagle Expo, hosted by Cajun Coast, is back for another year of gimlet-eyed education and observation, all set deep within the Atchafalaya Basin, which is home to this and other rare species of flora and fauna. Those that wing it westward to the Morgan City area will have opportunities to join boat tours into surrounding waterways to view eagles nests, enjoy raptor demonstrations, and sit in on presentations by wildlife professionals on a wide variety of topics. This year, there will be a photography workshop by C.C. Lockwood, (though it requires a separate registration). There will also be two field trips, one to the Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge and one to Green Foundation Property off Cotten Road. A mandatory $40 registration fee gains you entry to the Wings to Soar
Don’t miss this exclusive performance by Baton Rouge composer and musician Steve Lands, who is a member of the Creative Assembly Cohort. Lands will present his reinterpretation of Gustav Holst’s influential orchestral suite The Planets in the NOMA Lapis Center for the Arts for two nights only. The original composition uses Holst’s work as an opportunity to explore the concept of the heavens in different societies across history. 8 pm. $30. noma.org. k
20
FEB
18th
- FEB
20th
CREATIVE CLASSES SONGWRITING WORKSHOP WITH VERLON THOMPSON Saint Francisville, Louisiana
Acclaimed singer, songwriter, and
F E B 2 2 // C O U N T R Y R O A D S M A G . C O M
guitarist Verlon Thompson is coming to Birdman Coffee, Art & Music for a three-day Arts for All event in St. Francisville. For the eighth year in a row, Thompson will be hosting his songwriting workshop for musicians. Arts for All is a nonprofit art organization that brings events like these around for local artists. On Friday, Thompson will work individually on a song of your choosing. $250 for the workshop, $325 for all three days. 9 am–4 pm, Saturday and Sunday. For more information and how to sign up, email Lynn at birdmancoffeeshop@ gmail.com. facebook.com/ birdmancoffeeshop. k
FEB
18 th
- JUL
31st
SCULPTURE EXHIBITS THE TRAHAN GALLERY: ROOTING METAL Port Allen, Louisiana
To honor metal artist Ronald Trahan and his Port Allen family and lineage, the West Baton Rouge Museum is unveiling a new semi-permanent exhibit titled The Trahan Gallery: Rooting Metal. A grand opening reception will be held on February 18 from 6 pm–8 pm during Historical Happy Hour. wbrmuseum.org. k
FEB
19th
CHEERS ART OF THE COCKTAIL Hammond, Louisiana
Hammond Regional Arts Center directs its curatorial eye towards the bar glass for its annual Art of the Cocktail. Don your favorite disguise for this year’s “Masquerade” theme to enjoy concoctions shaken and stirred by the area’s best bartenders, all vying to win the title of Best Drink of 2022. 7 pm–10 pm. $40; $75 for VIP Experience, which includes a special cocktail hour from 6 pm–7 pm featuring first tastes of all cocktails and special hors d’oeuvres. Ages twenty-one and up. hammondarts.org. k
FEB 19th
GOOD EATS HERE’S THE BEEF COOK-OFF Opelousas, Louisiana
Here it is: the festival that answers the question, “Where’s the beef?” The St. Landry Parish Cattlemen’s Association’s annual beef cook-off will serve up sizzling slabs of meat, to the delight of carnivores for miles around. Here’s The Beef Cook-Off will also serve a side of live entertainment and a trail ride; so it’s eat a little, dance a little, ride a little, then repeat. Trail ride starts at 8:30 am and music starts at 10 am. Head to the Ag
Arena on the Yambilee Fairgrounds. $10 admission; $15 for trail ride. (337) 945-0364 or at cajuntravel.com. k
FEB 19th
FRIENDLY COMPETITION DREAM QUEST SCAVENGER HUNT Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Gather a team and embark on an exciting, fun-filled outdoor scavenger hunt adventure with the potential to win prizes with this special event at Clegg’s Nursery. Dream Quest Scavenger Hunt gives participants the chance to show off their creativity, utilize their problem-solving skills, test their knowledge, and engage in a fun competition with the chance to win a variety of prizes. Registration is required. All proceeds from the event go to Dream Day Foundation supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. $25 team registration fee. 9 am–4 pm. dreamdayfoundation.org/event/dreamquest-scavenger-hunt/ to register. k
FEB 19th - APR 10th
ART EXHIBITS SECOND TIME, SECOND LINE New Orleans, Louisiana
As part of its Artists and Sense of Place Residency Program, the Ogden Museum will present a special exhibition in its Education Gallery featuring the work of students from the Young Audience Charter School, created through the Second Time, Second Line Recycling Project. Mixed media artist Jacqueline Ehle-Inglefield has been working with these students to introduce new artmaking techniques while encouraging them to explore their region and to raise awareness about the importance of recycling. ogdenmuseum.org. k
FEB 20th - FEB 25th CREATIVE CLASSES ST. PATRICK ICON PAINTING WOKSHOP Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Paint Ireland’s Patron Saint under the tutelage of skilled iconographers in the beautiful Botanic Gardens at Burden. Sunday 1 pm–4 pm, Monday through Friday 8 am–5 pm. $375. lsu.edu/botanic-gardens. k
FEB 23rd - APR 1st FLOWER POWER AZALEA TRAIL
reds, purples, salmons, and whites—or just take a long stroll and welcome the sights and scents. Pick up an Azalea Trail touring map at the welcome center on Highway 14. Through March or April, weather depending. Free. iberiatravel.com or (337) 365-1540. k
FEB 24th
LOCAL HISTORY NATIONAL HISTORY DAY CONTEST Port Allen, Louisiana
With the 2022 theme, “Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences,” this year’s National History Day Contest encourages students from twelve parishes in grades six through twelve to submit projects in one of five categories: paper, website, exhibit, performance, or documentary. Held in person this year, the event will be hosted at the West Baton Rouge Museum. Rules and instructions for submission are available online at the National World War II Museum website. Students must have projects uploaded to the site by February 17. Winners will be announced February 24. For more information or questions about National History Day, contact historyday@nationalww2museum.org or amanda@wbrmuseum.org. k
FEB
GREEN THUMBS MASTER GARDENER TALK: GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS Baton Rouge, Louisiana
If you want to start a garden but want top-notch advice on how to begin, look no further than this East Baton Rouge Master Gardener Talk on “Beginning a Garden” and “Pruning” at the Bluebonnet Branch Library. 6:30 pm–8:30 pm. ebrmg.wildapricot.org. k
FEB
24th
- FEB
26th
BOOK & FILM FESTS NATCHEZ LITERARY AND CINEMA CELEBRATION Wesson, Mississippi
Back for another year celebrating Southern authors, the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration will be at Copiah Lincoln Community College. This theme-based lecture series is enhanced by films, workshops, book signings, concerts, and discussions over a three day period. colin.edu/community. Read more about the conference on page 8. k
New Iberia, Louisiana
The bayou-side town of New Iberia is a charmer any time of year, but especially so in the springtime when the azaleas are in full bloom. Roll down your windows on Main Street for a self-guided driving tour of New Iberia’s brightest pinks,
24th
FEB
24th
- MAY
ART EXHIBITS 59TH ANNUAL JURIED COMPETITION
7th
Monroe, Louisiana
The Mansur Museum’s juried art // F E B 2 2
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Events
only be sold the day of the event, starting one hour before, 5:30 pm. $15. deltamusicmusuem.com. k
Beginning February 24th - February 26th competition has been a staple of the North Louisiana art community since 1964, and this year returns to present artworks by hundreds of artists in a variety of mediums and styles, judged and hand-selected for the exhibition by guest juror Susan Baley. $3,200 in cash prizes will be on the table for the winning artists, so the stakes are high. mansurjuried.org. k
FEB
25th
CONCERTS DEEP ROOTS: LIVE DOWNTOWN! MUSIC SERIES Cleveland, Mississippi
The Mississippi Delta’s premiere production company, Big Front Porch Productions, is excited to announce their Winter/Spring 2022 Deep Roots music series live in downtown Cleveland at the Delta Arts Alliance. Enjoy the areas finest blues, Americana, country, bluegrass, Gospel, R&B, and more from 6–8 pm. This month, catch a performance by Americana folk husband-wife singer/ songwriter duo Ricky and Micol Davis, better known as Blue Mother Tupelo. deltadeeproots.com. k
22
FEB
25th
- FEB
CRAFTS NORTH LOUISIANA QUILTERS’ GUILD 2022 QUILT SHOW
26th
West Monroe, Louisiana
Join the North Louisiana Quilters’ Guild and take in the beauty of over three hundred stunning quilts and other quilted projects. The two-day event will also feature demonstrations, bed turning, featured quilts, vendors, a River Raff le, doorprizes, and the chance to win a beautiful and intricate raff le quilt titled “Backroads USA”. $7 admission for ages nine through seventy-nine, all others free. 9 am– 5 pm Friday and 9 am–4 pm Saturday. nlqg.us. k
FEB
26th
CONCERTS AVERY MICHAELS & FRIENDS SHOW AT THE ARCADE Ferriday, Louisiana
Catch the Avery Michaels & Friends Show at the Delta Music Museum, the only Louisiana museum on the Mississippi Blues Trail. Tickets will
F E B 2 2 // C O U N T R Y R O A D S M A G . C O M
FEB
26th
LITERATURE AFRICAN AMERICAN READ-IN Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Join the many schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, and organizations who are coming together to celebrate Black History Month through literature with an African American Read-In. This event at the Main Branch Library will feature readings from African American authors and poets elevating and exploring Black experiences. Special guests will include Mayor Sharon Weston Broome and members of 100 Black Men. 10 am. ebrpl.com. k
IT’S
CARNIVAL TIME
From the rowdy courirs of the Acadian prairies to the extravagent rolling parades of St. Charles Avenue, Mardi Gras celebrations are back in a big way for 2022. Peruse the following pages for the ongoings in each part of the region, and stay safe out there. Happy Carnival!
Photo by David Simpson
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CARNIVAL CALENDAR
Parades and more in Greater Baton Rouge and New Orleans CAPITAL REGION MARDI GRAS Capital Carnival Chicanery abounds this Mardi Gras Season, and—using our Baton Rouge Parade Calendar—you won’t miss a single carousing opportunity. Visit individual parade websites for the most updated details on upcoming events. February 13 Mystic Krewe of Mutts: Bark your calendars for the annual CAAWs Mystic Krewe of Mutts parade, held downtown. This year’s theme is “Back in the Saddle.” Bark in the Park events begin at 10 am, and the parade rolls at 2 pm. caaws.org. February 18 Krewe of Artemis: The first all-female krewe in Baton Rouge begins and ends at the corner of St. Philip Street and Government Street. Revelers will be treated to themed throws, including the Krewe of Artemis’ signature High-Heeled Shoe. 7 pm. kreweofartemis.net. February 19 Krewe of Oshun Parade and Festival: Enjoy carnival games, eating contests, and other free family fun at BREC’s Scottlandville Parkway Conservation Park for this second annual festival and parade. Noon–6 pm. visitbatonrouge.com. Krewe Mystique de la Capitale: The city’s oldest parading Mardi Gras krewe continues its mission to uphold Carnival season in the Capital City. Family oriented and fun for all ages, it starts at the River Center and winds around downtown. 2 pm. krewemystique.com. Krewe of Orion: A Carnival-themed tractor pull through downtown Baton Rouge, this year’s theme is “Orion’s 2020 Vision”. Begins and ends at the River Center, where the after-party masquerade will be held. 6:30 pm. kreweoforion.com. Addis Mardi Gras Parade: In the little town of Addis, the Volunteer Fire Department will sponsor its familyfriendly line of celebration for all. 11 am. westbatonrouge.net. February 20 Mid City Gras: Baton Rouge’s freshest Mardi Gras parade returns to Mid City. The afternoon revel down North, from 22nd Street to Baton Rouge Community College invites locals to “get nuts,” featuring Mid City artists, musicians, and more in a wildly unpretentious neighborhood strut, themed this year “Back to the Future to 2022”. 1 pm. midcitygras.org. February 25 Krewe of Southdowns: The theme this year is “It’s Showtime,” with this familyfriendly flambeaux-inspired nighttime 24
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parade rolling along its usual route from Glasgow Middle School through the Southdowns neighborhood. 7 pm. southdowns.org. February 26 Baton Rouge Mardi Gras Festival: Don’t miss this incredible line-up from Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room for free in North Boulevard Town Square. A VIP Pre-Party offering a preview of some of the musical acts will be February 24 at 7 pm in the Listening Room. $25. ultimatelouisianapar. wixsite.com/brmardigrasfest. Spanish Town Parade: Spanish Town’s annual parade of miscreants rolls from Spanish Town Road and Fifth Street, to Lafayette Street and Main. The krewes dole out dozens of infamously irreverent floats, with marching bands, dance troupes, and waves of pink throws. Come early. This year’s theme is “Porn Again Flamingos.” Noon. spanishtownmardigras.com. Capitol Park Museum Spanish Town Parade Party: Watch the Spanish Town Parade from the lawn of Capitol Park Museum while enjoying bites and allday museum access. 9 am–4 pm. eventbrite.com. Spanish Town Ball: The fun of the daytime parade gets dressed up and continues the party at the Raising Canes River Center. 7 pm. spanishtownmardigras.com. February 27 Krewe of Good Friends of the Oaks Parade: Residents of the Port Allen community “The Oaks” established this krewe in 1985, and it has been rolling right along ever since. 1 pm. westbatonrouge.net. February 28 (Lundi Gras) Mardi Gras at the Knock Knock Museum: Little ones and their adults are invited to celebrate Carnival Season at the Knock Knock Children’s Museum this Lundi Gras, which will offer Mardi Gras activities like mask making, bead art murals, and mini king cake decorating. Registration is required. 10 am–4 pm. $15 per person over twenty-four months old, free for members. knockknockmuseum.org/mardigras. March 1 (Mardi Gras) Community Center of Pointe Coupee Parade: Every year the population of New Roads multiplies tenfold as paradegoers searching for a more laid back time flock to Pointe Coupee. 11 am. Find the Community Center on Facebook for details. New Roads Lion Club Parade: This annual parade follows right behind the Community Center of Pointe Coupee Parade. newroads.net. k
BIG EASY MARDI GRAS Alas, it is finally here after a too-long hiatus. La saison du Carnaval! Whether you are a local New Orleanian or a first-time visitor, the experience can be simultaneously mystifying and disorienting, particularly with us all out of parading practice following our break in 2021. This year, enjoy safely by masking up—’tis the season for new identities, after all. When planning your escapades, please remember to verify routes and schedules at individual parade sites and Facebook pages, or at mardigrasneworleans.com, just in case any changes have been made. Now, allons! February 5 Krewe of Chewbacchus: This Intergalactic krewe is comprised of six hundred self-professed sci-fi geeks pursuing the mission of “saving the galaxy one drunken nerd at a time.” Members will be pushing, pedaling, and pulling homemade contraptions; and the pièce de résistance will be an eleven-foot tall golden effigy of Chewbacchus himself. 7 pm. chewbacchus.org. February 11 Krewe Bohème: New Orleans’ newest bohemian krewe, presided over by the intoxicating Green Absinthe Fairy, brings
parade-goers a visual and auditory feast of mystery, artistry, and fun, along with handmade throws. 7 pm. kreweboheme.com. February 12 Krewe du Vieux: Held in the French Quarter, this is the only Mardi Gras parade featuring mule-drawn floats with satirical themes, all accompanied by the sounds of New Orleans jazz. 6:30 pm. kreweduvieux.org. For more history on mule-drawn parades, read Charlotte Jones’ story on page 50. krewedelusion: One of the weirdest parades of the season, krewedelusion is on a mission to save the universe, starting at its center—New Orleans’ French Quarter. Follows Krewe du Vieux. krewedelusion.org. February 13 ‘tit Rex: Miniature size, maximum fun, this walking parade with the petit, handmade floats marches down thirteen blocks of median in St. Roch. 4:30 pm. titrexparade.com.
