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Marching in
MarchFourth plays Music Box Village on Feb. 25
BACK IN 2003, MUSICIAN JOHN AVERILL
WAS WORKING WITH A GROUP that threw large parties around Portland, Oregon, and pulled together musicians to play the events. When they decided to put on an event for Mardi Gras, which that year landed on March 4, Averill and his friends formed a large, funky brass-fueled party band that merged New Orleans influences with big top theatrics.
With a nod to the date, the group became the MarchFourth Marching Band. Now, more than 20 years later, the band continues to stage spectacles across the country with 13 or so musicians on stage, dancers, stilt walkers and lighting design.
MarchFourth, often shortened to M4, over the years has stopped in New Orleans, and New Orleans musicians have been a part of the ever-changing band roster. The group also recorded its album “Magic Number” in New Orleans with producer Ben Ellman of Galactic and guest performers Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Stanton Moore and Matt Perrine.
But it’s been more than 10 years since MarchFourth last played New Orleans, so there’s some kismet that the band happens to return the year that Fat Tuesday again falls on March 4.
MarchFourth will play Tuesday, Feb. 25, at Music Box Village as part of The Illuminated Rhythms Masquerade Ball, a show packing the Bywater space with music, dance, acrobatics, light projections and Carnival theatrics. Costumes are required.
“MarchFourth’s roots are very influenced by the city of New Orleans and the music,” says Monica Rose Kelly, a New Orleans visual artist who tours with MarchFourth as its lighting designer and is producing The Illuminated Rhythms Masquerade Ball. Along with Kelly, MarchFourth saxophonist Michelle Shorter and drummer Ethan Shorter also live in New Orleans.
“The vision was to reconvene and bring it all home in a way that’s really special for me and Ethan and Michelle,” Kelly adds. “We’ve been dedicating ourselves to this project across the country that means a lot to our hearts because of how it resonates.”
At the Feb. 25 show, Mike Dillon and his Punk Rock Percussion Consortium — featuring 10 musicians, including Nikki Glaspie, Tif Lamson and Helen Gillet — will collaborate with MarchFourth and incorporate Music Box Village’s musical architecture into the show.
by Jake Clapp |
Kelly will run illumination and video projections around the space as well as do live digital painting in rhythm with the music. Working with Kelly is the Light Bearers, a collection of young lighting artists who graduated from the Arts new Orleans’ Young Artist Movement, and Night Light NOLA.
There also will be guest performances by circus artist LadyBEAST, AfroBrazilian percussion group Tamojunto, the Young Heroes Brass Band — a group of student brass musicians — Big Chief David Montana of the Washitaw Nation, Sacred Sounds, artist and priest Marcus Akinlana and poet Chuck Perkins.
The theme for the ball is “Many Hands Make Light Work,” which can be read several ways. It’s a nod to the number of musicians and artists taking part in the event, and a reference to Kelly’s light projections and illumination. It’s also a reference to an unreleased song by MarchFourth.
Kelly and Michelle Shorter also hope attendees will pick up on the community aspects of the event.
“I think that notion goes along with the theme of the ball and the hopeful effect it has on the audience members, which is community and coming together in a time where we’re driven apart,” Shorter says.
MarchFourth Marching Band’s music builds on its love for New Orleans brass bands with eight horn players and four drummers. There also are two guitarists, including founding bassist and bandleader Averill, and vocalists among the band. While there are some covers, MarchFourth largely plays originals that
blend a range of genres, from jazz, funk and rock to Tropicalia and other world genres. Between the band, dancers, stilt walkers and crew, around 20 people make up MarchFourth at any given time, and they tour in a converted, 45-foot bus. The roster of band veterans is now in the hundreds after 23 years, Kelly says.
Michelle Shorter has been with MarchFourth for 14 years and recently has started to take on more marketing work for the band. A few years after joining, Michelle began dating Ethan Shorter and he joined around 2015 when the band needed a new bass drummer. Michelle and Ethan married in 2020.
“This band plays the Oregon Country Fair almost without fail. [We play] Burning Man, JamCruise,” says Ethan Shorter. “There are things as a musician I aspire to, and this band allowed me to do a lot of those things with my friends.”
The Shorters had known Kelly for years. A visual artist and muralist, Kelly’s work has often involved New Orleans musicians, like designing album covers and merch, live painting at concerts and serving as the first visual artist-in-residence at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. In recent years, she expanded her work into light projections and live digital painting. So when MarchFourth had a new opening before its 20th anniversary, the Shorters recommended Kelly.
“It’s been an interesting challenge to work with my bandmates on like, how do we survive together in this industry and how do we tell a story and how do we have an identity together that lands with people,” Kelly says. “So it’s changed my whole life to have this experience.”
Tickets for The Illuminated Rhythms Masquerade Ball are $25 early bird. Find more information at musicboxvillage.com.
Zulu Lundi Gras
Zulu introduces its royalty and elected characters, such as Mr. Big Stuff, Big Shot and the Witch Doctor, at its annual Lundi Gras festival at Woldenberg Park on the Riverfront. There are two music stages and a kids’ entertainment stage. The music lineup features James Andrews, Big Frank & Little Frank, Young Pinstripe Brass Band, Big 6 Brass band, DJ Jubilee, Renatta Maze, Zulu Ensemble, Jakarta Band and more. There also are food, drink and craft vendors. From 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 3. Admission is free. Visit lundigrasfestival.com for details.
Lundi Gras at Spanish Plaza
There’s live music in the afternoon, kings Zulu and Rex meet and there are fireworks at Spanish Plaza on Lundi Gras. The music lineup features Kermit Ruffins, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Brass-A-holics, Original Pinettes Brass Band and more. There also are food vendors. Festivities begin at 11 a.m. Monday, March 3. Free admission. Visit riverwalkneworleans.com for information.
Shovels & Rope
As Shovels & Rope, husband-andwife duo Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst blend together Americana, indie rock and Southern gothic storytelling. On stage, Trent and Hearst usually perform just the two of them, so for their latest album, “Something Is Working Up Above My Head,” they reverse-engineered the songwriting to get an album that feels as intimate yet exciting as their live shows. Shovels & Rope are back in New Orleans on Tuesday, Feb. 25, for a show at Tipitina’s. James Felice opens at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 via tipitinas.com.
The Rumble
Funk band The Rumble, fronted by Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. of the Golden Eagles, make their Tipitina’s headlining debut on Wednesday, Feb. 26, with guest Jon Cleary. The Zahria
Zulu Tramps at Zulu Lundi Gras
PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
MarchFourth
PHOTO BY ANDREW WYATT / PROVIDED BY MARCHFOURTH
GREATTASTE FROM SIDEWALK TO NEU TRAL GROUND
THUMBS UP/ THUMBS DOWN
The Mellon Foundation has named New Orleans drummers Herlin Riley and Shannon Powell to its inaugural Jazz Legacies Fellowship, an initiative with the Jazz Foundation of America to support the preservation of jazz and the genre’s influential artists. Riley and Powell are among 20 artists selected for 2025, and both will receive a lifetime achievement award and a $100,000 grant.
OPENING GAMBIT
Happy Mardi Gras y’all!
Louisiana Surgeon General
Ralph Abraham has directed state health workers to stop promoting seasonal vaccines and any mass vaccination efforts, officially putting into writing a spoken policy first given in November. In a letter on the Louisiana Health Department website, Abraham also criticized the state’s response to COVID-19 and said employees should just tell residents to talk to their doctors about vaccines.
Head of New Orleans homeless ofce hit with criminal complaint for alleged sexual assault
A CONTRACTED WORKER WITH THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS has filed criminal charges against Nate Fields, the director of the city’s Office of Homeless Services and Strategy, alleging he sexually assaulted her on the job last month.
Donald Trump’s freeze on federal climate funding is threatening a plan to restore New Orleans’ tree canopy, which was devastated during Hurricane Katrina. According to Verite News, Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act earmarked money for urban forestry initiatives. That includes $3.5 million for New Orleans’ Sustaining Our Urban Landscape, which was gearing up to plant about 3,000 trees per year when everything came to a halt.
Mary Bonney said she reported the alleged assault to the New Orleans Police Department Feb. 12. This comes after she reported the incident, in which Fields allegedly forcibly kissed her while they were working the night of Jan. 6, to the city on Jan. 13.
Cantrell’s administration has confirmed they are investigating the incident.
Following a story by Gambit about Bonney’s complaint and the city’s handling of it, the New Orleans City Council also asked the Inspector General to launch an investigation of its own into how Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration is conducting its inquiry.
Meanwhile, Bonney has been left in limbo, not knowing the status of her job as an outreach specialist for
the Office of Homeless Services.
On Jan. 17, she said she was informed, through her supervisor at Civix, that the city would not be letting her go to the office during the investigation.
Fields, however, remains in his position, and has not been restricted from coming into the office or working with staff.
The only status update Bonney said she has received from the city on her job since is a Jan. 28 letter giving her a temporary reassignment to the Office of Youth and Families. She declined to switch positions.
In the meantime, Bonney said she has been technically taking paid time off, while continuing to work with unhoused people as she normally would.
But she also said she wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to continue doing so.
“This is all so wrong,” she said. “My life is upside down. And I did nothing wrong.” — Kaylee Poche
THE NUMBER OF GROUPS CHALLENGING ENTERGY’S PLAN TO POWER META’S AI CENTER.
The Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists have asked regulators to deny Entergy’s three proposed gas power plants, saying they have failed to meet regulatory requirements including proving the plan is cost-effective and will serve the public interest. If denied, Entergy would have to submit a new proposal.
9.8%
Nathaniel Fields, director of the city’s Office of Homeless Services and Strategy.
PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
Airbnb is suing New Orleans over its short-term rental laws
AIRBNB AND SEVERAL NEW ORLEANS HOMEOWNERS HAVE FILED a new lawsuit against the city, challenging a 2024 law requiring short-term rental companies to make sure rentals listed on its website are legal.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday, Feb. 14, challenges the new law as well as 2023 STR regulations the New Orleans City Council made. A federal judge upheld the 2023 rules last March, though a panel of appeals court judges heard arguments on the case earlier this month.
Airbnb claims the 2024 law, which aims to finally address the thousands of illegal STRs listed on sites advertising properties, “infringes on Airbnb’s constitutional rights.”
“The 2024 Ordinance tramples on Airbnb’s First Amendment rights, including by restricting and restraining Airbnb’s speech, and impermissibly compelling Airbnb’s speech to the City, through the monthly disclosure and verification requirements,” the lawsuit said. “And it takes Airbnb’s property without just compensation by requiring Airbnb to name the City as an insured on its commercial general liability insurance policy.”
The 2024 law putting STR companies on the hook for making sure listings on their sites are for legal rentals has not taken effect yet. The council gave the city until Feb. 1 to create a program that platforms can use to verify whether a property
another STR platform to take them down. However, there is nothing stopping a host of an illegal STR from just reposting their property online under a different fake permit number.
Bret Bodin, Darian Morgan, Brad Newell, Michael Rosas and MidCity Mike Rentals joined Airbnb in filing the lawsuit against the city.
— Kaylee Poche
NOPD given wide discretion over enforcement of antiKrewe of Chad rules
DON’T WORRY KAREN, you’ll probably get your private viewing space this year.
The New Orleans City Council agreed to give police wide discretion this year in enforcing a new Carnival parade ordinance designed to reduce Krewe of Chad landgrabs that limit access to routes.
But during community meetings and social media posts since the bill was passed, Morrell has also made clear NOPD will be expected to enforce against particularly aggressive land grab efforts like setting up platforms.
The council passed a set of new Carnival rules in 2024 in response to increasingly belligerent and rude behavior by some paradegoers, who are derisively known as the Krewe of Chad.
Often, though not always, either groups of college kids or people from outside the city, Krewe of Chad members will “claim” public space on neutral grounds as their “own” — including through the use of fencing or large stakes roped together. They then set up elaborate “living rooms” and viewing stands and can become violently territorial if others don’t respect their boundary markings.
is permitted to be rented out as an STR and until March 1 before the city starts enforcing the law — after the Super Bowl and most of Carnival season.