Dolls, a band contest, peacocks, and the goddess of love, all the way down St. Charles. 6 pm. mardigrasneworleans.com. Krewe of Cleopatra: Meet the first allfemale organization on the Uptown route. 6:30 pm. kreweofcleopatra.org. Krewe of ALLA: Though this krewe was all-male for eighty two years, the group is now welcoming women aboard its storied floats. Follows Cleopatra. kreweofalla.net. February 19 Magical Krewe of Mad Hatters: This recently-founded Metairie Krewe aimed at capturing the imagination brings Alice in Wonderland to life with colorful lights, costumes, and dance troops. 5 pm. madhattersparade.com. Krewe of Centurions: This familyfriendly parade is comprised of over 350 men. 6:30 pm. kreweofcenturions.com Knights of Nemesis: Don’t miss St. Bernard Parish’s only active Mardi Gras parade, established in 2004 by longtime Carnival parade riders. 1 pm. knightsofnemesis.org.
year history on mail wagons as floats, this family-friendly krewe will march down St. Charles following Pontchartrain. kreweofchoctaw.com. Krewe of Freret: This krewe has an especial focus for preserving New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition, and will march down St. Charles after the Krewe of Choctaw. kreweoffreret.com. Knights of Sparta: This all-male krewe has been around since the fifties. 5:30 pm down St. Charles. knightsofsparta.com. Krewe of Pygmalion: This colorful parade founded by Carnival veterans in 1999 rolls down the St. Charles route after Sparta. kreweofpygmalion.org. February 20 Mystic Krewe of Barkus: This one has gone to the dogs. Down in the French Quarter, starting at 2 pm. barkus.org. Krewe of Atlas: This Metairie Krewe was founded on the principle of equality for all. 4 pm. mardigrasneworleans.com/ parades/krewe-of-atlas.
February 18 Krewe of Cork: Did you know that New Orleans has its own wine krewe? They’ll be sippin’ and steppin’ through the French Quarter two weekends before Fat Tuesday. 3 pm. kreweofcork.com.
Krewe of Pontchartrain: Famous for its history of celebrity Grand Marshals, including Bart Simpson, Jim Henderson, and Becky Allen, this parade is one of New Orleans’ longest-standing. 1 pm down St. Charles. kofp.com.
The Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale: The first krewe founded by African American women for African American women, their signature throw is a designer lady’s compact, symbolizing constant inward and outward reflection. 11 am. mkfemmefatale.org.
Krewe of Oshun: Think marching Baby
Krewe of Choctaw: Starting their eighty-
Krewe of Carrollton: It’s the fourth-
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CARNIVAL CALENDAR Parades and more in New Orleans oldest parading krewe of the New Orleans Carnival season. Watch out! They are known for throwing shrimp boots. Follows Femme Fatale. kreweofcarrollton.org. Krewe of King Arthur and Merlin: One of the largest New Orleans krewes, this parade’s signature throw is the King Arthur Grail, hand-made goblets that are only bestowed upon the most esteemed parade-goers. Follows Carrollton. kreweofkingarthur.com. February 23 Krewe of Druids: This secret society is known for its wit and tendency to ruffle feathers. One year it featured a float saying: “Seriously...The Parade Behind us is not Worth the Wait.” 6:15 pm. mardigrasneworleans.com. Krewe of Nyx: Meet one of the city’s largest all-women’s Mardi Gras krewes, famous for throwing hand-decorated purses. 6:45 pm. kreweofnyx.org. February 24 Knights of Babylon: Traditional to the max, this krewe designs their floats exactly as they were drawn up over seventy years ago. The king’s identity is
never revealed to the public. 5:30 pm. knightsofbabylon.org. Knights of Chaos: Parading on the traditional “Momus Thursday,” Chaos picks up where Momus left off—in the grand tradition of satire. Follows Babylon. mardigrasneworleans.com. Krewe of Muses: Let’s get some shoes— one of the most coveted throws of the season comes from this incredibly popular all-female parade. Follows Chaos. kreweofmuses.org. February 25 Krewe of Bosom Buddies: This walking parade celebrates women of all walks of life, and throws out handdecorated bras along the way. 11:30 am. bosombuddiesnola.org. Krewe of Hermes: Every year, the Hermes’ captain leads the procession in full regalia on a white horse, followed by innovative neon floats and 700 male riders. 5:30 pm. kreweofhermes.com. Krewe d’Etat: Led by a dictator instead of a king, this secret society gets a kick out of throwing blinking skulls at its audience. Pick up a copy of the D’Etat
YOUR
Style,
New Orleans has had parades roll on Mardi Gras Day since the first Krewe of Rex Parade in 1872—though these days, with floats pulled by tractors and production elements enhanced by technology, the parades look very different than they once did. Photo by Cayetano Gil.
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Gazette, a bulletin with pictures and descriptions of the floats. 6:30 pm. mardigrasneworleans.com. Krewe of Morpheus: Looking through the chaos and tomfoolery for an “old school” parade experience? This one’s for you. 7 pm. kreweofmorpheus.com. February 26 Krewe of Endymion: This is one of New Orleans’ “Super-Krewes,” be sure to get out to your viewing spot early. The Krewe hosts Samedi Gras, a block party that draws 30,000+ people to kick off the parade. Previous grand marshals include Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Steven Tyler, Pitbull, Kiss, and Flo-Rida. 4:15 pm. endymion.org. Krewe of Iris: One of the oldest and largest female Carnival organizations for women, Iris members continue to follow tradition with white gloves and masks. Its 3,400 members pass through the streets throwing decorated sunglasses and king cake babies, as well as a bunch of Iristhemed items. 11 am. kreweofiris.org. Krewe of Tucks: This one got its start at a pub, and has developed a fond reputation as New Orleans’ “rag-tag” with an “Animal House” reputation. Watch out for the King’s throne (a giant toilet). Noon. kreweoftucks.com. Krewe of Isis: Isis is the oldest
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and largest all-female Mardi Gras organization in Jefferson Parish and the oldest consecutively parading Carnival organization in the same parish. The Metairie Egyptian-themed krewe features marching bands, dance teams, and spectacularly attired maids. Starts in Kenner at 6 pm. kreweofisis.org. Krewe of NOMTOC: The Krewe of New Orleans Most Talked of Club was founded in 1969 by the Jugs Social Club. The all-Black krewe tosses out ceramic medallion beads, jug banks, and signature Jug Man dolls. Starts in the Westbank at 10:45 am. nomtoc.com. February 27 (Bacchus Sunday) Krewe of Bacchus: Revered as one of the most spectacular krewes in Carnival history, this parade is known for staging celebrities Bob Hope, Dick Clark, Will Ferrell, and Drew Brees as its namesake, Bacchus. The parade ends inside the Convention Center for a black-tie Rendezvous party of over 9,000 guests. 5 pm. kreweofbacchus.org. Krewe of Mid-City: Called “The Best Day Parade in Mardi Gras,” this one is famed for having themes dedicated to children and some of the best bands from all over the country. 11:45 am. kreweofmid-city.com. Krewe of Okeanos: Celebrating their seventieth ride this year, Okeanos started
as a small neighborhood parade, and evolved into the over 250-rider krewe it is today, traveling on the traditional Uptown/Downtown route. 11 am. kreweofokeanos.org. Krewe of Thoth: This parade’s route is uniquely designed to reach extended healthcare facilities so that individuals unable to attend other parades can participate in the holiday as well. Noon. thothkrewe.com. Krewe of Athena: Meet Jefferson Parish’s newest all-female krewe, founded on Sisterhood, Service, Fellowship, and Fun. Their signature throws are hand-decorated fedoras. 5:30 pm. kreweofathena.org. February 28 (Lundi Gras) Krewe of Proteus: Founded in 1882, this parade is the second-oldest krewe in Carnival history, and still uses the original chassis for their floats. Once known as the most miserly throw-ers, they now joust sixty-inch red-and-white pearl bead necklaces, plastic tridents, and polystone medallions. 5:15 pm. kreweofproteus.com. Krewe of Orpheus: This parade was established as a superkrewe immediately after its debut in 1994, which rolled out seven hundred riders. One of their most famous floats is the Dolly Trolley, the horse-drawn bus used in the opening of Hello Dolly with Barbara Streisand. 6 pm. kreweoforpheus.com.
March 1 (Mardi Gras) Krewe of Zulu: A parading krewe since 1909, Zulu was the first and for many years the only krewe representing New Orleans’ Black community. Its extraordinary costumes, float designs, and history distinguish it from all other Mardi Gras parades. 8 am. kreweofzulu.com. Krewe of Rex: Elaborately decorated, hand-painted floats, masked riders in historic costumes, and a rich and colorful history make Rex one of the cultural centerpieces of Mardi Gras. Rex was formed in 1872, making it the oldest continually operating krewe. The identities of Rex’s king and queen remains secret until Lundi Gras. To capture one of the specially-struck Rex doubloons during the parade is a singular honor. 10 am. rexorganization.com. ELKS, Krewe of Orleanians: The world’s largest truck parade features over fifty individually designed truck floats and comprises of over 4,600 riders. Follows Rex. neworleans.com. Krewe of Crescent City: Each truck in the Crescent City Truck Parade represents a different Carnival organization. This parade signals the official “beginning of the end” of Carnival. Follows ELKS Orleanians. crescentcitytruckparade.com. Krewe of Argus: One of Jefferson Parish’s largest parades, and most family friendly,
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CARNIVAL CALENDAR Parades and more in Southwest Louisiana & Acadiana Argus draws over a million revelers to the Veterans Memorial Parade Route in Metairie. Past celebrity guests include Barbara Eden, Phyllis Diller, and Shirley Jones. 10 am. kreweofargus.com. ELKS, Krewe of Jeffersonians: Featuring more than ninety trucks and four thousand riders, this krewe shares the Elk mascot with its sister krewe, the Krewe of Elks-Orleanians. Follows Argus. neworleans.com. Krewe of Jefferson: Featuring seventyfive trucks and unique throws, the Krewe of Jefferson follows the Elks Krewe of Jeffersonians to signal the “beginning of the end” of Carnival in Jefferson Parish. Follows ELKS Jeffersonians. kreweofjefferson.com. k
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA MARDI GRAS If you’re going to be in Lake Charles or anywhere in Southwest Louisiana this Mardi Gras, there’s plenty of fun to be had. The area presents a packed Carnival calendar, including but by no means limited to these highlights. Keep abreast of these events and even more Mardi Gras
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festivities all around Southwest Louisiana at swlamardigras.com. February 25 Merchants Parade: Local business and civic leaders march the streets of downtown-midtown Lake Charles. 7 pm. visitlakecharles.org. February 26 World Famous Cajun Extravaganza and Gumbo Cook-off: Amateur and professional teams compete for the chicken & sausage, seafood, and wild game gumbos. 8 am–2 pm at the Civic Center. $5. visitlakecharles.org. Mystical Krewe of Barkus Parade: Furry and fabulous, costumed pets parade down Gill Street for one of the most highly attended parades of the season, all competing for the title “Mystical Dog”. 2 pm. visitlakecharles.org. Krewe of Omega Parade: The only Southwest Louisiana Krewe to hold its own parade, Omega celebrates the African American community of the region. 2 pm. visitlakecharles.org. Louisiana Saturday Night in DeRidder Parade: This debut parade departs from the corner of Pine Street and 171
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South, heading north on Pine Street and ending at Steamboat Bills. 5 pm. louisianatravel.com. February 27 Lake Charles Children’s Parade: Find fun on wheels for the little ones. 3:30 pm. visitlakecharles.org. March 1 (Mardi Gras) Jeeps on Parade: The name says it all about this Jeep-centric Lake Charles Mardi Gras Parade down Ryan Street. 2 pm. visitlakecharles.org. Krewe of Krewes: This is the big one. Over a hundred floats from a variety of local krewes roll through downtown Lake Charles starting at 5 pm. visitlakecharles.org. Iowa Chicken Run: Even if you don’t catch a chicken, you can have some gumbo after the chase. Parade departs from the Iowa Knights of Columbus Hall at 10 am. visitlakecharles.org. Second Line Stroll: Skipping the floats, area groups strut their Mardi Gras spirit down Ryan Street to the tunes of Mardi Gras music in this walking parade. 1 pm. visitlakecharles.org. Motor Gras Parade: Right behind the Jeep-snobs, hot rods classics and motorcycles ride down Ryan. 3 pm. visitlakecharles.org. k
ACADIANA MARDI GRAS In the space between the extravagant flamboyance of New Orleans Carnival and and the irreverent cacophony of the prairie courirs—Louisiana Mardi Gras wears many, incredibly diverse, masks. The Acadiana region boasts too many celebrations to count, each with their own distinct brand of revelry. And though we scoured far and low to provide you with the most comprehensive calendar possible—we’re sure to have missed a fantastic feast or two. Refer to individual event sites for more information, and check your parish tourism sites or lafayettetravel.com for the most up-todate information regarding this year’s festivities. February 5 Bayou Mardi Gras Association Parade: This family parade runs along Bayou Teche in New Iberia. 6 pm. Find the Bayou Mardi Gras Association on Facebook for more details. Tony Cachere’s La Danse de Mardi Gras: The Acadiana Center for the Arts celebrates rural Cajun Mardi Gras traditions with this country dance, including commentary about local traditions by Dr. Barry Ancelet, lively music by Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys alongside special guests, a
delicious dinner by Tony Cachere’s chefs, and more. $35-$500. 5 pm. acadianacenterforthearts.org. February 18 Krewe de Canailles: Celebrating inclusivity, creativity, and sustainability, this walking parade does allow for floats—if you drag them yourself. Tossing out eco-friendly throws and joining together groups of sub-krewes, these carnival crusaders have found a way to party their way to a better Lafayette. This year’s theme is “Hell(No) Acadiana”. 7 pm. krewedecanailles.com. February 19 Carencro Mardi Gras Parade: It starts at Carencro High, ends at Carencro Community Center. 11 am. Krewe Des Chiens: We all know that we don’t deserve them, so the least we can do for our dogs is to parade them, in all their grandeur, through the streets of Lafayette. Noon. krewedeschiens.org. Krewe of Carnivale en Rio: Known for its vibrant floats, dazzling lights and the jubilant accompaniment of maracas, the Parade has become Lafayette’s premier Mardi Gras event. 6:30 pm. riolafayette.com. Lake Arthur Mardi Gras Parade: This small-town Carnival celebration rolls at 2 pm. louisianatravel.com. Imperial Mardi Gras Ball: This Opelousas event will take place in the historic Delta Grand Theatre, so come out in your best cocktail attire and Mardi Gras mask. Tickets can be purchased at Frank’s Poboys or Sebastien Dupre Fine Jewelry. 7 pm. facebook.com/ opelousasimperialmardigras. Courir de Mardi Gras de L’anse: The men of Mermentau Cove are suiting up courir-style and rambling around its backroads. Come for the parade, stay for the fais-do-do and gumbo afterwards. 8 am. cadientoujours.org. February 20 Scott Mardi Gras Parade: This small town parade is one of Acadiana’s largest, and a favorite for families city-wide and beyond. Floats and costumed riders will vie en fete for the title “Most Original Float.” 1 pm. scottsba.org/mardi-gras. Lebeau Mardi Gras: It starts with an old-school courir (chicken run) that includes the addition of a greased pig, and excellent zydeco tunes. Then the Lebeau Mardi Gras Parade welcomes participants on horse, ATV, automobile, wagon, or a traditional float. Festivities start at 8 am, parade departs at 1 pm and ends at a music fest at the Immaculate Conception Church. cajuntravel.com. Courir de Mardi Gras: Vermilionville and the Basile Mardi Gras Association are hosting a traditional country Cajun
Mardi Gras run. 10 am. Bring a bag of Mardi Gras beads to donate and receive one dollar off the cost of admission. $5, members pay $4. bayouvermiliondistrict.org. February 25 Mardi Gras Show/Mardi Gras Indian Competition at Clark Field: This historical event celebrates the great diversity of the Lafayette region, particularly the rich artistic and musical culture of the African American community. The annual Judging Contest features extravagant displays of costumes along with an incredible slate of live musicians. 5 pm. mardigraslafayette.com.
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES FOR ADULTS
50 AND ABOVE
Krewe of Adonis: This Morgan City Parade begins on Second Street under the LA 182 Bridge and ends at the Morgan City Auditorium. 7 pm. cajuncoast.com. February 25–March 1 Le Festival de Mardi Gras à Lafayette: Head to Cajun Field in Lafayette for Carnival rides (see what we did there?) and games, live music like Wayne Toups and Chee-Weez, food vendors, and a parade that rolls through. Times vary. (800) 346-1958 or gomardigras.com. Eunice Mardi Gras Celebration: This tradition has now expanded to five days of live music, street & barn dances at various venues in the area, cooking demos, exhibits, a boucherie, and a culminating chicken-run (courir) on Mardi Gras Day at 8 am and a parade at 3 pm. Free. cajuntravel.com. February 26 Children’s Parade: Pour les petits rois et reins, this family-friendly Lafayette event is a favorite for old and young alike, and a chance to watch the next generation fall in love with the magic of Mardi Gras. 12:30 pm. gomardigras.com. Youngsville Mardi Gras Parade: Take part in Youngsville’s favorite familyfriendly Mardi Gras celebration. 11 am. youngsville.us. Baldwin Mardi Gras Parade: Family fun on the backs of trailers through the town of Baldwin, this parade starts at Main Street at the Sanger-Brown Facility at 1 pm. cajuncoast.com. Krewe of Dionysius Parade: Dionysius lines up on Gilmore Drive and turns on John Street at 2 pm. cajuncoast.com.