Council President JP Morrell’s Legislative Director Julia Zuckerman said that Morrell’s office was originally going to push back the March 1 enforcement deadline to June 1 to give platforms three months “to beta test the STR Verification System before they are required to comply with the system.”
However, Zuckerman said the lawsuit “will change our next steps.” Morrell declined to comment, citing the ongoing suit.
In the lawsuit, Airbnb also claimed that the company can’t turn over monthly reports to the city because of privacy concerns. It’s unclear if the city is asking for more information about properties and hosts than a host would need to submit to the city to become permitted anyway.
“The 2024 Ordinance also requires platforms to turn over to the government monthly reports containing confidential, sensitive, and private data concerning Airbnb’s business, hosts, and hosts’ properties,” the lawsuit said.
Airbnb also argued that the company shouldn’t be responsible for enforcing city laws.
Currently, the city’s Safety and Permits office can identify illegal listings one by one and ask Airbnb or
The decision comes in response to a request by the New Orleans Police Department, which claims it needs the discretion so it can put in place new anti-terrorism measures, despite having significantly more help from outside law enforcement agencies. In the past, city workers and police have been reluctant to enforce some “quality of life” rules during parades, making previous efforts essentially unworkable.
“We did not want to have NOPD make that critical choice between quality of life and public safety,” Council President JP Morrell said Thursday prior to the vote. “It gives NOPD the discretion for the 2025 Mardi Gras season on how and if they’re going to implement some of these things while they’re juggling everything else.”
While the ordinance was clearly an effort aimed at forcing manners and common sense onto the Krewe of Chad, it does also relate to safety and mobility issues, particularly for disabled people and first responders.
For instance, couches on parade routes, propane stoves, fencing and de facto walls of connected ladders along routes make it either unsafe or impossible to cross through large stretches of parade routes. This, in turn, funnels more people into intersections, including many who are attempting to watch parades.
It is unclear how NOPD will use its new discretion.
Meanwhile, whether folks can bring guns to parades is a murky question. Louisiana state law generally allows for the unpermitted carrying of a concealed weapon.
There are laws against discharging a gun at a parade as well as laws related to using a gun in a crime at or near a parade. There is also a law barring the carrying of guns in a parade — though that does not appear to apply to being a spectator. The state legislature killed a bill by Rep. Mandie Landry, a New Orleans Democrat, last year that would have changed the language to include viewers.
In theory, the district attorney could make the argument that guns are not allowed because of the participation of school bands in Carnival parades, thus making them “school
The Faubourg Marigny of New Orleans is full of short-term rentals.
PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
City workers remove personal items from the Uptown parade route.
PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
sponsored” events. But that theory does not appear to have been tested, and it is highly questionable whether Louisiana courts would agree to that interpretation of the law.
That means that while they absolutely shouldn’t, people can probably still bring guns to parades — as well as lots of alcohol, which they can enjoy while vigorously defending their viewing territory. — John Stanton
Louisiana is a hotbed for overturned convictions.
Why prosecutors rarely face discipline.
AN UNUSUAL MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT LODGED LAST MONTH against a former New Orleans prosecutor has a broader target in mind, in a peculiarity of Louisiana justice.
A state that stands out as a hotbed for reversed convictions hasn’t disciplined a prosecutor for withholding evidence in 20 years.
It’s not for lack of opportunity.
Just since 2021, when Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams launched a civil rights division bent on addressing past sins, judges have freed dozens of long-serving prisoners while citing lapses by the state.
None has resulted in misconduct charges from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which polices the state’s 23,000 lawyers. The Louisiana Supreme Court last held a state prosecutor in check for misconduct in 2005.
Defense advocates argue that the most powerful actors in the justice system have operated with almost no consequences for crossing the line to win. Defenders of the disciplinary system, including a retired Louisiana Supreme Court justice, say it’s a lack of proof — not a blind eye — that has stalled those complaints.
The latest complaint springs from a pair of recently overturned convictions from the 1980s in New Orleans.
Richard Davis, legal director for Innocence Project New Orleans, lodged it against Jim Williams, claiming in a memo that the former assistant district attorney in Orleans and Jefferson parishes committed misconduct in case after nullified case.
Williams hasn’t prosecuted anyone since the 1990s.
Now a criminal defense attorney based in Gretna, he was a familiar figure under former longtime New Orleans DA Harry Connick, who was accused of failing to train his prosecutors not to cheat.
A parade of reversed convictions and repeated scoldings from the U.S. Supreme Court have supported that view. But a narrow court majority denied a pattern of misconduct in 2011, overturning a $14 million judgment against the DA’s office in the case of former death row inmate John Thompson.
It was a different prosecutor whose failings were blamed for toppling that case. Even so, Williams prosecuted the case, and Davis is asking Andy Dotson, the state’s chief disciplinary counsel, to investigate it as part of an alleged pattern of misconduct.
“He’s certainly not a lone rogue. Bad offices are why bad actors flourish,” Davis said. “The amount of cases is particularly striking with Jim Williams. I don’t know of another prosecutor with the same amount of findings, and I have been doing this work for 20 years.”
History has taught Davis not to expect much of it: “We’ve been filing complaints for years and seeing them dismissed for years,” he said.
Williams disputed the claims in Davis’ memo and described the allegations against him as dated.
In an interview, Williams said he hadn’t been contacted by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel about the complaint, which Davis said he filed last month.
It’s one of many Williams said he’s faced over the years, including one filed by Connick himself that was “withdrawn and dismissed,” Williams said.
“Not one single one of them sustained. I’m kind of tired of hearing about it,” Williams said.
“I just wish they’d do their homework before they make these allegations against me. When you carefully read the complaint, it was like, ‘He must have done this. He must have done this.’”
Pattern alleged
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel doesn’t make attorney complaints public until it files misconduct charges. None have been filed against Williams, according to the office.
Williams didn’t shy from the limelight as a prosecutor. He specialized in capital prosecutions and kept a tiny model electric chair that vibrated to the touch, decorated with the mug shots of a handful of men he’d landed on death row, according to a 1995 article in Esquire magazine.
“It’s striking that a prosecutor who clearly had such a personal interest in the death penalty appeared to be so unscrupulous about how he sought it, and there’s never been any consequences for it,” Davis said.
His complaint against Williams revisits some of that history, while seeking to hold Williams to account for a pair of recently reversed convictions.
Jerry Davis went free in 2023 after 40 years in prison for a murder in 1983. The complaint accuses Williams, the lead prosecutor, of failing to disclose a key witness’s incentive to testify; failing to turn over records and witness statements to the defense; and failing to correct false testimony served up at trial.
Judge Tracey Flemings-Davillier found the “breadth and severity” of violations by prosecutors in the case warranted tossing the verdict, and last year the charges were dropped.
The complaint also accuses Williams of misconduct in the case of Raymond Flanks, who was convicted him of first-degree murder for a 1983 killing. Flanks was released in 2022 after 39 years under an agreement with the district attorney that cited inconsistent witness statements and withheld evidence.
“It is this court’s opinion that Mr. Flanks did not receive justice he deserved,” Judge Rhonda GoodeDouglas said.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1963 decision in Brady v. Maryland enshrined into law that the government must turn over all evidence that could help a defendant.
Williams pointed to an earlier ruling from 2016 in the Flanks case, when Judge Keva Landrum rejected a claim that prosecutors hid a key lab report.
“Petitioner fails to show that the prosecutor engaged in any misconduct,” Landrum wrote then.
Davis said that Flanks won his release over a different piece of hidden evidence that was discovered later.
In an interview, Williams called the allegations against him “outrageous” and expressed frustration at both the fresh complaint and its dissemination.
“I have never withheld Brady material in any case that I ever prosecuted, which probably is in the thousands,” Williams said. “I am a great supporter of the work done by (IPNO), but they got this one wrong.”
Williams said he suspected a political motive behind the most recent complaint against him, given a recent push by Gov. Jeff Landry to resume executions.
“That’s all supposed to be done privately,” he said of the attorney disciplinary process. “How do you unring the bell?”
History of reversals
IPNO and other advocates say they’ve been forced to undo unjust convictions for too long with no consequences for prosecutors.
The three-month deferred suspension that former Orleans Parish prosecutor Roger Jordan received in 2005 remains the lone sanction the Louisiana Supreme Court has handed to a prosecutor for failing to turn over evidence. The court found that Jordan failed to reveal one of several statements from a key witness to a 1995 murder outside the Port of Call restaurant in the French Quarter.
“I don’t know, it was dark and I did not have my contacts nor my glasses, so I’m coming at this at a disadvantage,” the witness said. Jordan argued it wouldn’t have helped Shareef Cousin, who spent three years on death row before his conviction was overturned on other grounds.
Orleans Parish has since come to rank among the top U.S. counties in the rate of people who were convicted but later cleared of a crime, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Flanks and Davis are among 31 people since 1991 for which misconduct by Orleans Parish prosecutors was cited as a factor in overturning their convictions, the registry shows. Nearly all of them involve claims of withheld evidence. They include 26 murder cases and four in which the defendant was sentenced to death. All of the defendants were Black.
Most of those reversals came in the two years after Jason Williams took office.
Over the past decade, violations by prosecutors have been cited in at least 65 attorney disciplinary complaints, according to data from the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary
Board, which can recommend discipline to the court.
In a statement, Dotson said his office “does not target particular segments of the profession, and the office does not facilitate criminal or civil litigation or advance a complainant’s personal cause.”
Rather, it “files formal charges when it is of the belief that there is clear and convincing evidence of ethical misconduct warranting the imposition of sanction.”
Its decisions are also subject to “multiple levels of review,” he noted.
‘Like Roman times’
Since 2000, the office has charged at least 10 prosecutors in Louisiana with ethical misconduct, according to a tally from Dotson.
The outcomes of those cases show a Supreme Court that has hardly ever acted against prosecutors in cases
Attorney Richard Davis, left, of the Innocence Project New Orleans stands next to Raymond Flanks outside the Orleans Parish Criminal District Courthouse on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022.
PHOTO BY KEVIN MCGILL / THE AP
where judges found a defendant had been railroaded.
Beyond Jordan, the Louisiana Supreme Court has disciplined two federal prosecutors — one for hiding a romance with an FBI agent, the other for anonymous social media commentary about federal cases. An Orleans Parish prosecutor was suspended in 2011 for exploiting her job status to help collect on a debt.
Retired Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson questioned the court’s priorities.
“We don’t really cry about taking a lawyer’s license if he steals a client’s money. We take their license every day if they steal a dollar,” she said. “But when it comes to the criminal defendant … it’s like Roman times in the arena.
“You see someone with bare hands is fighting a lion — you’d think you’d root for those folk. And the crowd’s rooting for the lion.”
Johnson issued a lone, scathing dissent the last time the court considered disciplining a prosecutor, in 2020.
Dotson last year replaced Charles Plattsmier, who served for 28 years and was viewed by some critics as going easy on prosecutors.
That’s not how Loyola Law School professor Dane Ciolino sees it. A specialist in legal ethics who often represents attorneys facing discipline, Ciolino pointed to obstacles in proving misconduct years after the fact against prosecutors, who receive strong civil immunities.
“You have to prove the prosecutor knew the evidence was exculpatory and didn’t turn it over knowing that,” Ciolino said. “It’s not an offense of negligence.”
Pinning misconduct on an individual prosecutor also comes with drawbacks, he said.
would have tipped the verdict. Several pending disciplinary cases were tossed.
Dotson said the Seastrunk decision remains the standard for analyzing complaints of prosecutorial misconduct.
Retired Supreme Court Justice Scott Crichton, who wrote the opinion, said in an interview that the court hasn’t gone too easy on prosecutors.
Crichton, a former Caddo Parish prosecutor, described the “awesome power” held by state prosecutors but said misconduct cases were few and far between for the court to decide.
“What is before me is the criminal case. I can’t go reach out and tell the ODC, ‘Y’all need to institute proceedings on this.’ That sort of compromises my impartiality,” Crichton said of referrals for discipline.
“I may write something about what I view as misbehavior by the prosecutor. The purpose of doing that is for it to be a teaching moment for those other young assistant DAs.”
Williams said he’s grown weary of what he insists has always been a false portrayal that he was a practitioner of hiding evidence.