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Rayne Mardi Gras Parade: Everyone is invited to participate in Rayne’s Fifth Annual parade—walkers, trailerhitchers, drivers, and f loaters alike. 3 pm. acadiatourism.org. Queen of Boneparte: This krewe was founded in 1972 with the goal of getting more young people involved in Lafayette Mardi Gras celebrations. 6:30 pm. mardigraslafayette.com.
(800) 256-2931 www.cajuncoast.com #cajuncoast
Crankton Courir de Mardi Gras: A // F E B 2 2
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CARNIVAL CALENDAR
Parades and more in Acadiana, Central Louisiana, North Louisiana, and the Northshore chicken run, trail ride, gumbo cook-off, live music by Alligator Blue, and more at Landon Pitre Memorial Park. 7 am. facebook.com/cccdmg.
Cypremort Point Boat Parade: This
Jennings Mardi Gras Festival & Parade: Strolling along since 1994, this parade is marked on both ends by festive food and family-style activities, including live music, home-style food, and crafts. 4:30 pm. jeffdavis.org.
Eunice Lil’ Mardi Gras Parade: This
parade on the water f loats starting at 1 pm. cajuncoast.com.
Gras,” this run features costumed horseback riders, wagons, buggies, and live music along with all your characteristic chicken chasing and greased pig capturing. Run starts at 7 am. acadiatourism.org. Children’s Courir & Parade: Gotta start ‘em early! A children’s chicken run in Church Point starts at 9 am.
February 27
mardigraslafayette.com.
is a parade for the kiddos out in the country. 3 pm. cajuntravel.com.
Krewe of Galatea Parade: Another Morgan City parade, this one takes the route down Second Street and ending
Courir de Mardi Gras Church Point:
at the Morgan City Auditorium. 2 pm.
Named “The Best Traditional Mardi
cajuncoast.com.
February 28 (Lundi Gras) Queen Evangeline’s Parade: A day for the Queen of Acadiana herself, this parade is one of Lafayette’s most treasured Carnival traditions. 6 pm. louisianatravel.com. Lundi Gras Boucherie: Lakeview Park & Beach knows how to throw a party, and their Lundi Gras pig roast is no different. Free. 8 am. (337) 457-2881. Krewe of Amani Parade: Fun rolls from Patterson High School down Main Street at 2 pm. cajuncoast.com. Krewe of Hera Parade: The final Cajun Coast parade this Carnival heads down Second Street at 7 pm. cajuncoast.com.
Co-Capitaine Ray Manuel and Capitaine Pat Frey lead 2021’s Eunice Courir de Mardi Gras, which dates back to the late 1800s and has now expanded from the Fat Tuesday chicken run to five days of festivities including live music, barn dances, a boucherie, and more. Photo by David Simpson.
Located at Burden Museum and Gardens Open Daily 8:00–5:00 • I-10 at Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, LA For more info call (225) 765-2437 or visit www.rurallife.lsu.edu
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March 1 (Mardi Gras) Tee Mamou-Iota Mardi Gras Folklife Festival: Featuring all your favorite clung-to traditions, the handmade costumes and masks, the masterfully medieval capuchins, and the unbridled chaos of it all—the Folklife Festival also celebrates with live music, folk crafts, and local food booths on the prairie. 7 am– 4 pm. acadiatourism.org. Courir de Mardi Gras de Grand Mamou: This ultra-traditional run is one of the most raucous and famous on the prairies. Starts at 6:30 am. mardigraslafayette.com. Grand Marais Mardi Gras Parade: Win the award for the most original costume, or the ugliest, at Jeanerette’s signature Carnival event. 11 am. iberiatravel.com. Lafayette Mardi Gras Festival Parade: Bring the whole family out for a Fat Tuesday parade by the same folks who host the festival leading up to it. 1 pm. gomardigras.com. King Gabriel’s Parade: Celebrate the annually-appointed King Gabriel, who reigns over all of Lafayette Mardi Gras, this parade is Lafayette’s oldest and most traditional. 10 am. gomardigras.com. Independent Parade: Add one more superb parade to your itinerary. 2:30 pm. gomardigras.com.
Southwest Mardi Gras Association Pageant & Ball: Partake in a grand Carnival affair at the Heymann Performing Arts Center and Frem F. Boustany Convention Center in Lafayette. Free. 8 pm. lafayettetravel.com.
Sunset Mardi Gras Parade: Once one of the largest celebrations in the area, Sunset Mardi Gras has continued on as a carnival classic with beads, doubloons, and live music—along with children’s activities along the parade route. 2 pm. cajuntravel.com.
Family Affair Mardi Gras Parade: Stick around Loreauville Main Street for family-friendly marching bands, dance groups, and music. 2 pm. iberiatravel.com.
Butte LaRose Parade: This one rolls bright and early at 10 am. mardigraslafayette.com.
Half Fast Krewe of Frank’s Parade: This entertaining Opelousas Krewe starts rolling at 9 am. mardigraslafayette.com. Carnival D’Acadie: Run into the heart of the Cajun Prairie to celebrate Fat Tuesday, Rice City Style. Crowley’s Fat Tuesday festival includes carnival rides, live music, a grand parade, and local food vendors. 3 pm. acadiatourism.org. Eunice Courir de Mardi Gras: Dating back to the city’s earliest days in the late nineteenth century, Eunice’s Courir de Mardi Gras features riders on horseback in masks conspiring in chicken-chasing, revelry, general silliness, and an effort to make a community-wide gumbo. Courir at 8 am, parade at 3 pm. Free. cajuntravel.com. Opelousas Imperial Mardi Gras Parade: This parade rolls from East Landry Street to Liberty Street beginning at 11 am. cajuntravel.com.
Franklin Mardi Gras Parade: This one heads through the town starting at 1 pm. mardigraslafayette.com. Krewe of Hephaestus Parade: Morgan City’s Mardi Gras Day Krewe gets moving at 2 pm. mardigraslafayette.com. Krewe Chic-a-la-Pie Parade: Even the name of Kaplan’s parade sounds fun. 2 pm. mardigraslafayette.com. Krewe of Coteau Mardi Gras Parade: Grand Coteau’s parade starts at 1 pm. iberiatravel.com. Courir de Mardi Gras Basile: Begging for gumbo, racing for chickens, two-stepping to traditional Cajun tunes. Welcome to an Evangeline Parish courir. 7 am. Find The Basile Mardi Gras Association on Facebook for details. k
CENTRAL LOUISIANA MARDI GRAS Catch beads and sights from NFL players to classic cars at Alexandria’s unique lineup of parades, ensuring the whole
state is swathed with purple, green, and gold by Fat Tuesday morning. Check alexmardigras.net for more details and routes. February 25 Classic Cars & College Cheerleaders Parade: The name really says it all. 4:30 pm. alexmardigras.net. February 26 Children’s Parade: Alexandria’s kiddo parade is led this year by Miss Louisiana’s Outstanding Teen Sophia Nawaz. 10 am. alexmardigras.net. February 27 Krewe Parade: Buffalo Bills NFL player Ed Oliver Jr. is the Grand Marshal of Alexandria’s Krewe Parade this year. 2 pm. alexmardigras.net. k
NORTH LOUISIANA MARDI GRAS Oh, were you one of those misinformed misanthropes who believed Mardi Gras only existed in South Louisiana? Well let your mind (and your world!) be opened! This state’s got fêtitude from border to gulf-hewn border. Look up, folks! February 5 African American History Parade: This thirty-fourth annual parade celebrating the many contributions of Black Americans starts at the
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CARNIVAL CALENDAR
Parades and more in North Louisiana, the Northshore, and Natchez Shreveport Municipal Auditorium at 11 am. shreveport-bossier.org. February 12 Krewe de Riviere Children’s & Pet Mardi Gras Parade: Leading the way for Monroe’s Krewe of Janus, this Carnival will feature a boastful bunch of fantastic beasts and little ones, too. 10 am. monroe-westmonroe.org. Krewe de Riviere Mardi Gras Parade: Enjoy a traditional New Orleans feel with floats, walking groups, riding groups, and plenty of goodies. Parade starts at West Monroe High School and ends around the Ouachita Parish Courthouse. 5 pm. monroe-westmonroe.org.
Krewe” is known for its raucously centurion celebration of the regional gambling industry. 3 pm. kreweofcentaur.org. Krewe of Janus Children’s Parade: This parade has even cuter riders at Pecanland Mall’s Center Court. 10 pm. kreweofjanusonline.com. Krewe of Janus: Sure to be the greatest show on earth, Monroe’s thirty-eigthth Krewe of Janus Parade is themed “Janus Goes to Hollywood.” 6 pm. kreweofjanusonline.com. Krewe of Paws Parade: Furry friends of all shapes and sizes will be in Antique Alley in West Monroe dressed in their Mardi Gras best. 11 am. monroe-westmonroe.org.
February 13 Krewe of Barkus and Meoux: The participants notoriously behave like animals for this one. But at least it all goes to a good cause, benefitting abused, neglected, and homeless animals of Bossier City. Activities begin at noon. Parade takes off at 11 am. barkusandmeoux.com.
Mardi Gras Festival: Head to Downtown West Monroe for a day full of food trucks, festivities, and live music by Four on the Floor at a Mardi party that will get you ready for the big parade that night. Don your carnival best, and head to the new Alley Park for all the fun. 11 am–7 pm. monroe-westmonroe.org.
February 19 Krewe of Centaur: The largest parade in the Ark-La-Tex area, Shreveport’s “Fun
February 26 Krewe of Gemini: Shreveport and Bossier City’s first parading Krewe of modern
times, this event is one of distinctly royal revelry. In downtown Shreveport at 3 pm. kreweofgemini.com. February 27 Krewe of Highland: Lunch will be supplied at this eclectic parade in the form of grilled hot dogs and packaged ramen noodles hurled off of funky, unpredictable floats. After all the parade shenanigans, sit back and enjoy live music, crawfish, bloody marys and more at the Annual Mardi Gras Bash at Marilynn’s. 2 pm. kreweofhighland.org. k
MARDI GRAS ON THE NORTHSHORE From raucous revelry, to family-friendly fun, to pooch parades, the folks of the Northshore in Slidell, Mandeville, Covington, and beyond have plenty of festivities to celebrate Carnival without ever having to cross the Causeway. When making your Mardi party plans, please remember to verify routes and schedules at individual parade sites and Facebook pages, or at louisiananorthshore.com, just in case any changes have been made. February 12 Krewe of Bilge: The Northshore’s marineMardi Gras, the boats of the Krewe of Bilge travel down the waterways of Slidell, starting at the Marina Cafe and ending at the Dock of Slidell. Noon. kreweofbilge.com. Krewe of Poseidon: Themed “We
Will Rock You!” This year’s parade will feature around thirty floats traveling down Ponchartrain Drive in Slidell, each representing popular songs by KISS, Elvis, Elton John, and more. 6 pm. poseidonslidell.com. February 13 Krewe of Pearl River Lions Club: Join the town of Slidell to celebrate the season with fifteen floats, the Pearl River High School Band, dance groups, cheerleaders, local clubs, churches, and families. 1 pm. louisiananorthshore.com. February 18 Krewe of Eve: It began with six women, and now has over five hundred members (who wear elaborately decorated sweatshirts). With beautifully decorated Blaine Kern floats, this parade begins on LA-22 and continues down West Causeway Approach above Monroe Street, crossing 190 and ending on East Causeway Approach. 7 pm. kreweofeve.com. February 19 Krewe de Paws: A trail of proud pups will march through Olde Towne Slidell, raising money for animal assistance groups. 10 am. mardigrasneworleans.com. Krewe of Push Mow: A group of artists in Abita Springs decided it would be a hoot if they decorated lawn mowers for a parade (spoiler alert: it is). Noon. mardigrasneworleans.com. Krewe of Tchefuncte: Cruising down
Artistry of Light By Mary T. Wiley
CELEBRATE FAMILY-FRIENDLY MARDI GRAS And have we got a party planned... Located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and less than an hour from New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Revel in our unique festivities with a decorated push-mow parade, float and boat parades, and adorable pooch parades.
Feb. 4-6
Join us and catch our carnival spirit (and a lot of loot) in St. Tammany Parish.
Feb. 12
Krewe of Bilge, Slidell Krewe of Poseidon, Slidell
Feb. 13
Krewe of Pearl River Lions Club
Feb. 18
Krewe of Eve, Mandeville
Feb. 19
Mystic Krewe of Titans, Slidell Krewe of Tchefuncte, Madisonville Krewe de Paws of Olde Towne Slidell Krewe of Olympia, Covingon Abita Springs Push Mow Parade & Party
© Christine Regusa
Gulf Coast Sportsmen & Outdoor Expo, Harbor Center in Slidell
Feb. 20
Krewe of Dionysus, Slidell
Feb. 25
Krewe of Selene, Slidell
Mar. 1
Mardi Gras Day – Carnival in Covington & Tammany Gras
Mar. 5
Krewe du Pooch Parade, Mandeville
Mar. 6
Mystic Krewe of Mardi Paws, Covington
1-800-634-9443 • LouisianaNort hshore.com/cr 32
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Installation &
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Transforming outdoor spaces throughout Louisiana for 42 years.
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Madisonville’s Tchefuncte River, this boat parade celebrates maritime life on the historic river. 1 pm. kreweoftchefuncte.org. Krewe of Olympia: The oldest parade in St. Tammany, King Zeus’s identity is kept secret until the parade, which starts on Columbia Street. 6 pm. kreweofolympia.net. February 20 Krewe of Dionysus: Named for the Greek god of wine and “inspired madness,” Slidell’s first all-male krewe will set out at 1 pm on Berkley Street. kreweofdionysus.com. February 25 Krewe of Selene: Slidell’s only all-female krewe tosses out one-of-a-kind handdecorated purses. 6:30 pm. kreweofselene.net. February 26 Krewe of Bush: The Northshore community of Bush hosts its own family-friendly parade featuring trucks, boats, horses, and more. 9 am. mardigrasneworleans.com. March 1 (Mardi Gras) Covington Lions Club: Traditional floats, motorcycles, antique cars and more make up this parade founded by the civic organization in 1959. 10 am. mardigrasneworleans.com. The Old Mandeville Business Association’s Krewe du Pooch is back on the Lakefront on March 5 this year with the theme “A Fairy Tail by Krewe du Pooch”. Image courtesy of Krewe du Pooch.
Krewe of Covington: Formerly known as the Krewe of KaaCee, this parade is one of the oldest in Covington and offers a “Little Jesters” area with crafts like mask decorating
WEST FELICIANA of COMMERCE
UNCORKED CHAMBER
Food & Wine Showcase
Make plans to attend this exciting event showcasing the wonderful eateries, restaurants and bars in the St. Francisville area. Enjoy delicious food tastings, as well as a variety of wines, cocktails, and liqueur samples. Revamped this year to include more wine options to sample & enjoy!
for the kids. Follows Covington Lion’s Club. mardigrasneworleans.com. Krewe of Folsom: An eclectic parade that invites the public to join in the village of Folsom. 2 pm. mardigrasneworleans.com. Krewe of Chahta: Named for Chahta-Ima High School in Lacombe and founded by a group of friends in the 1980s, this parade is still going strong in Lacombe. 1 pm. mardigrasneworleans.com. March 5 Krewe du Pooch: Find dogs for days out on the Mandeville Lakefront with the theme “A Fairy Tail by Krewe du Pooch”. Noon. krewedupooch.org. March 6 Mystic Krewe of Mardi Paws: This dog parade in downtown Covington is a lot more bark than bite, with a theme this year of “’80s Pawp Culture”. 2 pm. louisiananorthshore.com. k
NATCHEZ MARDI GRAS Always up for an excuse to party, Natchez has a Mardi Gras parade of their own up there, too— and they go pretty big. February 26 Krewe of Pheonix: Lit-up f loats, live bands, and more free fun will abound at North Broadway starting at 6:30 pm. Find them on Facebook for more information. k
Sunday, February 27th 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. @ Restaurant 1796 Purchase your tickets today! $60 each
https://bit.ly/Uncorked22
*With respect for health concerns, the event utilizes the Restaurant 1796 Dining Room, Bayou Banquet Room and both exterior Courtyards.