“Guess what? I’m not bloodthirsty. These people all did a lot of time,” Williams said. “They got lawyers and they got relief, and that’s great for them.”
The men whose faces once adorned his toy electric chair were all removed long ago from death row, advocates note. Williams said the object itself is no longer around, and all but forgotten.
“I put it in a box,” he said. “It’s long gone.” — John Simerman / The Times-Picayune
They seemed like the unlikeliest of allies.
“Sometimes, a prosecutor might come on a case for a year, then roll off a case, then a new prosecutor comes in. Who knew about the exculpatory evidence?” Ciolino asked, adding, “By the time it becomes clear that the prosecution violated Brady, it’s a decade or more later.”
‘Teaching moment’
In 2017, the state Supreme Court issued a decision that was viewed as a test case over when prosecutors could be disciplined for failing to turn over evidence.
The ruling in favor of prosecutor Ronald Seastrunk meant prosecutors in Louisiana likely wouldn’t face discipline — censure, suspension or disbarment — unless a court found the failure to turn over evidence
AGAIN AND AGAIN IN THE BUILDUP TO SUPER BOWL LIX, Louisiana’s hardcharging conservative governor, Jeff Landry, and New Orleans’ embattled Democratic mayor, LaToya Cantrell, appeared together at press conferences to sell the Crescent City and praise each other’s commitment to making the event a success.
They texted and called multiple times each week, sometimes daily, as Super Bowl preparations intensified following the New Year’s Day vehicle-ramming attack on Bourbon Street, according to multiple current and former officials and advisors. Landry personally invited Cantrell to galas and security briefings.
“They always text or call,” said Shane Guidry, a major Landry donor
and the governor’s point person on New Orleans issues.
That Cantrell and Landry could appear friendly — or even collegial — would have seemed almost impossible a few years ago.
Then Louisiana’s state attorney general, Landry lobbed political barbs at New Orleans officials’ positions on abortion and violent crime as he bolstered his Republican bona fides. Cantrell faced a recall campaign in 2022 pushed by some of the future governor’s closest allies. Landry’s office even conducted a criminal investigation of Cantrell during her time on the City Council over her use of an official credit card, but ultimately never filed charges.Now Landry is ascendant, a popular governor atop a solidly Republican state government whose ambitions for deep-blue New Orleans have reshaped the city’s politics. Even if she wanted to, Cantrell, a second-term mayor with few allies and low approval ratings who is under federal investigation, has little political capital with which to oppose his agenda, analysts say.
“He is the governor,” said Silas Lee, a veteran political consultant and Xavier University professor who once advised Cantrell. “You don’t want to be an obstructionist, especially when you look at what’s at stake — public safety, the image of the city and state. Anyone who obstructs that would be labeled not only an obstructionist, but somebody contributing to the chaos.”
In interviews, a dozen political observers and current and former officials described the relationship as born of more than just political circumstance.
Landry has long been known for his aggressive, MAGA-style politics. But he has shaped a relationship with Cantrell and her city at least in part by displaying a willingness to work with opponents to accomplish common policy goals, the people said.
Landry and Cantrell shared a desire to make New Orleans and Louisiana shine on the Super Bowl’s world stage, the people said, and to bask in the event’s political glow. Similarities in their personalities as iconoclastic leaders who reject criticism brought them closer together.
“They’re friends,” said a person familiar with the relationship who requested anonymity to speak frankly about the dynamic. “She goes to his functions; he goes to her functions. It’s an unexpected pairing, to be honest with you.”
In an interview two days before the game, Landry said he’d been impressed by Cantrell’s response to the Bourbon Street attack, which pressured officials to shore up security for the Super Bowl.
“To me, she seemed to come out of that recognizing, ‘Wow’ — not that she didn’t take things seriously before
— but it was like, ‘There is a lot of gravity at stake here’,” Landry said.
A Cantrell spokesperson did not make the mayor available for an interview and senior administration officials did not respond to phone inquiries. In a written statement, the spokesperson said the relationship is emblematic of the mayor’s “established track record” of working alongside statewide and national officials to accomplish policy goals.
Some clashes
THE ROOTS OF THE RELATIONSHIP TRACE TO THE EARLY DAYS of Landry’s gubernatorial administration in January of 2024.
A Landry aide recalled an early meeting that month between Cantrell and state Department of Transportation and Development officials over a plan to bedazzle the Crescent City Connection with thousands of programmable light bulbs.
Cantrell seemed upbeat and engaged, the person remembered.The relationship took another step forward when Landry sent a unit of Louisiana State Police troopers to New Orleans.
Some city leaders balked at that proposal, but Cantrell quickly bought in, saying in a press conference that Landry was “right on” in his criticism of the New Orleans Police Department consent decree and that he had her “full support” in broadening the State Police presence.
At the height of controversy over the federal investigation of Cantrell, and with her relationships with other officials significantly eroded, Landry made a point of prominently featuring her in a briefing at the Saenger Theatre in June of 2024 on road improvements. Landry’s staff left the briefing impressed by Cantrell’s presentation — an outcome they said assured the governor that Cantrell
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, left, and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, right, take part in a moment of silence for the victims of the Bourbon Street attack before the start of the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football game in New Orleans on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell speaks at a press conference at the temporary New Orleans Police Department headquarters about a suspected terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025.
STAFF PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD
needed to remain involved going forward to project cohesion in the Super Bowl planning.Behind closed doors, the two officials occasionally clashed, such as after Hurricane Francine last September when Landry pressed Cantrell and Sewerage & Water Board officials on the status of a new power complex.
The two spoke over each other as they disagreed on how to fund the plan. Later, Landry and the mayor’s opponents on the City Council would maneuver around her to execute their preferred funding plan without her buy-in.
When they took questions from the press outside the private meeting room that day, however, Cantrell was all smiles. “Governor, thank you so much,” she said. “Thank you for your leadership.”Cantrell has not restricted members of her administration from sounding off against Landry’s policies, such as when her homeless services director, Nate Fields, criticized the governor’s sweeps of homeless encampments.
But she has continued to praise Landry’s contributions in policy areas like public safety. Asked in December whether Landry deserves credit for a recent run of reduced crime, Cantrell said: “I think there is enough credit to go around.”