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V I S I T S T. F R A N C I S V I L L Small Businesses In Bloom
ST. FRANCISVILLE’S DOWNTOWN DISTRICT IS ATTRACTING MORE AND MORE VISITORS TO WEST FEL AMID STEADY GROWTH FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
W
est Feliciana Parish is often characterized for the tranquil beauty of its landscape, and the convivial, small town spirit that prevails even as the community continues to evolve and grow. As travelers continue to flock to St. Francisville for their dream day trip or weekend getaway, the future of West Feliciana’s tourism economy certainly looks to be bright. It should come as no surprise, then, that a new wave of small business development is on the horizon. Along Ferdinand Street, local retailers like Away Down South and District Mercantile are flourishing within transformed historic properties, and newer area shops like BSpoke 4U and Birds of a Feather have quickly become busy stops amid this last gift-giving season. In the months to come, Zachary’s The Corbel & Co. will begin construction of a multi-use cultural event venue on the site of the old Rinaudo’s Hardware building opposite Parker Park. At the corner of Ferdinand and Commerce streets, it will stand shoulder to shoulder with Bayou Sara Brewing Co., an up-and-coming craft brewery, which aims to be pouring pints in the old Bennett Ford dealership by late 2022.
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“Going into business in St. Francisville was an easy decision to make,” said David Parker, owner of Stem’s Boutique Florist, which opened its first brick-and-mortar storefront downtown on December 1. “I was definitely inspired when I saw what was happening here, watching the other businesses succeed.” Since Stem’s opening, the local customer base has turned out in droves. “This first month has been a dream opening, but I attribute that to the other shops in town, our mayor, and our pro-business Main Street Association.” The good-natured sense of camaraderie among local merchants also helps to fuel a spirit of collaboration over competition. Many of the town’s boutique retailers feature unusual, thoughtfully curated, and/or handcrafted items, Parker said, which attracts repeat shoppers and amplifies the “shop local” mentality. “We’ve worked hard as a business community to ensure people have a complete experience when they come to St. Francisville—a destination with dining, entertainment, and shops—and that every store feels like something fresh and new.”
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Features
F E B R U A RY 2 0 2 2 36 WEEDIE SEVEN
BRAIMAH IN
CONGO SQUARE
BLUES MUSICIANS TO WATCH
IN
// 4 0 BATON
MARC
SAVOY AND THE
ROUGE
T H E M U S I C I SS U E HISTORY OF HIS
ACCORDIONS
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MUSIC PROFILES
Africa is in New Orleans
WEEDIE BRAIMAH TAPS INTO THE AFRICAN SOUND IN NEW ORLEANS WITH HIS DEBUT ALBUM “THE HANDS OF TIME” Story by Alexandra Kennon • Photos by Emily Ferretti
“I
’m an African American. I’m a Black American. I eat grits. So, I connect with Congo hSquare.” Spoken in a sample by the acclaimed African percussionist Nana Kimati Dinizulu, these words introduce the journey of djembefola (or djembe player) Weedie Braimah’s Grammy-nominated debut album The Hands of Time. From the beginning of the record, the drums take the listener from Africa to New Orleans, then project their sounds into the future and the world at large. Dinizulu’s words strike a powerful chord with Braimah, a New Orleans resident who was born in Ghana, but has extensive roots in the Crescent City on his mother’s side of the family. “I had to find a way to connect this music to one of most African-centered places within the Americas,” Braimah explained. “You’re dealing with certain musics, certain rhythms, and certain instrumentations coming from Africa, that [are] in America. But one of the places that you know for a fact that is still alive, that you can see this culture still cooking and staying strong, is in New Orleans. You can hear it in Congo Square.” As the rhythms on the opening track “Full Circle” increase in intensity and volume, creating a voyeur of the listener as they’re pulled into Braimah’s world, three speaking voices emerge to provide a cultural roadmap setting the record’s tone. In addition to Dinizulu’s, there is a sample from Michael Babatunde Olatunji, the Nigerian percussionist whose 1960 album Drums of Passion is widely-regarded as the first recording to popularize African music in the West. “Frances Beybey,” Olatunji says, “a noted African musicologist, said about the drum, ‘it’s an instrument that expresses our inner feelings…’” Then, after Dinizulu brings the narrative to Congo Square, spotlighting the inextricable intersections between
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Africa and New Orleans, the opening trinity of spoken word is completed by Braimah’s father—Oscar Sulley Braimah—also a legendary African percussionist and composer, speaking in pidgin on his own first record made in the United States. “Those three were musicians and drummers who changed the way people looked at folkloric music in a modern context,” the younger Braimah said,
emphasizing that he wanted to be clear from the beginning that the album was far more than just another drum record. “I really wanted [the listener] to see the importance of Africa, of folkloric drums that are played throughout Africa, and drums being the voice of the music, as well as the connection and the continuum of African drumming that is within this country…and the place is New Orleans.”
African Djembefola Meets Jazz Drummer : A Love Story In Uptown New Orleans, Braimah’s maternal grandfather Nathaniel Weedy Morris was one of ten siblings—five of whom were drummers, including Nathaniel and his brother Leo, better known today as jazz drumming legend Idris Muhammed. (Though today, Braimah notes that he, like a growing cadre of others, prefers to use the term “Black American Music,” or “BAM,” to jazz.) When Braimah’s mother Ann was a child in the 1960s, her father caught her playing his drum set—despite his prior warnings to treat the instrument with the utmost respect. “If they were just playing the instrument just to play, and not to be serious about it, he would give them a spanking,” Braimah recalled his mother telling him of his grandfather. On that day that Nathaniel caught her, though, Ann was “really doing it, from the foot motion to the finger motion of how the stick should be for the ride cymbal, for the high hat. And he was in awe.” Ann assumed she was in trouble for playing her father’s drums—instead, her father encouraged her to continue, emphasizing that if she really wanted to play drums, it would require immeasurable dedication. “That’s when she got deep into playing and getting into that world of playing drums … she had to be around eleven or twelve,” Braimah said. “She wanted to do it more than anything. And she never looked back.” This was true, except for a brief time after her father passed away on Christmas Day 1979. Devastated, “my mother didn’t play for a year,” said Braimah. Then living with her family in East St. Louis, it was during this period of mourning that Ann met Braimah’s father, the Ghanaian percussionist and composer Oscar Sulley Braimah. It started when the pianist at the family’s Catholic Church approached Ann’s mother after Mass one Sunday, asking how Ann was. “Ann ain’t doing good,” was the response. The pianist replied, “Well, tell Ann I need her help.” She explained there was a man com-
ing to East St. Louis to teach African music to the now-legendary Lincoln High School Jazz Band, led at the time by band director Ron Carter. “So, this guy was there to teach African music through jazz, right?” Braimah recalled of the story. “He was writing all these complex parts. And everybody just had their hand on their head like, ‘Dang, how are we gonna play all this stuff in the groove?’ The drummers was having a problem.” The pianist believed Ann might be able to bridge the gap in rhythmic understanding. Braimah said his father asked, in his Ghanaian accent, “Where’s the guy who’s gonna work with the drummers?” When Ann walked through the door, Oscar exclaimed: “She?! Woman?!” Ann proceeded to expertly show the band’s young percussionists how to play the drum parts correctly, transforming Oscar’s shock into awe. “His mouth dropped,” Braimah said of his father, who proceeded to ask his mother: “Where are you from? No, no, no, you’re not natural.” The pair proceeded to talk in-depth about Ann’s family history in New Orleans. Oscar was intrigued, having only heard of New Orleans—he was under the impression it must be a country in Africa. “The love that my dad and my mother had was very unique. It wasn’t like the regular love that you have in a relationship … It was truly about the music,” Braimah explained. “So, they became close. The music locked them harder into each other.” The pair formed a band called Bontuku, which combined African music, folkloric music, funk, and improvisational music together as fusion. “This was the first band like that in America,” Braimah asserted, specifying that the music his parents created was distinctly different than the Afrobeat or Highlife bands in the United States. “But what this man did for this music has never, to this day, been done. I would even say I’m still trying to do what my dad did, and what my mother did. I’m trying.”
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Growing up with Bontuku As a toddler, Braimah was often present at Bontuku’s rehearsals. “Those were some of the best musical memories of my life,” he recalled fondly. Drumming was second nature to him, but it particularly took his parents by surprise when he would correct other musicians, like the
horn players, about their parts. At first, they simply thought it was cute, “Until [my dad] would say, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute…they’re wrong. He’s telling them the right lick! Ann, listen! He’s telling them the right key and how to play it! Listen to his voice!’” Braimah said.
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“It tripped my mother and my dad out.” To this day, Braimah harkens back to those early childhood experiences, and incorporates them into his approach to playing and writing music. “As an adult, we gotta play it because we don’t wanna be laughed at or looked upon a certain way by our counterparts,” Braimah said. “As a child, we don’t care about that, we’ll turn it into a game.” Because he grew up immersed in such complex international music from
a young age, the fusions continue to come naturally to Braimah. “Because I lived it, loved it, ate it, breathed it, used the toilet with it, it was all of me,” he said. “And that’s why I was able to continue that, and we’re able to continue that.” He remembers the way his father wouldn’t have to notate his music with pen and paper, but instead, “This man could breathe it out. Without sweating,” Braimah marveled.
Making The Hands of Time While Braimah wrote the majority of The Hands of Time himself (using voice memos on his phone, he said), he is quick to emphasize the massive contributions of his bandmates and collaborators on the album. “Of course, I had cats that was like ‘Yo man, that’s killin’—what if we add this part?’ … I’m nothing without my band. I’m nothing without them. And they’re a bunch of brilliant musicians.” Besides the regular members of The Hands of Time, a slew of other powerhouse musicians from around the world are featured on the album. Elements
were recorded in Mali, Ghana, Paris, Cuba, Los Angeles, and of course New Orleans, where Keenan McRae’s Artisound Productions served as the studio home base. “It’s just an all-star cast of musicians that you just wouldn’t find together, that finally got to play together,” Braimah marveled. “I used to wish as a kid that something like this would happen, not knowing I would do it.” As for the New Orleans contingent of “all-stars,” The Hands of Time features Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews on the song “Back to Forward (An
“I REALLY WANTED [THE LISTENER] TO SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF AFRICA, OF FOLKLORIC DRUMS THAT ARE PLAYED THROUGHOUT AFRICA, AND DRUMS BEING THE VOICE OF THE MUSIC, AS WELL AS THE CONNECTION AND THE CONTINUUM OF AFRICAN DRUMMING THAT IS WITHIN THIS COUNTRY…AND THE PLACE IS NEW ORLEANS.” —WEEDIE BRAIMAH 38
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in ‘Send for Me,’ wasn’t even Tank. I can honestly say with everything in my spirit and body that I can muster up: that was my mother,” Braimah said. “And she brought her to life. I saw her, like, it was creepy. And I’m not saying that for comments, likes, or applause—I’m saying that sister knows how to conjure spirit. She has something. I’ve only seen that in Africa. But it makes sense, because Africa is in New Orleans.”
“THAT SISTER KNOWS HOW TO CONJURE SPIRIT. SHE HAS SOMETHING. I’VE ONLY SEEN THAT IN AFRICA. BUT IT MAKES SENSE, BECAUSE AFRICA IS IN NEW ORLEANS.”
—WEEDIE BRAIMAH, DESCRIBING COLLABORATOR TARRIONA “TANK” BALL
A New Age for African Folkloric Music
Ode to Bontuku),” Tarriona “Tank” Ball of Tank and the Bangas on the song “Send for Me,” and trumpet player Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah on multiple tracks, including his prolific solo on “Sackodougou,” which earned him a 2022 Grammy nomination for Best Improvised Jazz Solo. Besides musical prowess, Braimah said that the commonality connecting each of these featured artists from around the world is a background in folklore culture. “Whether it was second line culture, Black Indigenous culture, African culture, Afro-Cuban culture, BAM culture—they grew up in it, they didn’t just play it, they grew up in it,” he said. In fact, Scott aTunde Adjuah masked with the Black Masking Indian or Mardi Gras Indian tribe Congo Nation—the same tribe Braimah’s great uncle Idris Muhammed masked with. “And that’s what makes me and Christian brothers,” Braimah said. “It’s a pretty strong connection for us, for a very long time.” Braimah’s connection to Ball, who he met for the first time in the studio making the album, came as much more of a surprise. “That sister there was—” Braimah cut himself off with a whistle, indicating reverence beyond words. “I had to leave the studio so many times from crying, because of how she just brought [my mother] to life.” The track featuring Ball’s vocals, “Send for Me,” directly follows the song “When Clouds Kissed 2/5/15,” which is about Braimah’s mother, its title referencing the date of her death, after which Braimah moved from East St. Louis to New Orleans to reconnect with his roots. “What you heard on that album,
Braimah’s band, The Hands of Time— which the album is named for, in the style of Babatunde Olatunji’s record Drums of Passion being pulled from his band’s name—brings to the musical table a variety of backgrounds and influences as diverse as Braimah’s own. “Because the music is what it is, I couldn’t just get the baddest cats, because the baddest cats can’t play what I’m doing,” Braimah said. “I had to get the baddest cats who understand both vernaculars to play what I’m doing.” He stressed that his primary bandmates and collaborators had to have a strong background of listening to and loving African music like that of Fela Kuti, Ali Farka Touré, and Braimah’s father Oscar Sulley Braimah; as well as Afro-Cuban music like that of pioneering pianist Chucho Valdés; and also music by BAM or jazz artists like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and McCoy Tyner. “If you know one, cool. If you know the other, cool. But unless you grew up playing, listening to that, and understanding the hip hop era where I grew up? You won’t get it,” Braimah said, clarifying that he says this not to be exclusionary, but because it’s a simple fact of what it takes to understand and play his music. “It’s the truth of what it is.” Among these well-rounded baddest of cats in Braimah’s band and on the album is Sam Dickey, who Braimah describes as a “white guy from Redding, California” who—perhaps unexpectedly—plays the ngoni: a traditional guitar-like stringed instrument from Mali. “I say this with everything in my life: I’ve never met a human being outside of Mali that can play djeli ngoni like him,” Braimah said of Dickey. “I would put every dollar in my account on him.” On The Hands of Time, Dickey alternates between playing the ngoni and electric guitar. Lebanese guitarist Raja Kassis also plays electric guitar in the band and on the record. The Hands of Time even utilizes special percussion kits original to the band. Band member and featured artist Munir Zakee created the sangban set, which consists of four different sangbans (another hand drum in the djembe orchestra of instruments), a log drum, a kick drum, a snare, and a stack cymbal (which has a similar effect to a high hat).
Band member Luke Quaranta plays an original kit called a dununba set, which is a dunun hand drum and a kick drum atop a pair of bongos combined with a pandeiro (a tune-able tamborine-like Brazilian instrument) on a stand. “So, when you see it, it looks like, ‘What the hell is this?’ … The look of it is very unique, very different, and very indigenous to this project,” Braimah said. “So, all of these drums, when played together, create their own melody, and a melody and groove within itself.” The lineup of instruments swings like a pendulum from the folkloric traditions of African and Latin American countries to the contemporary instruments more common of the West: electric guitar, electric bass, and synthesizers sing in harmony with folkloric instruments like the djembe, ngoni, kora (a long-necked string instrument from West Africa), and balafon (a West African xylephone-like instrument made of gourds). “All these instruments were in
the cultures I grew up in,” said Braimah. “What you’re seeing is my life. You’re not hearing—you’re seeing my life, through your ears.” Braimah’s intent is that by recontextualizing these folkloric instruments in a contemporary way, he might open doors for other musicians playing those instruments to get more work in a variety of genres. By utilizing folkloric African instruments on an album that is far from exclusively African in sound and influence, he hopes people will perceive these instruments in a broader light. “The idea is to take these folkloric instruments and have them considered an instrument—not an African instrument. That’s my dream: my dream is to reel the person in, so that when I do present this folkloric type music, it’s this new age of folkloric music,” Braimah said. “So, these young boys or young girls that are playing this folkloric music, if they want to get a scholarship to go to Berkeley as a djembefola, it can happen.” h
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MADE IN LOUISIANA
The Acadian Accordion IN A NEW MEMOIR, ACCORDION-MAKER MARC SAVOY CHRONICLES THE INSTRUMENT’S HISTORY IN CAJUN COUNTRY By Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
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he first time Marc Savoy heard an accordion’s sound, it was drifting across the fields of his grandfather’s farm on the Prairie Faquetiaque in Eunice. It sang, wonderfully, from the catalpa grove, where the tenant Hiram Courville lived. It would be months before the boy Savoy would see, in person, what sort of contraption made such an enchanting song: at Christmas, when Courville visited Savoy’s father’s new outdoor kitchen. In his recently-released memoir, the storied Louisiana accordion-maker writes of the experience: “That night was sheer heaven for me—Wade Frugé and Maxime Rozas on fiddles playing with Hiram on accordion. Wow! I sat next to
them the whole night and didn’t take my eyes off of them … fireworks were going off in my heart and in my head because I was in the presence of those three simple, wonderful old guys. I was hooked for life.” Made in Louisiana: The Story of the Acadian Accordion (2021, UL Press) chronicles the evolution of the Louisiana-made accordion from the perspective of the instrument’s most historically-significant craftsman. Inextricably linked to the history of Cajun music, Savoy’s life story is presented as an homage to the heritage of French Louisiana in its purest form—which survives perhaps most remarkably through its music.