“Quite frankly, we need all the (help) we can get,” the mayor said. “We cannot do it alone.”
Super Bowl succes
LANDRY AND CANTRELL APPEARED
SIDE-BY-SIDE at press briefings following the New Year’s Day carnage and later at the Sugar Bowl college football matchup in the Superdome. They promised to work together to enact tougher security for the Super Bowl including more law enforcement, new roadway barricades and, under an emergency order Landry issued that unlocked state and federal cash, a temporary shelter for unhoused people.The opening of that shelter clashed with a long-term effort by Cantrell’s own administration to place unhoused people in permanent housing — an effort the governor has said wasn’t being enacted swiftly enough. But as he explained to reporters his own plan, which involved clearing homeless people from overpass encampments and bussing them to a warehouse in Gentilly, Cantrell silently nodded along.
In January, she personally fielded a request from Landry’s staff to provide an NOPD security detail for the funeral of one of the Bourbon Street victims, an aide said. The governor’s staff left briefings impressed by top Cantrell officials including Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño and Chief Resilience Officer Joe Threat, Landry aides said.
Landry said Cantrell’s demeanor after the attack made him
“appreciate her willingness and openness to work through constant communication to keep the city safe.”
The Friday before the Super Bowl, he invited her to a splashy gala at the Louisiana Now Pavilion, a venue set up downtown to showcase economic development.
The collaboration is paying off under at least one measure. No major security breaches occurred and after the crowds cleared out of the French Quarter last weekend, politicians, NFL insiders and wealthy business owners called Super Bowl LIX a resounding success. Both Landry and Cantrell claim credit.Landry said that the relationship blossomed due to both officials’ willingness to put politics aside.
“This is what the American people and the citizens of Louisiana want,” Landry said.
“People can appreciate different political positions,” he said. “But when things matter the most, when politics should not be on the line, with things like public safety, people have elected us to solve the problem, to fix it. As long as we can work together to find a solution, you have my attention and my cooperation.”
— James Finn / The Times-Picayune
Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser and Governor Jeff Landry, center, shake hands as they gather with New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, left, and Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson, far right, at the New Orleans Super Bowl LIX Host Committee event on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
(PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER THE TIMES- PICAYUNE )
BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN™
@GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com
Hey Blake, I love the tradition of the Carnival parade bulletins. Which krewe was the first to produce one?
Dear reader, WITH LITTLE OR NO PHOTOGRAPHS AVAILABLE TO DOCUMENT the city’s earliest parades, parade bulletins with drawings of each float in the 19th and early 20th century processions are invaluable works of art.
According to Carnival historian and Mardi Gras Guide founder Arthur Hardy, the city’s first organized parading organization, the Mistick Krewe of Comus, was also the first to have one of its parades featured in a printed bulletin.
The New York Daily Graphic produced black-and-white drawings of the floats in Comus’ 1874 parade, featuring the theme “Comus’ Greeting to the Nations.” Two years later, the same newspaper featured the parades of Comus and Momus.
In 1877, the New Orleans Weekly Budget newspaper illustrated that year’s Rex parade. According to the New Orleans Public Library, in 1886 Proteus became the first krewe to present full-color chromolithograph newspaper editions showing its float designs.
New Orleans newspapers contracted with local and out-of-state lithographers and printers to design and print the parade bulletins, which often sold for just a dime.
Hardy points out that while the bulletins were originally produced for newspapers, they were not always included with the paper. Instead, they were sold on the day of the parade on street corners, newsstands and local stores.
The final parade bulletins were issued in 1941. The tradition went dormant until 2003 when Rex began printing a parade bulletin in Gambit.
In 2013, the New Orleans Advocate (which like Gambit is owned by Georges Media Group) revived the tradition of printing parade bulletins for many krewes. That continues this year in The Times-Picayune, and Gambit continues to publish the Rex bulletin every year (see page 28).
Tulane University’s Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, the New Orleans Public Library, Historic New Orleans Collection and Louisiana State Museum have large collections of early parade bulletins.
AS THE CARNIVAL SEASON ROLLS ON, this week we remember some of the notable theaters and venues that have hosted Mardi Gras balls throughout the city’s history.
The French Opera House, at Bourbon and Toulouse streets in the French Quarter, was one of the most prestigious locations for Carnival balls. In 1869, ten years after the stately opera house opened, the Mistick Krewe of Comus became the first organization to host a ball there. By World War I, most New Orleans Carnival balls were held there, and it remained a favorite until 1919, when the building was destroyed by fire.
The Rex Organization never held its Carnival ball at the French Opera House. Instead, the group used a building called Exposition Hall for its ball beginning in 1873. It was located on St. Charles Avenue between Girod and Julia Streets. It became the Washington Artillery Hall in 1880 and hosted its final Carnival ball in 1906.
From 1896 to 1937, the Athaneaum at St. Charles and Clio was a Carnival palace for many krewes, including Rex and Proteus. Others used the Jerusalem Temple, located right across the street. Soon after the Orpheum Theater opened in 1921, it became the location for several krewes, including Comus, which remained there until 1929.
In 1930, most Carnival balls moved to the Municipal Auditorium, the multipurpose facility partly designed with Carnival balls in mind. It remained a favorite of most krewes until it was flooded by Hurricane Katrina’s federal levee failures in 2005. Today, most balls are staged in local hotels, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Pontchartrain Center or other venues.
BLAKE VIEW
Rex’s 2024 parade bulletin
WALK O F FAM E
THE FINAL WEEK OF CARNIVAL is packed with parades and parties, and some celebrity monarchs with local connections will rule over New Orleans’ biggest parades.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” winner Bianca Del Rio used to spend Fat Tuesday hosting the Bourbon Street Awards. This year, the world touring star is reigning over the Orpheus parade. Former LSU and NBA basketball star Shaquille O’Neal was just in town for the Super Bowl. He’s back to reign as Bacchus. And LSU gymnast and Instagram star Livvy Dunne will be the grand marshal of the Endymion parade.
It’s also a big year for a couple of krewes celebrating their silver anniversaries. The Krewe of Muses has been putting on satirical parades and helping launch new marching krewes for 25 years. The Krewe of Morpheus is also hitting 25 and is the dreamy nightcap for Friday night parades in New Orleans.