The German Accordion in Acadiana That first accordion Savoy laid his eyes on, Hiram Courville’s, was a German-made Hohner. At Courville’s suggestion, Savoy’s father Joel purchased the same model instrument for his son the following year. Savoy writes: “By this time, at age twelve, I could whistle every one of Hiram’s tunes by heart. I had watched him play so many times that I knew I could play that accordion. I opened up the bellows, listened to the sound of each button, and played “J’ai Passé Devant Ta Porte”. During that time, in the early 1950s, the accordion was still a relatively new instrument to Cajun and Creole music. Now considered a treasured centerpiece of many bands within those genres, the squeezebox—whose origins can be traced back to Southeast Asia over one thousand years ago— first appeared significantly in the South Louisiana folk repertoire as recently as the early twentieth century. The version of the accordion that we recognize today—with its vibrating reeds, its bellows, and its keyboard—emerged to an enthusiastic response throughout Europe in the mid-nineteenth century. Though the intricate and beautifully-designed French brands made their way to Louisiana first as popular novelties sold in New Orleans shops—the cheaper, more durable and simply-made diatonic button accordions from Germany caught up quickly, and were soon found in general stores all across the state. Savoy notes on the Savoy Music Store website that the rural farming communities where these accordions were most popular were the same areas in which German immigrants settled. “Besides introducing the accordion in the Louisiana prairies, [the Ger-
A New Style of Cajun Music
Photos by Ann Savoy, courtesy of UL Press 40
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Cajun music—identified for over a century as the lively fiddle-centric music carried to Louisiana by the exiled Acadians—couldn’t accommodate the diatonic accordion at all until the early twentieth century, when German manufacturers started producing accordions in the keys of C and
mans] are also credited by many with introducing rice farming to Louisiana,” he writes. “This may be disputed, but one factor remains undisputed— wherever you find rice farming, you will also find Cajun music with the accordion.” By the time Savoy started playing in the 1950s, most of the existing accordions in Cajun country were German-made, and they were old. After World War II, with most of the German factories in ruins or behind the Iron Curtain, the only new accordions making their way through the South Louisiana music scene were Hohners like Courville’s and Savoy’s. Hohners were less popular than the iconic Monarch and Sterling brands, referred to as “‘tit noirs” and generally the preferred choice of Cajun musicians throughout the early-to-mid twentieth century, even after their factories were lost to the war. (Courville, however, preferred the Hohners—which responded more immediately to his quick and complicated riffs than the older accordions.) The expense of the instrument, combined with the rarity of replacement parts, meant that musicians were tasked with keeping their accordions play-able for decades, and were repairing them on their own. (In the book, Savoy memorably describes mending a broken spring with a safety pin, a remedy rumored to be used by Amédé Ardoin as well.) As Savoy puts it: “In rural Louisiana in the 1940s and 1950s, many of the accordion players still possessed the same accordion that as youngsters they had worked so hard to earn. The accordion became a cherished possession, only surpassed by the tractor … The accordion represented joy in their lives, and the tractor made it possible to have more time to pursue this joy.” D, allowing fiddlers and accordionists to play in unison for the first time. “These changes ushered in a new style, one where accordion and fiddle played melodies in unison, with the fiddle sometimes soaring an octave above the accordion or dropping to bow a
chordal accompaniment below,” writes accordion historian Jared Snyder in the introduction to Made in Louisiana. “The steady left-hand accordion accompaniment provided a rhythm that only varied for the type of dance: waltz, two-step, one-step, polka, etc.” This early, classic style of musicianship is exemplified in the music of icons Dennis McGee and Amédé Ardoin. Savoy credits the rapid immersion of the accordion into the Cajun and Creole canons first to its practicality: it was very loud, didn’t need to be tuned every time
The Savoy Music Center Twenty years after Savoy heard Courville’s accordion from across his grandfather’s fields, he sat down in a living room in Mamou with Dennis McGee. By then, he’d become a master himself, and as he played his own handmade instrument, another child watched, wide-eyed, and listened. It was the first time Steve Riley had heard an accordion. “And I’ve loved the instrument, and the sound, and everything about it ever since,” Riley said. Like Savoy, Riley—who is today acknowledged as one of the best accordion players of his generation—started playing on a German-made Hohner. Showing early signs of prodigy, when he was fourteen his parents invested in one of Marc Savoy’s handmade Acadian brand accordions. Thirty-eight years later, it’s still the main accordion Riley plays on. “And it’s probably the
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it was played, and it was more durable in the face of Louisiana’s humidity and shifting temperatures than most other instruments. “These advantages quickly caused the accordion to gain popularity to the point where accordion players out numbered fiddle players,” he writes. Secondly, he notes the significance of the first recordings of Cajun music coinciding with the accordion’s introduction. The first “legitimization” of the genre included the accordion, and the resulting flood of repertoire to incorporate the instrument followed suite.
best-sounding accordion I have,” he said. Today, Savoy cites over twenty-three Cajun accordion makers in operation. But in the 1950s, there was only one: Sidney Brown. In his introduction, Snyder credits Brown with keeping the Cajun sound alive during those years of accordion scarcity, “by keeping the older accordions playable and providing new accordions that played smoother and with a better tone than anything else available.” Brown’s instruments were beautifully-cobbled Frankensteins of accordions, drawn together from the parts of defunct instruments from around the region and new Hohners. Savoy was seventeen when he first came across a Brown accordion. “For a normal human being to build an accordion from scratch was totally impossiPhoto by Ann Savoy, courtesy of UL Press ble—or so I thought!” He writes, “I don’t
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remember sleeping at all that night, and during this long sleepless night, I decided to build an accordion also.” The first accordion Savoy built (or, “something that looked like an accordion,” as he describes) he lit on fire in the barbecue pit. His second, he used to play at house dances. And his third and fourth, he sold. Word got around that Marc Savoy was making accordions, and he developed a firm customer base, working from the local cabinet shop on Saturday mornings, and then later from his father’s outdoor kitchen, the same place he first heard the sound of an accordion as a child. When he got good, he was making exact copies of the Monarch and Sterling models using Hohner reeds, bellows, buttons, and stops. When he got better, he started seeking out ways to push his accordions beyond the capabilities of the ‘tit noir—improving upon keyboard action, comfort, construction technique, and appearance. Challenging the rigid expectations of the local Cajun musicians, Savoy even started using Italian reeds instead of German—marking one of his first significant departures from the traditional, regionally-preferred style of accordion. In 1965 Savoy found himself facing a crossroads in his musical career—which he feared was pushing him farther from his dream to promote Cajun culture, and instead towards performance. His little accordion-making business was prospering, and his father was asking for his out-
Photo by Ann Savoy, courtesy of Freddy Hanks and UL Press
door kitchen back. Recognizing the area’s still-limited access to instruments, parts, and supplies—Savoy opened The Savoy Music Center in Eunice on November 19, 1966. The store, still open over fifty years later, continues to service Cajun musicians and their fans with instruments, tools, records, books, and other merchandise. The heart of Savoy’s business, though, is still in his hand-made Acadian brand accordions. Over the past sixty-four years, Savoy has never stopped trying to make the perfect accordion. Constantly in a state of experimentation, his life’s work has been refining and challenging the bounds of the instrument that so enchanted him in Hiram Courville’s hands. “I always begin my day with the attitude that nothing is ever good enough,” Savoy writes. “I will keep this attitude in focus until the day comes when I won’t show up for work anymore.” Over the decades, his work has been a continuous process of augmenting the mechanics, searching for the best quality materials, making the process more efficient and the instrument more durable. He’s journeyed to far away countries to meet other makers, and— now a master himself, he continues to closely watch the way his fellow musicians wield their instruments. “They’re the Rolls Royce of Cajun accordions,” said Riley. “His craftsmanship is second to none. He’s always try-
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ing to improve the instrument, and what sets him apart is the way he tunes it. There are four reeds for every note, and he has a way of tuning those reeds together that no one else has that way of tuning. He tempers those four reeds … his accordions just really scream and are really responsive.” Towards the end of Made in Louisiana— which in addition to Louisiana’s accordion history includes Savoy’s keen observations on the trajectory of Cajun music and culture as a whole—Savoy notes that the German-style accordion is no longer in demand in Germany. “The popularity of this accordion in Louisiana has become such that the old name ‘German-style’ has now become internationally known as ‘Cajun-style’. Cajun accordions today are regularly shipped back to Germany not for the purpose of playing German folk music, but rather to supply German musicians who are interested in playing Cajun music.” Coming totally full circle, in 2020, Savoy received an email from Hohner—asking if he would help to design a student model accordion, as well as a professional model Cajun accordion, in his style, for their line. “It’s been a long time coming,” Savoy writes. h
Marc Savoy continues to sell his Acadian accordions from the Savoy Music Center in Eunice, where he also hosts the historic Cajun Jam every Saturday morning—a tradition that has brought the region’s finest Cajun musicians and their protégés together for over fifty years.
Photo by Ann Savoy, courtesy of UL Press
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BLUE NOTES
Baton Rouge Blues: The Next Generation MEET SEVEN UP-AND-COMING BLUES MUSICIANS WORKING IN BATON ROUGE Story by John Wirt • Photos by Raegan Labat
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ast Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, and Pointe Coupée parishes each have rich blues hhistories. Recording star Slim Harpo came from West Baton Rouge—as did his singing, harmonica-playing peer, Raful Neal. Buddy Guy, the eight-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, lived in Lettsworth and Baton Rouge before his move to Chicago. In the 1950s and ‘60s, Baton Rouge provided a wellspring of talent for producer J.D. Miller. Harpo, Lightnin’ Slim, Lazy Lester, Tabby Thomas, Silas Hogan, and others traveled frequently to Miller’s recording studio in Crowley to record for Nashville’s Excello Records. A second generation of blues artists emerged in the 1970s and ‘80s, including Thomas’s Grammy-winning son Chris Thomas King, Larry Garner, and Neal’s many musician children. While the legacy that Harpo, Neal, singer-pianist Henry Gray, and their contemporaries created might never be rivaled, today there is a rising cadre of dedicated and talented young musicians from the region who know their blues heritage. Now early in their careers, this new generation is building on the rich foundation of their forebears, and bringing something new to the table, as well.
Rudolph Valentine Richard III, 19
Rudolph Valentine Richard III is the grandson of the late singer, guitarist, and accordionist Rudolph “Rudy” RichMeet the Capitol region’s up-and-coming blues musicians, photographed at the iconic Teddy’s Juke Joint. From left to right: Chris ard, an original member of Harpo’s band, the King Bees. Roberts, Rudolph Valentine Richard III, Leroy Bishop Toussaint, John Wiese, Carter Wilkinson, and Johnathan James. A Recording Arts major at the University of Louisiana at Matthew Givens not pictured. Photos by Raegan Labat. Lafayette, Richard is already an experienced producer, recording hip-hop, rhythm-and-blues, and neo-soul. A Matthew Givens, 24 keyboardist, he also performs with ULL’s Ragin’ Blues Ensemble. Lloyd “Teddy” Johnson, owner of Teddy’s Juke Joint in Zachary, pointed out Richard attended many of his grandfather’s performances. He especially remembers seeto singer-harmonica player Matthew Givens, aka MR. G, the importance of ing a performance at the Baton Rouge Blues Festival when was about ten. “It was surreal looking sharp. “Mr. Teddy said, ‘If you’re going to be a blues man, you’ve got seeing all these people out there come to see my granddad,” he said. “I wasn’t aware of how to dress like a blues man.’ I said, ‘Yes, sir. Next time I come out here, I’ll be much notoriety he’d gained.” sharp-dressed.’ So, next time I got a suit and nice boots, slicked back my hair, When he performs, Richard sometimes feels his grandfather’s presence: “If I get a tingle and threw on some rings. Mr. Teddy said, ‘That’s a blues man.’ ” up my spine, I’m like, ‘Aw, man. He felt that.’ When I’m playing, it’s like his fingers are moving along with mine.” From the small community of Montgomery in Although Richard loves to perform, he envisions his future in the studio. “Starting from a North Louisiana, Givens moved to Baton Rouge in blank canvas and creating every aspect of the music,” he said. “I love that.” March to be nearer opportunities to play blues. He greatly impresses Phil Brady’s Bar & Grill blues jam stage manager Johnny Rossetti, a music professional of over forty years,. “MR. G knows all the old stuff,” Rossetti said. “He plays ‘My Babe’ like the Little Walter record from 1955.” Music comes naturally to Givens. “I was born and raised in the Pentecostal Church,” he said. “That foot stomping, soul-gospel music is embedded in me. It gives me an internal beat.” Picking up the harmonica at fifteen, Givens played gospel music before he found Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, and Sonny Terry. “The classic blues harmonica players,” he said. “I like them because they played in a traditional style. That was people sitting on their back porch.” For Givens, blues and gospel music are equally appealing. “The tone and warmth that I get when I play gospel, I get that same feeling when I pay the blues,” he said. “I can express my blues through this tiny instrument that fits in my hands. It’s a mystery to me.” Photo courtesy of Matthew Givens. 44
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Leroy Bishop Toussaint, 31 Keyboardist Leroy Bishop Toussaint recently returned from a Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise gig with the Neal Brothers and their Southern-soul singing nephew, Tyree Neal. He also tours with the oldest Neal brother, Kenny Neal. A cousin of Allen Toussaint—the late New Orleans pianist, songwriter, producer, and arranger—Leroy Toussaint plays piano and organ principally, but also guitar, bass, drums, and just about every instrument in a marching band. Like many young musicians, the Jarreau-based Toussaint performs at Phil Brady’s Thursday night blues jam. Rossetti cites him as “unbelievably talented,” saying, “He could can go out on his own, if he wanted to.” Toussaint’s grandmother started him in piano lessons at three years old. Ultimately, though, his heart wasn’t in the classical pieces his teacher wanted him to play. “I wanted to play the blues,” he said. “Muddy Waters, Solomon Burke, Clarence Carter.” In 1998, the eight-year-old Toussaint met Raful Neal, patriarch of the Neal family, at the St. Augustine Catholic Church Fair in New Roads. “My grandma told Mr. Raful, ‘My grandson, he really likes playing music,’” Toussaint remembered. “So, the Neals took me under their wing. I’m ever so grateful for that opportunity to be a part of such a great musical family.” Toussaint performs secular blues at clubs and festivals and sacred music in Point Coupée churches. “If they need me for a funeral or a wedding or a church event, it doesn’t matter the religion,” he said.
John Wiese, 23
A singing bass player, John Wiese also performs at Phil Brady’s jam nearly every Thursday. “It’s like it becomes your church or your family,” he said. An English major at LSU minoring in theater, showman Wiese’s yet untitled band mainly plays blues, but also hard rock and punk rock. Citing Jack White, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and Gun Club as examples of musicians who pushed blues in hard-rock directions, Wiese said he wants to propel the genre even further. “Any of those guys who wanted to be different, but take some of the river with them ... those are my people,” he said. In 2016, Wiese joined some friends who spontaneously attended the Baton
Rouge Blues Festival. “As we were walking in,” he recalled, “I heard this incredible guitar. I thought, ‘This has to be someone important.’ Sure enough, it was Buddy Guy.” Wiese waded into the crowd just in time for one of Guy’s guitar-soloing strolls through his audience. “It was like the Red Sea parting,” Wiese remembered. “Buddy Guy was walking straight towards me. I was in awe.” Wiese found his inspiration in the influences behind rock acts Led Zeppelin and Cream. “I fell in love with Delta blues and acoustic blues,” he said. “I love the raw authenticity of it. It feels like something from a different world.”
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Johnathan James, 25
Classic rhythm-and-blues and soul singers Etta James and Aretha Franklin are the models for John James’ slide-guitar playing, as well as Derek Trucks. Like his friend and collaborator, John Wiese, James searched for the blues artists who inspired 1960s rock stars. The search led him to the three Kings—B.B. King,
Albert King, and Freddie King. “And then I got to T-Bone Walker, Charlie Patton, and Blind Willie McTell,” he said. “Blind Willie Johnson is probably my favorite because his voice is pure raw expression.” Playing guitar since he was fifteen, James’ other influences include Guy, Harpo, and Lazy Lester. Performing at Phil Brady’s blues jams since he was eighteen, he’s another young musician who wants to take blues to new heights.
Chris Roberts, 26
Bassist and guitarist for the Southdown Souls, Chris Roberts, a Baton Rouge native, has been performing professionally for twelve years. Another Phil Brady’s blues jam player who also hosts his own session on Sunday nights at the Fat Cat Saloon in Prairieville, Roberts prefers not to label his music. “But a lot of my big influences are blues musicians, and that comes out in what I do,” he said, citing Muddy Waters and Howin’ Wolf as major inspiration, in addition to the formative rock ‘n’ roll bands that he listened to as a child, including: Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, the Beatles, and more. Not to mention, he added, the local heroes: Henry Gray, Lazy Lester, Kenny Acosta, Raful Neal, Luther Kent, the Funky Meters, and Allen Toussaint. In addition to playing thirty-five dates with B.B. King in 2013, stints performing with Tab Benoit, Robert Cray, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Greg Allman, ZZ Top, and more, Roberts recently performed on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, playing bass with Jonathon Long, another blues jam graduate. “We went out with the Blues Cruise and saw cats from all over who have the fire for keeping the blues alive,” Roberts said. “That’s cool, but here in South Louisiana, blues is even more important and more of a language.”
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Carter Wilkinson, 22
From Port Allen, singer-guitarist Carter Wilkinson grew up with a father whose playlist included the three Kings, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jimi Hendrix. Wilkinson eventually became aware of the blues heritage in his native West Baton Rouge Parish. Kenny Neal, a major part of that heritage, became a mentor. Wilkinson’s influences also include fusion guitarists Robben Ford, Eric Johnson, and Michael Landau. “My style of music emphasizes improvisation, like a stream of consciousness,” he said. An official Gibson guitar company and Two-Rock Amplifiers artist, Wilkinson has been a full time musician since June. Now based in New Orleans, he performs with multiple bands, including Ethos of Izba, the Evan Hall Band, and the Bryana Matt Band. “New Orleans still has that blues thing and funk sound,” he said. “Going to see George Porter Jr. at the Maple Leaf Bar every Monday night, that’s a master class about how to be a musician and give people chills.” h
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Cuisine
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KING CAKE SEASON
S I N F U L LY S A I N T LY C A K E S W
DE LICACIE S
Bayou Saint Cake
USING SEASONAL INGREDIENTS, BRONWEN WYATT CRAFTS COTTAGE-CORE CAKE FANTASIES
Story by Lauren Heffker • Photos by Alexandra Kennon
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ronwen Wyatt is hesitant to label her small-batch layer hcakes as works of art; simple and striking, topped with thick squiggles or ribbons of buttercream and color-saturated florals, the thirtysix-year-old pastry chef favors the term “craft” instead, a preference that takes her precision into account. Abstract and expressive, surreal and delightedly whimsical, Wyatt’s idiosyncratic cake design has given her New Orleans tiny-bakery brand, Bayou Saint Cake, a signature aesthetic. The chef describes her ideal cake as simple, rustic, warm, and topped with fruit and cream–essentially, it’s a cottage-core cake fantasy, presented with an earnest, imperfect, and indisputable beauty. While Wyatt has carved out a sweet niche in New Orleans for the past ten years and counting, she is originally from 48
Annapolis, Maryland. She moved to the Deep South to attend Tulane University, where she studied fine arts and English, aspiring to a career as a freelance journalist. Following the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina, Wyatt graduated and moved to Portland, Maine in 2007. While living with her brother, Colin, who worked as a chef, she took a job as a line cook at his restaurant to pay the bills. “On one hand, I liked it. And I was good at it,” Wyatt said. “But on the other hand, it’s also that a lot of the time, women in kitchens get shuffled to baking no matter what. It’s like the sexist notion that women are more delicate to touch and are better at making things pretty.” After a two-year stint working in San Francisco, Wyatt returned to New Orleans, stacking her resume with gigs at some of the city’s standout concepts such as Le Petite Grocery, Shaya, Wil-
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la Jean, and most recently, the Bywater’s Elysian Bar, the sister restaurant of James-Beard-nominated Bacchanal Wine. When Wyatt joined the ranks of New Orleans’ hospitality and service industry workers who had been furloughed due to the pandemic, she turned to her side hustle as a source of alternate income, and, as she tells it, “the orders just kept coming.” Posting her cakes on Instagram, she amassed over sixteen thousand followers within a period of less than two years. She’s made as few as seven, to as many as thirty-six, cakes in the span of a single week. From her new commercial kitchen space at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum (SoFAB) in New Orleans’ Central City neighborhood, Wyatt is slowly scaling her operations from the catering kitchen she occupied before. Even Wyatt herself was surprised by
the speed at which her one-woman operation became a full-time job with an LLC attached to it, a reaction she attributes to imposter syndrome. “The kinds of cakes that I make, there’s a huge audience for them in places like San Francisco, New York, even Chicago. There’s tons of makers who’ve been doing that, like far before I came on the scene. And looking at those markets, I think that sometimes I wasn’t always sure how to play this market.” With so many years in her adopted home, Wyatt understands the sentiment behind New Orleanians’ tendencies to cling to their original recipes; searching for the same doberge or classic berry chantilly or Randazzo’s plain cinnamon year after year. And the city has a league of talented local bakers who have perfected the old favorites, she contends. Wyatt’s level of craft lies in reinter-
preting traditional dishes for a fusion of old and new. Flambéed bananas, a classic New Orleans dessert, makes way for roasted plantains and orange blossom ice cream, scattered with a nutty, saltysweet brittle; bread pudding pares down its bourbon-soaked past to try on tender seasonal fruits and a lighter, buttery custard. “There’s something really satisfying about having a blank canvas in front of you and being able to burnish it exactly how you want it to look before it’s sent out the door. As a pastry chef, you’re not always actually plating the dish that you put on the menu. And I think as a control freak, I found that really satisfying.” Wyatt’s baking philosophy places flavor first, focusing on organic sustainability and sourcing from what is available and in season from local growers. The beauty of seasonal eating, she says, lies in the lessons it teaches upon leaving —to savor the foods of the moment intensely, while they are here. The ephemeral cycle of the seasons ensures an ever-changing menu. Just look at the descriptions of her cakes: layers of olive oil and graham flour chiffon cake with meyer lemon curd, coconut sugar buttercream, and candied kumquats; corn chiffon with slow-roasted Louisiana strawberries, sour cream custard, and pomegranate molasses buttercream; three layers of rye devil’s food cake, soaked in rose fudge sauce, with sour cream mousse between
the layers and cocoa buttercream. Ask and she can tell you the source of each and every ingredient—from florals and citrus fruit to flour and spices. Her lineup of local growers includes Molly Fay Flower Farm, Baby T-Rex Farms, and Nightshade Farm and Flowers, along with Jo LaRocca, the gardener at Bacchanal, and occasionally the Faubourg St. John Community Garden. For the current Carnival season, Wyatt’s sugar-glazed king cake varieties include: Sweet Potato and Cardamom Meringue; Cinnamon Date with Sour Cream Glaze; Walnut Frangipane with Apple Cider Vinegar Glaze and Cream Cheese Frosting; and Bittersweet Chocolate and Kumquat King Cake. Orders go on sale weekly, and sell out quickly. She’s held Instagram cake raffles to benefit New Orleans-based mutual aid groups Southern Solidarity and Imagine Water Works, a local queer-led community group, and has directed a portion of profits from sales to a fund for the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe, Red Canary Song, and other hurricane relief groups. You can order Bayou Saint Cake for weekly Thursday, Friday, and Saturday pickups via the Bayou Saint Cake Minimart website. Email Wyatt directly for custom cake inquiries at bayousaintcake@gmail.com, and follow Bayou Saint Cake on Instagram for cake, pie, and cookie flash sales. h
5713 Superior Drive, Suite B-1 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816
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Culture
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HISTORY OF THE MARDI GRAS
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MARDI GRAS HISTORY
A Mule Fit for a King REMEMBERING WHEN MULES PULLED THE PARADES By Charlotte Jones
Louis Armstrong as King of Zulu, with his renegade mule pictured. Courtesy of the Collections of the Louisiana State Museum, 1978. 118 (B). 07300b
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n a brisk November day in 1918, a little brown mule hnamed Lady idled in front of Fabacher’s Rathskeller restaurant on St. Charles Avenue. While her human coworker scraped and moved coal from the wagon to the kitchen, a cacophony of whistles and cheers erupted through the streets. It sounded like Mardi Gras, but this celebration was different: The Armistice was signed! The Great War is over! In a moment of clarity, the young man dropped his shovel, put on his jacket, looked at Lady, and said, “So long, my dear. I don’t think I’ll ever see you again.” As he recalled in his autobiography, “And I cut out, leaving mule, cart, load of coal and everything connected with it. I haven’t seen them since.” It would hardly be Louis Armstrong’s last interaction with a mule. Following the Armistice, Armstrong went on to cultivate a remarkable music career and redefined jazz across the globe. We know that story. Many might also know about Armstrong’s reign as the King of Zulu on March 1, 1949, in a mule-drawn float. And some, a select few, tell of the calamity that ensued near the end of his reign that day. At the intersection of N. Prieur and Orleans, amidst a throng of gaiety and excitement over the 50
city’s native son, his dishonorable steed made the executive decision to cross the neutral ground. The long-eared miscreant held little regard for the float, the king, nor the royal court in his tow. The float’s chassis (undercarriage) fell apart on the neutral ground. Though there were no reported injuries, the parade’s revelers stripped the vessel for souvenirs as a limousine whisked the king away. It took thirty years, but Satchmo had finally had his reckoning with a mule. In 1950, Zulu used tractors. There are many theories as to why Armstrong’s mule might have abandoned its task that day, but it most likely simply recognized that a heap of oats and hay awaited at one of the Department of Public Works barns, located just three blocks away. Most parade mules worked double shifts—garbage routes by day and the glamour circuit by night—the mule probably decided it was time to kick off its shoes and go home. At the turn-of-the-century, the City of New Orleans was utilizing a huge envoy of mules for various tasks. Though mules generally had less to haul than they did prior to the rise of the automobile and the combustible engine, the city’s bureaucratic half-asses stubbornly remained employed through the 1950s. For 364
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days of the year, these mules spent their days toting police wagons, cleaning filthy streets, collecting garbage, and pulling massive bales of heavy cotton through the city on flatbed cotton drays known as “float wagons.” These vessels are the basis of today’s parade floats. Within years of New Orleans’ very first Mardi Gras parades, krewes such as Rex and Comus began using privately contracted mule-drawn drays. For that one night a year, mules toted the ornate displays of mobile architecture constructed of paper, satin, paste, glitz, and gam— joining their biped revelers in grandeur. Before the parades, stablemen took the time to thoroughly bathe and groom the mules, quite a luxury for the nineteenth-century machine. Like the royal court’s horses, parade mules wore caparisons—though they were usually plain, white sheets. The ‘garbage mules’ may not have been invited to the balls, but it was they who conveyed Fat Tuesday’s processions and cleaned Ash Wednesday’s streets. In 1939, the Department of Public Works owned over 350 mules for road repair and toting refuse, allowing bigger, better, and more Mardi Gras parades for the rental fee of $1.50 per mule per parade. Krewes could not construct
floats larger than 24x9 feet, with a maximum height of 18 feet. The larger the float, the larger the team of mules required to pull. Each mule was handpicked by the Public Works superintendent to ensure safety and limit liability. To everyone’s surprise, that year he selected a thirteen-yearold blind mule named Queen Bess to pull krewe royalty, so long as she was led by the only human she trusted, a sixty-three-year-old man named George Mengel. Together, Mengel and Bess humbly plodded fifty miles in four days; the New Orleans Item reckoned, “you know there ought to be a heaven for Bess, and she ought not to go to the place where mules are usually told to go.” Like Queen Bess, most mules conducted the procession gracefully and even with enthusiasm. One stockman swore to the Times-Picayune in 1937, “You bet those mules enjoy a Carnival parade … When you see the parade swing down the street you will see the good-natured old mule point his ears forward, or good-naturedly flop them backwards and forward as he bobs his head in rhythm with his step.” From time to time, the garbage mules exhibited episodes of whimsy and mischief during Carnival, though none so dramatic as the year King Louis reigned. On occasion a mule might rush to the float ahead of them to munch on the decorative garland and paper. Native New Orleanians recall how their grandparents watched the creatures of habit break from the parade to continue on their usual garbage route. Perhaps the most common mishap was the striking mule, who stopped mid-parade and refused to budge another step, all too aware that they’d worked beyond their shift and that it was time to retire to the stables for the night. By the mid-twentieth century, as sanitation procedures and equipment advanced, the Department of Public Works began phasing out its mules. By 1951, only ninety sanitation mules remained, and the city made it clear to the Times-Picayune that “garbage collection by the familiar mule-drawn wagons will have gone the way of the mule-drawn streetcars.” Thus, the mule-drawn parades would go the way of the streetcars, too. The garbage mules received happy and well-deserved retirements or gained new postings with the Department of Parks and Parkways. Mardi Gras krewes,
including the Krewe of Carrollton and Rex, bought some of the garbage wagons for additional floats. But the transition was final—by 1950, tractors and jeeps pulled floats for most Carnival parades. As with other victims of progress, the Orleans Item in 1950 expressed their pity for the mule, “Edged out, that’s what.
Pushed around by some brass jeeps. Cheated out of jobs by a bunch of mechanical packers! Bah!” The Times-Picayune penned the year before they would “miss those hooded, smelly, and balky pullers of parades” and that “King Mule” had a glorious reign. h
Charlotte Jones is a New Orleans buggy driver and history practitioner recently sent out to pasture at the 1811 Kid Ory Historic House in LaPlace. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Anthropology at Louisiana State University.
2022 Knighting of the Mules Ceremony Where: Corner of Homer Plessy Way and Royal Street, New Orleans When: Saturday, February 12, 2022 at 5:45 A tradition begun in 2020, the Annual Knighting of the Mules Ceremony will take place in the Marigny just before Krewe du Vieux rolls. The Carotte King will knight the humble beasts of burden, and Fodder Jacques will bless them as they line up for the city's only mule-drawn Carnival parade. Meet, greet, and treat the prettiest half-asses before they begin their busiest night of the year.
Dos and Don'ts for Equine-Drawn Parades DO respect the mule and their human; both are working hard trying to keep everyone safe while having fun. You can best respect the mule by turning off your camera flash, giving it space, and keeping things like plastic bags, confetti, poppers, and noise-makers at home. DO NOT try to pick up throws near the mule’s hoofs or the parade float, and NEVER throw beads near a mule. DO NOT attempt to intercept the mule while they’re working. This includes running up to or in front of them, petting them, or waving in their face. DO NOT give them any treats; some mules have dietary restrictions, and handlers/ drivers often have the appropriate treats for them.
Join us as we celebrate
Black History Month
DO offer help in the very rare case that a mule is startled or spooked. Help keep the crowd back while their handler sorts it out and never approach the animal unless their handler explicitly asks for assistance.
Show hangs February 1-28
Meet the Artist Reception
Thursday, February 24th, 5-7pm Free and Open to the Public
DO tell the mules (and their humans) that they’re doing a great job!
Jazz Happens III, mixed media collage by Keith Douglas
Art Deco Series, pen & ink by Nate Landry
Elizabethan Gallery More Than Just a Frame Shop ONE DAY FRAMING AVAILABLE
Dear Ella, mixed media acrylic by Felicia Hunt
680 Jefferson Highway, BR, LA 70806 • 225-924-6437 • Elizabethangallery.com
Art Classes for all ages • Over 120 Louisiana artisans Retail Gallery & Art Learning Center
Mules lead parade floats down Canal Street while their equine cousins pull streetcars, late 19th-century. Source: The United States of America: one hundred albertype illustrations from recent negatives of the most noted scenes of our country by Wittemann, A. (Adolph), 1845-1938
This Valentine’s Day, fill their heart with a piece of ART!