The schedule has parades across multiple routes in Jefferson and Orleans parishes, including N.O.M.T.O.C. in Algiers, Music and Nandi in Marrero and Isis in Kenner. In New Orleans, Endymion returns to the Caesars Superdome after holding its Extravaganza at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center last year. In another change in the usual calendar, Alla will make its debut in the Wednesday night slot following Druids along the Uptown route.
There are all sorts of special throws to catch in upcoming parades, from Zulu coconuts and glittered Muses shoes to bedazzled toilet plungers from Tucks. But many krewes are shifting their attention to practical and reusable throws. Plenty of krewes will be tossing food items, like jambalaya mix, as well as durable goods like tote bags, bar towels, socks and more.
The following pages have previews for 30 area parades. There’s information on themes, royalty, special guests, throws, maps and more.
PARADE PREVIEWS 21
REX BULLETIN 28
PARADE SCHEDULE & MAPS 31
WALKING PARADES 35
DAD’S BALL 37
Bianca Del Rio is the monarch of the Orpheus parade.
PROVIDED PHOTO BY RENE KOALA
PREVIEWS PARADE
D r uids
6:15 P.M. UPTOWN
Theme: announced day of parade Floats: 19
Archdruid: secret Throws: scarves, tumblers, koozies, cups and doubloons
The secretive krewe often uses overall or individual float themes that are satirical or sharp-witted plays on words.
Alla
7 P.M. UPTOWN
Theme: Only a Matter of Time Floats: 18
TH URSDAY, FEB. 27
B ab ylon
5:30 P.M. UPTOWN
Theme: announced day of parade Floats: 27
Queen: announced at krewe ball
Sargon: secret
Throws: metal Babylon jesters, swords, towels, socks, doubloons and more
MONDAY, FEB. 24
M u sic
6 P.M. MARRERO
Theme: Music Through the Years Floats: 18
Queen: S. Keon Foley-Griffin
King: Raymond M. Delaney Jr. Throws: krewe pillows, towels, doubloons and more
After its debut last year, the Krewe of Music again parades with a musical theme. Floats depict popular songs like “What a Wonderful World” and other musical themes.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26
Nandi
6 P.M. MARRERO
Theme: Welcome to the Motherland Floats: 21
Queen: Jackqueline Harris Russell Throws: teacups, Nandi baby dolls and crawfish trays
The all-women Krewe of Nandi returns for its second parade. The group is named for Zulu Queen Nandi kaBhebe, the mother of the warrior and king, Shaka Zulu.
Queen: Gian L. Durand
King: James J. Carter
Throws: hand-decorated genie lamps, bar gear, cups and doubloons
Alla moves to a new slot on the parade calendar, following Druids on the Uptown route. City Council President JP Morrell serves as grand marshal. The theme is a play on time, and float titles include “It’s Carnival Time,” “Time Flies” and “The Time Machine.”
Members of the Sixth Ward Steppers Social Aid & Pleasure Club will join the procession. Spectators can stock their bar with throws including bar towels, drink shakers and insulated carrying bags.
Babylon does not announce its theme until the day of the parade, but riders can expect a fanciful parade. Float titles include “The Elephant’s Child,” “How the Rhino Got its Skin” and “The Cat that Walked by Himself.” Some signature krewe floats, such as the Gates of Ishtar, toss beads specific to the float.
Chaos
6:15 P.M. UPTOWN
Theme: announced day of parade Floats: 16
Number One: secret
Throws: helmets, shields, swords, footballs and doubloons
The Knights of Chaos are known for satirical parades about timely local
The Krewe of Argus uses a peacock as a symbol.
PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
The Pussyfooters dance in a Carnival parade.
PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE )
and national issues. The krewe purchased the former Knights of Momus floats, and the old style of floats and flambeaux give the procession its traditional look.
M u ses
6:30 P.M. UPTOWN
Theme: announced day of parade Floats: 26
Honorary Muse: Rutina Wesley Throws: decorated shoes, “reMusable” totes and other items, socks, light sabers, headbands, tile beads, shoe bracelets, cups and more
The women of Muses celebrate their 25th anniversary of consistently presenting some of Carnival’s best satirical parades. The krewe introduced signature floats including giant rubber ducks, the Bathtub, Goddessey, and the Sirens. There’s a wide array of throws and many reusable and practical items. Many marching groups made their parade debut with Muses, and this procession includes the Dead Rock Stars and more.
Symphony
6:30 P.M. METAIRIE
Theme: A Journey Through Louisiana Sounds Floats: 14
Queen: April Renee Noble
King: Durell Joseph Barnes
Throws: chocolate bars, socks, lighted beads and more
The krewe celebrates music, and this year’s theme, “A Journey Through Louisiana Sounds,” has a local focus. Mia X serves as grand marshal.
FRIDAY, FEB. 28
He r mes
5:30 P.M. UPTOWN
Theme: Visions of Joan d’Arc Floats: 35
Queen: announced at the krewe ball King: secret
Throws: lighted Hermes capes and winged headbands, neon foam swords, soccer balls, cups and more
The theme explores the life and inspired visions of Joan of Arc, with floats titled “Joan Dreams of French Triumph” and “Maiden of Orleans.” The lineup of marching bands includes the St. Augustine Marching 100 and Talladega College. Edible throws include jambalaya mix and popcorn.
d’Et at
6:30 P.M . UPTOWN
Theme: announced day of parade Floats: 24
Dictator: secret
Throws: FRI-D-ETAT shirts, swords, playing cards, cowboy and jester hats, lighted beads, koozies, shakers, socks and ladder-shaped doubloons
The Knights of Chaos parade in Uptown. PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
King Cake Gelato
Inspired by dictator-led banana republics, the krewe presents satirical parades with topical humor in its float themes and male and female dancing troupes. The d’Etat Gazette newspaper is handed out at the front of the parade. Signature floats include the Dictator’s Royal Navy, the Banana Wagon and Candy Wagon.