Visit https://mid-cityartisans.com for more information info@mid-cityartisans.com • 225-412-2802 • Baton Rouge, LA
Art shows, Art classes, and more!
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ARCHITECTURE
The Music Box Village A METAPHORICAL UTOPIA OF SONG AND PLAY
Story by Kristy Christiansen • Photos by Paul Christiansen
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n an obscure corner of New Orleans’ Bywater neighborhood, tucked in tight between the quiet Induhstrial Canal levee and the bustling St. Claude Avenue bridge, a corrugated metal wall stands rusted in a half-hidden circle behind a row of trees. An arrow proclaiming “Enter Here” points to a dirt path disappearing around the wall’s left side, meandering along while muffled clanks and metal sounds whisper from the right. The path ends abruptly at a wide, open door—the sounds from within now louder and more distinct, promising an experience beyond the norm. This is the Music Box Village—a shanty town pieced together from found objects and donated treasures, a musical haven vibrating with an all-encompassing energy. It’s also the flagship project of New Orleans Airlift, a non-profit that works to connect and foster opportunities for artists. At first glance, the hodge-podge collection of playhouses seems to have jumped straight off the pages of a children’s storybook. They are scattered throughout the property, each a unique glimpse into
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an artist’s imagination. A magical gazebo stands beside a human-sized bird cage; a water tower guards over the yard, across from an elevator reminiscent of Willy Wonka’s. Metal steps ascend into tree houses, leading to views of both the Village and the Bywater just outside. The structures each hold an element in common, though. They beg to be explored. You won’t find a sign here warning, “Don’t touch”. Grab a drumstick and start banging away on the garbage lids and upcycled colanders. Tug on ropes and experiment with the varying, albeit eerie, wind sounds they create. Mid-afternoon on a recent Saturday, a blur of toddlers and young children rushed from one house to the next. They opened doors, pressed buttons, flipped switches, and played the guitar string railings. A Mardi Gras Indian called down from above, while a rubber flipflop slapped out a tune on some pipes. Everything makes music. Emilia Oddo, Tulane assistant professor of Greek archaeology, laughed as her daughter spoke into a pay phone that broadcast her voice across the Village. “We love coming here,” said Oddo.
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“It’s a fun and friendly atmosphere, where the kids can experiment with eclectic musical instruments in a stimulating environment. Meanwhile, the adults can chat, drink, and take it all in.” It’s quirky and fun, and not just for kids. As dusk darkens to an inky black night, the lights flicker on, illuminating the shanty village in an ethereal spotlight. On the night we visited, House Band leader Andy Page and his fellow members exited the shadows and spread out across the Village. They conjured images of circus performers returning to their makeshift town after an evening’s show, ready to relax and play their own style of entertainment. Page carefully tuned a door and set an ambient loop running between each of the houses, before pulling out his saxophone and launching into a jazzy tune. Another member joined in on trumpet, and a third drummed out a masterful beat on old kitchenware. “It never fails. About thirty minutes into us playing, about seventy-five percent of the audience joins in,” said Page, who splits his time between the Music Box and playing jazz gigs across the city. “It’s about setting a beat for the people who go in and don’t know how to interact with the houses. We make them feel more comfortable.” Overseeing the performance and her crew under the metaphorical Big Top, Director of Public Programs and Community Engagement at New Orleans Airlift Eliza McDermott stood wrapped in a bold, red jacket, striking the quintes-
sential image of ringmaster. McDermott is continually finding ways to match community partners with the Village, while spearheading programs that involve the public, whether through Seasonal Music Box Village Open Hours, Sunday Brass Brunches, Art Markets, community education initiatives, and more. “We facilitate collaboration, making a creative space for people who otherwise wouldn’t engage,” said McDermott. “Strangers who might never interact find themselves playing music together. It builds community, empathy, trust.” History of Music Box Village The original Music Box Village was built in 2010, on Piety Street. The dilapidated late 1700s Creole cottage on cofounder Jay Pennington’s property became the cornerstone for an innovative idea to create musical, interactive architecture. “We were going to do a three-month run, but it was so successful we stayed much longer,” said Delaney Martin, multi-media installation artist and cofounder of the Music Box Village and New Orleans Airlift. After Piety Street, they took the concept to the road, sending New Orleans artists to collaborate with local builders, artists, and musicians in cities as far away as Kiev, Ukraine. “This is a project born of New Orleans and speaks to our music, but when we do Outposts, we always find people to collaborate [with] and harness the cultural context of an area,” said Martin. Locally, the group created another
Music Box Village in 2015 for a stint in New Orleans’ City Park, before the concept found its forever home on North Rampart Street a year later. Over the years, countless musicians have played the venue, from Wilco and Norah Jones to Lost Bayou Ramblers and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. “In the last five years, we took a big risk taking on a lease. The shows were keeping us afloat, and they were coming fast and furious,” said Martin. “Some big grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and New Music USA have [now] allowed us to slow down. We’re now stabilized and recalibrating. The projects are more grounded in community, and we can focus on the site itself.” The Artists Music Box Village’s most recent artist-in-residence was musician and artist Lonnie Holley, who designed a tribute to the American bald eagle trapped in a cage, away from her young, titled “The Sound of Freedom in Captivity”. The musical house installation is an iteration of his “Freedom in Chains” sculpture. “This visual allegory about America’s broken promise is also a literal instrument for liberation,” said McDermott. “Sound artist Davis Hart built a function into the bars of the cage featuring a vocal harmonizing effect. Holley, and other singers in the future, will be able to stand within the cage with the mother eagle during performance and sing.” Considered one of America’s most revered contemporary folk artists, Holley,
McDermott said, was selected for this residency because of his affinity for using found objects in his work. “Like Holley, we believe much can be made from what others discard,” she said. “His experimental and improvisational musical style is a great match for our unconventional approach to music making at Music Box Village.” She then pointed toward an elevator off to the side, explaining that it was a collaboration between American music artist Christine Sun Kim, who is deaf, and Richard Snow, Tulane professor of Practice, Music Science, and Technology. “Christine and her friends would close the doors on an elevator and scream so they could feel the vibrations,” she said. “We helped her recreate that here.” Every piece at the Village holds some such story, germinated from the artists who conceived them and shifting with the musicians who make them their own. “The artists trust us and see their artwork as an evolving creature through artists and musicians. It’s the spirit of the project,” said Martin. “But this is more than an art project. It’s everyone coming together. As much as we use this for play, we also use it as a place to hold dialogue. It’s a metaphorical utopia, where we talk about how to make the world a better place. We share resources and build together. It’s a place to come together and build a better world.” h
musicboxvillage.com
March to your own beat with Country Roads
Get or gift a print subscription at countryroadsmag.com/subscribe // F E B 2 2
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MUSIC HISTORY
Satchmo's First Trip to the Red Stick THE STORY OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG'S 1920 PERFORMANCE ON THE STRECKFUS LINE, AND THE MAN WHO GOT HIM THERE
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ouis “Satchmo” “Pops” Armstrong, who grew up in “back o’ town” New Orleans, was hcertainly the greatest jazz musician to come out of the Crescent City. But when he made his first appearance in Baton Rouge in 1920, he was just a trumpet player in a riverboat band. It's likely that young Louis had already paid a visit to the Red Stick before 1920. Clarinetist Joe Darensbourg of the well-known (and still-in-business) shoemaking family of Baton Rouge, remembered the distinctive sound of the cornet player when Papa Celestin’s Tuxedo Band would come to town. “(Papa Celestin) was in Baton Rouge all the time,” Darensbourg said in his autobiography Jazz Odyssey. “Anytime they had a big parade, he’d bring the Tuxedo Band here. The first time I seen Louis, he was with the Tuxedo band. This was before I knew who he was. You could hear that damn cornet two blocks away – I never heard a cornet like it. I’ll never forget it. That’s one of the things that really made me want to be a musician. Hearing a sound like that. What a man!” Many consider Armstrong’s biggest break to be the 1922 telegram that Joe “King” Oliver sent, convincing the young musician to leave New Orleans for Chicago. But, there is an argument to be made that the most important influence in the talented trumpet player’s life was actually Fate Marable, the best orchestra leader on the Streckfus line of entertainment excursion steamboats, which sailed the Mississippi River. Marable had been watching young Armstrong for some time, and in the spring of 1919 asked the trumpet player to join the Jazz Maniacs on the Dixie Belle steamboat. Armstrong biographer Laurence Bergreen noted that Marable was a “legend” to the New Orleans musicians in his book, Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life. “Everyone knew who Fate Marable was. He was the band leader on the Mississippi riverboats, conducting a crackerjack orchestra that entertained passengers on daylong excursions on the majestic vessels. And, as everyone knew, Fate’s orchestra was a reading group, which excluded an astonishing number of gifted, even brilliant musicians from joining,” Bergreeen wrote. Though musically self-taught, the mixed-race Marable had an impeccable reputation as a professional musician, especially in the Crescent City. Hired 54
By Sam Irwin by Captain Joe Streckfus when he was just seventeen, Marable was the man on the steamboat’s top deck who played the waterproof calliope keyboards, attracting paying customers to ride the river. It was a wet and enormously loud job. The keyboard was so hot to touch that Marable wore gloves and a heavy oilskin raincoat to protect his body from the scalding steam. He stuffed cotton in his ears to quiet the pipe organ’s volume. After that strenuous workout, Marable would don a tuxedo to lead the Black musicians in the ballroom, performing six days a week for white audiences and one day for Black customers.
Me Talkin’ To Ya. He said, “There was a saying in New Orleans. When some musician would get a job on the riverboats with Fate Marable, they’d say, ‘Well, you’re going to the conservatory.’ That’s because Fate was such a fine musician, and the men who worked with him had to be really good.” Marable taught Armstrong the rudiments of reading music during intermissions from rehearsing with the orchestra. He also taught professionalism and how to dress and act in the larger world beyond New Orleans. Armstrong played excursion trips only in New Orleans on the Dixie Belle (a swank gig), but in the spring of 1920, Marable of-
The ballroom of the Streckfus Steamers “Capitol” based in New Orleans. The boat ferried Louis Armstrong’s to his first documented appearance in Baton Rouge. In 1920, young Louis was merely the trumpet player in a tightly regimented steamboat band called the Palmetto Jazzerites led by the legendary Fate Marable. Marable often taught talented musicians like Louis Armstrong to read music in between performances in his riverboat “conservatory.” (Left to right) Henry Kimball, bass; Boyd Atkins, Johnny St. Cyr, David Jones, Norman Ma son,Louis Armstrong, Norman Brashear, Baby Dodds, Fate Marable. Circa-1920. Photo courtesy Louisiana State Digital Archives,
His musicianship qualified him to lead the Streckfus Line orchestra, but he had honed his jazz performance skills during the heyday of New Orleans’ Storyville red-light district. He nabbed jam sessions with the leading piano professors of the day like Jelly Roll Morton, Tony Jackson, Calvin Jackson, Udell Wilson, and Wilhemia Bart Wynn. Armstrong was a raw talent but could only play by ear. Despite the musical handicap, Marable took on the trumpeter and started him on a crash course in music theory. Zutty Singleton, Armstrong’s New Orleans pal and a renowned early jazz drummer, mentioned the informal riverboat school of music in the book Hear
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fered him a chance to play the summer season. That meant the trumpeter would have to leave the comfort zone of his beloved red-beans-and-rice-onMonday New Orleans for months. Pops took the job and traveled by train to St. Louis, where he boarded the Capitol, a rebuild of the old Dubuque boat. Though inexperienced with the ways of the world and travel, he possessed the confidence of youth and packed a good Crescent City lunch for the trip. “I’ll never forget the day I left New Orleans by train for St. Louis,” Armstrong said in his autobiography, Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans. “It was the first time in my life I had ever made a long trip by railroad. I had no idea what I should take, and my wife
and mother did not either. For my lunch, Mayann went to Prat’s Creole Restaurant and bought me a great big fish sandwich and a bottle of green olives.” The Capitol made its way down the Mississippi to Baton Rouge on October 5 and Louis Armstrong, a largely unknown talent at this point, prepared to perform his first documented professional appearance in the Red Stick with Marable’s Palmetto Jazzerites. The boat docked at the old Florida Street wharf two blocks away from the castle-like State Capitol (Huey Long’s new building was still a dream in 1920). Baton Rouge folks were probably excited to visit the boat, as the Palmetto Jazzerites had been touted as the “best bunch of syncopators in the business” by Baton Rouge’s State Times. “Dance fans of this community will be given a real treat Tuesday October 5. For rhythm and melody the Palmetto Jazzerites are beyond compare for they are in a class by themselves and everybody that hears them play is loud in acclaiming it the best bunch of syncopators in the business (sic). Real jazz music is often imitated by white musicians who think that sloppy, noisy music is jazz, but that is a mistaken idea—for real jazz originated in the southland with the strumming of the banjos on the plantation and it is a peculiar sort of melody that is very pleasing when properly played by real artists. It is next to impossible to keep your feet quiet when you hear the Palmetto Jazzerites play the popular dance numbers.” In addition to the nineteen-year-old Louis Armstrong, the Palmetto Jazzerites also included Boyd Adkins on clarinet, saxophone, and violin; Norman Brashear on trombone; “Baby” Dodds on drums; David Jones on saxophone; Henry Kimball on string bass; and Johnny St. Cyr on banjo. Fate Marable and the experience he provided prepared Armstrong for a long professional career. Marable had an eye and ear for real talent as evidenced by the “graduates” of his “conservatory,” include Red Allen, Pops Foster, Earle Carruthers, Tab Smith, Jimmy Blanton, and Clarke Terry, who went on to perform with the likes of Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Fats Waller, and Chick Webb. When Fate Marable died at age fifty-six in St. Louis in 1947, the Pittsburgh Courier eulogized the Professor as “One of the Nation’s foremost and best-loved musicians.” Amen to that. h
C A R N I VA L R E A D S
T-Rex Goes to Rex
RYAN MURPHY'S NEW CHILDREN'S BOOK SETS A GOOFY DINO AT THE CENTER OF CARNIVAL By Alexandra Kennon
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yan Murphy, New Orleans children’s book author of What the Sleepy Animals Do At the Audubon Zoo, has released a new book aimed at introducing kids to the many vibrant and varied cultural traditions that go into Carnival season, illustrated in delightful Where’s Waldo-esque detail by Danny Marin. We asked Murphy to tell us what inspired the book, what it was like presenting Mardi Gras traditions to kids, and why a goofy T-Rex made a great ambassador for it. We also asked if we could share a few panels from the book with our readers, because they make us smile. “There were a lot of fun decisions to make in deciding what traditions to present to kids. In the end, we decided to focus on making the text about the biggest parts of Mardi Gras—parades, bands, flambeaux, and so on. But Carnival season is so much more than that, and the illustrations fill in those gaps. There are dozens of smaller krewes, common sights, and moments of humanity tucked into the images that anyone who has been around Mardi Gras will recognize. Those are there for the adults that really know the traditions, and hopefully, they'll discover something familiar that brings them a little joy every time they read this book to the kids in their life. A T-Rex is the ultimate tourist, so he's a great vehicle for exploring Mardi Gras. He isn't just from out-of-town; he's from another species, another eon. He has a completely different perspective on everything, and his experience in all of these traditions covers the book with a layer of silliness.” —Ryan Murphy
T-Rex Goes to Rex: A Dinosaur at Mardi Gras is available from local retailers including Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs (cavalierhousebooks.com) and Octavia Books in New Orleans (octaviabooks.com.
Look for our MARCH INTO THE GREAT OUTDOORS ISSUE on stands next month! Including the Outdoors and Gardening special section
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Escapes
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FINDING
REFUGE IN
THE
BIRTHPLACE OF THE
BLUES
B A B Y B LU E S
W
TRAILING THE BLUES
Standing at the Crossroads IN CLARKSDALE, THE DELTA BLUES MEET SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY
Photo by Elizabeth Chubbuck Weinstein
S
teeped in history and the strains of steel-string guitars, Clarkshdale, hMississippi is a mecca for music lovers. Thousands of tourists flock each year to this birthplace of the blues. Located at the intersection of Highways 61 and 49, Clarksdale is the crossroads where—legend has it— Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil and disappeared, only to mysteriously re-emerge as a guitar virtuoso and “King of the Delta Blues”. When Hurricane Ida stormed through the Gulf Coast recently, my family and I rode out the storm in Clarksdale, only to find ourselves literally and figuratively at our own set of crossroads. We had departed quickly, bringing only our vehicles, our beloved dog Beatrix, clothes for three days, medications, computers, our children’s treasures, and those material goods that seemed important at the time. Neither my husband
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nor I had ever evacuated. Yet, Ida threatened to pass right over the Capitol City as a Category 4 upon landfall. Spurred by memories of the forty-foot water oak that fell into our house during Gustav in 2008, we anxiously looked for somewhere outside of Ida’s widespread path. Clarksdale seemed ideal, providing not only a haven but also an educational adventure. Plus, we could pay an overdue visit to see my brother-in-law, nephew, and the newest addition to our family. After the five-hour drive from Baton Rouge, we arrived in Downtown Clarksdale, eyeing its wide avenues and broad sidewalks, historic architecture, and an impressive number of former banks. The city is settled on the northern end of the Mississippi Delta and about seventy-five-miles southwest of Memphis on the Sunflower River, where Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto is said to have discovered the mighty Mississippi.
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By Elizabeth Chubbuck Weinstein
Originally named Clarksville, the city was settled by the English lumberman John Clark in 1848, near the intersection of the Chakchiuma Trade Trail and the Lower Creek Trade Paths. Though the Delta’s lowland soil was fertile, the land was difficult to cultivate. Thus, there were few plantations in the region until after the Civil War, when African American laborers were recruited to clear the area, build levees, and work on the new plantations as field hands. Many worked as sharecroppers. By the 1870s, most of these plantations and towns were connected by rail to New Orleans and Memphis, including Clarksville. Incorporated in 1882 and renamed Clarksdale, the city thrived and came to be known as “The Golden Buckle in the Cotton Belt.” Much has happened since those days, but our landing place at the Auberge Clarksdale Hostel, with its 1930s brick
edifice on Delta Avenue, hints at Clarksdale’s former grandeur. Once the home of Landry’s Menswear, the historic building last served as the Madidi Restaurant and is only a few blocks from Ground Zero Blues Club, both ventures of actor Morgan Freeman and his late business partner Bill Luckett. Their early-2000s revitalization efforts got the ball rolling to turn the music back on in the downtown district. Similarly inspired, my nephew Robert Weinstein and his wife Lucy recognized Clarksdale’s potential and reopened the building (In 2012, Madidi closed after ten years of operation.) as a hostel in 2019. The Auberge Clarksdale’s attractive
Photo courtesy of the Clarksdale, Mississippi CVB
“AFRICAN AMERICANS LATER USED THE WORD TO REFER TO THE INTIMATE STYLE OF DANCE PERFORMED BY COUPLES IN RURAL JUKE JOINTS WHERE BLACK SHARECROPPERS AND LABORERS DRANK AND PLAYED MUSIC. INHIBITED BY JIM CROW LAWS, POVERTY, AND PREJUDICE, THIS MARGINALIZED PEOPLE FOUND BOTH A VOICE AND A CATHARSIS WHEN ‘SINGIN’ THE BLUES.’” dorm-style rooms and spacious shared living spaces suited us perfectly. We felt right at home, lounging along the lengths of the enormous, polished mahogany bar, playing foosball, and strumming the guitars set out for guests who felt musically inclined. As night fell, we watched Ida wend her destructive path from the safe distance of the TV screen. We awoke next morning to learn we were among the lucky ones, losing only fences and a moderate-sized tree (this time not on our house). So, then we faced the crossroads: Return home or stay in Clarksdale. We chose to remain and accept the tradeoff: take charge of the hostel, its guests, a dog, a chinchilla, and an active eighteen-and-a-half-month-old toddler. Expecting to be apart for only a brief time, Robert and the baby had met us in Clarksdale, while his wife was riding out her first hurricane with the guests at their New Orleans property, Auberge NOLA. Robert needed to take care of the damage there. Unsure of the roadways and the safety of a city completely without power, he decided that the baby would remain with us. Thus, my children quickly learned the level of attention a baby requires and began to sing their own version of the blues. Originating in Mississippi, blues music encapsulates the particular musical expression of those enslaved in the South and their descendants. One of the earliest men-
tions of the genre is by musician W. C. Handy, who recalled hearing a Black guitarist play the new sound at a train station in Tutwiler, Mississippi, around 1903. This new form of music was influenced by work songs, field hollers, church music, as well as ragtime and European folk songs. It sounded different because it was sung in the first person and due to its scale, which is a minor pentatonic scale with the addition of a flat fifth (or a blue note). When compared to other forms of the blues, the Mississippi sound is characterized by speech-like vocals and a rhythmic, percussive guitar style. Over time the diddley bow, a one-stringed guitar-like instrument derived from instruments used in Africa, and the banjo gave way to the acoustic guitar. In the 1940s, when most rural Mississippi homes still did not have electricity, the electric guitar became a genre-defining instrument. According to writer Debra Devi at American Blues Scene, the term “blues” stems from a seventeenth-century English expression, “the blue devils,” which refers to the feeling of agitation that comes from alcohol withdrawal. Shortened over time, the phrase evolved to mean a feeling of sadness or melancholy but retained its connection to drinking. White Americans used the word “blue” to mean drunk by the 1800s. African Americans later used the word to refer to the intimate style of dance performed by the couples in rural juke joints where Black sharecroppers and laborers drank and played music. Inhibited by Jim Crow laws, poverty, and prejudice, this marginalized people found both a voice and a catharsis when “singin’ the blues.” Eager to explore, we strapped the baby in the stroller and headed down Delta Avenue, where we discovered that the local businesses seem to proudly embrace the blues and its accompanying potential for tourism. Many downtown walls are covered with colorful murals inspired by the city’s musical legacy and public benches are adorned with music note motifs. Every restaurant we visited
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accompanied their tasty meals with live performances. Among the fare we sampled, the seafood at Hooker Grocer & Eatery and the pizza at Stone Pony stood out. Some restaurants are even listed as blues clubs, such as Bluesberry Café and Levon’s Bar and Grill. We ducked into Hambone Art & Music around the corner on E. Second Street. A combination folk art gal-
lery and downhome bar, Hambone is a popular gathering spot for Tuesday night concerts, featuring touring and local artists playing a wide variety of musical genres. The place is owned by Stan Street, an artist and musician himself, who welcomed us with neighborly charm. With its comfortable array of couches, the atmosphere was decidedly cozy.
At the far end of Delta Avenue is The Delta Blues Museum, the first to honor this unique form of music. The museum is located inside the historic Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad depot. Like the passenger station in Baton Rouge, the depot was incorporated into the Illinois Central Railway System. Thousands of passengers departed from this spot bound for Chicago and
Photo by Julien Fontenot
Washington D.C. during the Great Migration between 1916 and 1970, when six million African Americans moved out of the rural South. Their flight was prompted by the falling price of cotton, a dwindling demand for field workers due to the growing mechanization of agriculture and increasing racial tensions. A turning point for Clarksdale came in 1944, when the nearby Hopson Planting Company produced the first commercial cotton crop planted, harvested, and baled entirely by machinery. Clarksdale’s population declined and the city lost its luster. But not before giving birth to the blues. Today, the Delta Blues Museum pays tribute to this rich heritage through exhibitions, education programs, and music festivals that not only interpret the past but carry the blues into the future. As we strolled through the galleries, we were introduced to many blues greats, particularly those born in or around Clarksdale, including: Sam Cooke, John Lee Hooker, Edward James “Son” House Jr., and Herman “Junior” Parker. Their lively personalities were conveyed through show garments displayed on mannequins, as well as photographs, videos, instruments, and other memorabilia. An area devoted to Muddy Waters even included his car and the remains of the cabin where he lived during his early days as a sharecropper. My son was particularly impressed with ZZ Top’s “Muddywood” guitar, crafted from one
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of the cabin’s timbers. Many visitors discover the museum while following The Mississippi Blues Trail, which runs from New Orleans to Nashville. The trail commemorates those places deemed significant to the birth, growth, and influence of the blues. Identified by commemorative markers, fifteen of these sites are in Clarksdale. Just Downtown you’ll find the Riverside Hotel, where Bessie Smith took her last breath, and the former WROX Radio station, which introduced the blues to the listening pubic from 1945 to 1955. Also downtown is The Walk of Fame, a series of sidewalk plaques, which honors such important artists as Ike Turner, whose credits include what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognizes as the first Rock ‘n Roll song, “Rocket 88,” recorded in 1951. After a week of soaking in the blues, we decided the time had come for us to face our own music. We had to return to Baton Rouge, despite the continuing power outage (which was to last eleven days). Robert and his wife were still repairing their New Orleans hostel. Thus, Hammond was selected as a convenient spot to meet up on the road home, where we experienced first-hand the sorrowful extent of the damage there and the tears of a happy mother reunited with her child. On our last night before heading home, we trekked down Delta Avenue once again, this time to visit Ground
Photo courtesy of the Clarksdale, Mississippi CVB
Zero Blues Club. Housed in the former wholesale Delta Grocery and Cotton Co., the no-frills space is raw, an aspect that only reinforces its authenticity. The club markets itself as “the real deal” and presents mostly Mississippi artists, both accomplished musicians like Super Chikan, who performs regularly, as well as aspiring talent. Sitting at tables covered in vinyl red-and-white checkered tablecloths, we dined on fried green tomato sandwiches, fried catfish, and
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pickles while the room around us vibrated with the energy that only a live blues band can induce. Popular with locals and tourists alike, Ground Zero proved to be family friendly. Even the baby enjoyed himself as we waltzed around the dance floor to the syncopated rhythm and soulful lyrics. Named “ground zero” in reference to Clarksdale’s origins as the birthplace of the blues, the club was the perfect place to honor where it all began. h
A M E R I C A N
Elizabeth Chubbuck Weinstein is a consultant serving museums, arts organizations, and private collectors, a curator, and a writer based in Baton Rouge. visitclarksdale.com
H O R S E S
Wednesday, February 23 at 7PM
Monday through Friday live at noon and rebroadcast at 7:30 p.m.
In Baton Rouge on WRKF 89.3 FM In New Orleans on WWNO 89.9 FM and on wrkf.org and wwno.org
Tuesday, February 8 at 8PM
Monday, February 7 at 8PM
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Directory of Merchants Albany, LA Livingston Parish CVB
28
Baton Rouge, LA Allwood Furniture 6 Artistry of Light 32 Becky Parrish 58 Blue Cross Blue Shield 14 BREC 26 Calandro’s Select Cellars 12 East Baton Rouge Parish Library 64 Elizabethan Gallery 51 Eye Wander Photography 19 L’Auberge Casino & Hotel 16 Losey Insurance and Financial Services 9 Louisiana Department of Health 3 Louisiana Public Broadcasting 59 Louisiana State Archives 17 LSU Online and Continuing Education 29 LSU Rural Life Museum 30 The Manship Theatre 21 Mid City Artisans 51 Our Lady of the Lake Regional 2, 15 Medical Center Pennington Biomedical Research Center 7 Pinetta’s European Restaurant 53 Stafford Tile and Stone 45 Wilson & Wilson Attorneys, LLC 49
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Window World of Baton Rouge 20 WRKF 89.3 FM 59
Mansura, LA Avoyelles Tourism Commission 37
Brookhaven, MS Brookhaven Tourism Council
Metairie, LA Jefferson Performing Arts Society
Broussard, LA Parkside RV Park
25
43
24
Morgan City, LA Cajun Coast CVB
29
Natchez, MS Crye-Leike Stedman Realtors Monmouth Historic Inn Murray Land and Home Natchez.com United Mississippi Bank Visit Natchez
22 27 11 23 26 43
Grand Isle, LA Grand Isle Tourism Department 51
New Iberia Iberia Parish CVB
13
Hammond, LA Tangipahoa Parish CVB
New Orleans, LA Stafford Tile and Stone
Clarksdale, MS Visit Clarksdale Ferriday, LA Delta Music Museum Folsom, LA Giddy Up
Jackson, MS Visit Mississippi Lafayette, LA Allwood Furniture Mandeville, LA St. Tammany Parish Tourist Commission
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47
47
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5
6
32
Port Allen, LA West Baton Rouge CVB West Baton Rouge Museum
31 42
Scott, LA Bob’s Tree Preservation
46
St. Francisville, LA Artistry of Light Birds of a Feather Bohemianville Antiques Grandmother’s Buttons Stems Boutique The Conundrum Books & Puzzles The Magnolia Cafe The Myrtles Town of St. Francisville West Feliciana Chamber of Commerce West Feliciana Parish Tourism Council
32 35 35 35 35 35 42 35 34 33 34
45 Zachary, LA Lane Regional Medical Center
New Roads, LA City of New Roads
38
Opelousas, LA St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission
38
Plaquemine, LA Iberville Parish Tourism Department
41
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P E R S P E C T I V E S : I M A G E S O F O U R S TAT E
Sculpting Beyond Sound
DENNIS PARKER CRAFTS WHIMSICAL SCULPTURES WITH ONCE-LOVED INSTRUMENTS By Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
From left to right: Cello backpack, “Don Quixote,” and “Peacock 1”; images courtesy of Dennis Parker.
“I
guess I just enjoy the act of transformation.” Such a statement bears a hcertain profundity coming from Dennis Parker, a classically-trained musician credited with transcribing works like Mozart’s “Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola” and Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” for the cello for the first time. But when we spoke, the Yale-educated cellist was not talking about his lofty achievements as a musician. No, he was referring to the repurposed violins, plungers, pianos, discarded wood, ceramic cows, and cello strings in his shed. A self-taught woodworker and sculptor of thirty years, Parker’s portfolio includes birds made of violins, lamps made from clarinets, cello backpacks, and a series of cockroaches made from just about everything you can imagine (scrap metal, cut up basketballs, and yet another violin). His desk at Louisiana State University, where he has served as the School of Music’s Haymon Professor of Cello and String Chamber Music since 1988, is an upright piano turned horizontal and covered over with glass. “Really there is no limit to what might go into these things,” Parker said. “Just
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about any piece of junk can somehow be rearranged or repurposed.” Trinkets and tchotchkes are gleefully sourced from thrift shops; spare wood rescued from the roadside on garbage day—all to be brought home to Parker’s shed and given a reimagined life. “For the most part, I do this for catharsis,” he explained. “Just to wind up in this shed where I love to spend time for a certain number of hours at the end of the day, cutting things up and trying to make myself laugh a little bit.” Music weaving its way into his practice was only natural, he said. “My mother is a pianist; my father is a violinist. I’ve been around instruments since the day I was born, and have always been inspired by their shapes, by their sounds, by their smells, just everything about them.” He emphasized he can’t stand to see unloved instruments sent to the incinerator, and frequently rescues them from music shops, thrift stores, and bored teenagers. “I try to give them a second life, using their parts and their shapes, which inherently are very beautiful.” The two worlds of music and sculpture collide in other ways, too. The weekend he performed Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote in 2018, he went home and created
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an eclectic effigy—incorporating various metal scraps, a tiny seashell, the scroll of a string instrument, and a glass eyeball— named for the poem’s chivalric namesake. “And just the suggestion for the title of that unbelievably marvelous piece of music was enough to make me want to pay some sort of homage to it in an artistic way,” Parker said. More often, though, the materials themselves inspire Parker’s process— which combines intuition, whimsy, and impulse in joining disparate objects into a three-dimensional story of sorts. “I always try to find humorous ways to draw these things together,” he said. The “Antique Barbie Juicer,” for instance, is an antique juicer with a Barbie head attached, her hair held back by a claw clip. A violin’s body attached to a fishing pole is called “To Practice or to Go Fishing. That is the Question.” One of his music boxes is adorned by a white ceramic mule, with a price tag of $1.99 still attached. It’s titled, “Cheap White Ass Music Box”. Then, there are the roaches: “People probably look at me like I’m some sort of freak,” Parker laughed. “Like, ‘Why the hell are you making cockroaches?’ I’ve made hundreds of them. But working in
Louisiana in a shed, you have to learn to be almost oblivious to these cockroaches flying in and out the door. Over time, they’ve actually become kind of an inspiration, like we are cohabitants of Louisiana.” A stark opposition to the strict, perfectionist world of music performance— Parker’s sculptures, he said, offer him an outlet that is purely creative and fun. “When you do something like this, you can kind of look at it at the end of the day, and say, ‘Hey I sort of like that, and I can leave it alone. I don’t need to be critical of it. And if no one else likes it, there’s no problem.’” Even so, he admitted that he never really considers his sculptures “done”. “Very often, I’ll go back to a piece I made ten years ago and redo it. Most of these things are sort of works in progress. Always, you know? Like, forever.” h
See more of Parker’s work at dennisparkerland.com and on his Instagram @dennisparkercelloetc. You can also see an example of his work as a cellist and educator on his YouTube channel.
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