Morphe u s
7:30 P.M. UPTOWN
Theme: Morpheus Celebrates 25 Years Floats: 24
Queen: Christina Walls
King: Wayne Meyers
Throws: decorated sleeping masks, sleeping caps, plush moons, plush sheep, teddy bears, tote bags, doubloons and more
The krewe celebrates its 25th year, and floats reflect past themes, such as “2010: Morpheus Dreams of the Classics” and “2017: Morpheus Takes a Gamble.” The krewe is known for its
full array of marching bands, including groups from six states this year.
SATURDAY, MARCH 1
N.O.M.T.O.C.
10:45 A.M. ALGIERS
Theme: N.O.M.T.O.C.’s
Greek Odyssey Floats: 27
Queen: Terri M. Williams
King: Jerry W. Alexander
Throws: Jugman piggy banks, themed items and lighted medallion beads
New Orleans’ Most Talked Of Club (N.O.M.T.O.C.) celebrates Greek mythology and figures, with floats titled “Jupiter — King of the Gods” and “Two Loves of Adonis.” Special guests in the parade include Cynthia Butler-McIntyre and Jamar McKneely of InspireNOLA Schools.
St. Augustine High School’s Marching 100 on parade PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
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The all-women krewe has grown to more than 3,600 riders. The parade has a zoo theme, with floats depicting tigers, elephants and alligators.
Tucks
NOON UPTOWN
Theme: Tucks Loves a Pair Floats: 39
Queen: Chris Bynog
King: Ellie Platt
Throws: hand-decorated toilet plungers and brushes, toilet seat glasses, toilet water guns, cups and doubloons
The irreverent Krewe of Tucks is known for its potty humor and toilet-themed throws, like plungers, brushes and toilet paper. The theme features pairs, and titles include “Coffee & Donuts,” “The Birds & The Bees” and “Barbie & Ken.” Theme floats often mix popular culture, puns and double entendres. The procession includes members riding motorized toilet scooters.
Endymion
4 P.M. MID - CITY
Theme: The Secret Teachings of All Ages Floats: 39
Queen: Emily Elizabeth Lousteau
King: Jeffrey David Pisto Jr.
Throws: lighted sunglasses, lighted wands, plush Endymion horses, individual float medallions, rings, silicon bracelets, doubloons and much more
The theme of seeking knowledge is illustrated with floats titled “Consulting the Oracle of Delphi” and “Parsifal and the Holy Grail.” LSU gymnast Olivia “Livvy” Dunne will be the grand marshal. The massive procession features 40 bands and multi-trailer signature floats including the Pontchartrain Beach float and the video screen E-TV. The krewe is introducing a new signature float, “Endy,” this year. The parade returns to its usual endpoint, the Caesars Superdome, where Katy Perry and Train perform at the Endymion Extravaganza. Named for the longtime former captain, the Ed Muniz Samedi Gras festival features
live music beginning at noon near the parade’s beginning on Orleans Avenue.
Is i s
6 P.M. KENNER
Theme: Krewe of Isis Goes on a Field Trip Floats: 18
Queen: Natalee Elizabeth Fothe
King: Ronald Edwin Messa
Throws: hand-decorated bras, collapsible water bottles, towels, fanny packs, doubloons and more
The all-women krewe celebrates local and other attractions with its theme. Floats depict Kenner’s Rivertown Theaters, the circus and the aquarium. The krewe holds a band contest during the parade.
SUNDAY, MARCH 2
Okeanos
11 A.M. UPTOWN
Theme: Great American Road Trip Floats: 22
Queen: Claire Schully Deroche
King: Cameron Burkes Smith
Throws: krewe logo gold crawfish trays, jambalaya mix, coffee, soap, headbands, socks, plush items, doubloons and medallion beads
The krewe has a signature double-decker Hippocampus float, and throws include Hippocampus doubloons and medallion beads. Vince Vance again serves as grand marshal.
Mid-C ity
NOON UPTOWN
Theme: If Ever a Spring Day So Perfect Floats: 15
Queen: Mary Ann Ciaston
King: John H. Combel
Throws: crawfish trays, cotton candy, fedoras, metal cups, coasters, socks, doubloons and more
The parade theme celebrates spring, and float titles include “Fluttering Butterflies” and “Swirling Winds.” A carousel has been added to its signature City Park float. The 91-year-old krewe is known for its foil-decorated floats and throwing snacks such as bags of potato chips.
Thoth
NOON UPTOWN
Theme: Thoth’s Bucket List
Floats: 43
Queen: Jason J. Markey
King: Mia Angele Gonzales
Throws: ice buckets, T-shirts, sunglasses, purses, fanny packs, bar towels, coasters, koozies and many types of doubloons
The Egyptian mythology-inspired krewe shares its “Bucket List,” with floats titled “Visit Key West” and “Fly in a Hot Air Balloon.” There’s a new signature float for Children’s Hospital and the Audubon Zoo. The National World War II Museum’s Victory Belles serve as grand marshals.
Bacchu s
5:15 P.M. UPTOWN
Theme: Louisiana Fairs and Festivals Floats: 32
Bacchus: Shaquille O’Neal
Throws: oven mitts, key chains, wooden spoons, basketballs, neck pillows, wigs, different types of socks, doubloons and more
LSU and NBA basketball great Shaquille O’Neal returns (following a
Super Bowl visit) to reign as Bacchus. The theme celebrating Louisiana festivals has floats celebrating Cajun Mardi Gras, Black Masking Indians’ Super Sunday, Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, Oktoberfest, the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo and more. The parade also features numerous signature floats, including Bacchasaurus, Bacchawoppa and the Bacchagator.
Athena
5:30 P.M. METAIRIE
Theme: X Marks the Spot
Floats: 30
Queen: Destynee Jireh Payne
King: Justin Smith
Throws: Athena dolls, hand-decorated fedoras, umbrellas, neck pillows, plush items, beads and more
The all-women krewe celebrates its 10th year, and the theme’s “X” also marks geographical destinations, such as Egypt’s pyramids, India’s Taj Mahal and the Italian city of Florence.
The Krewe of Orpheus parades on Lundi Gras.
PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
The Krewe of Athena parades in Metairie.
PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
MONDAY,
MARCH 3
Prote u s
5:15 P.M. UPTOWN
Theme: Seafaring Scoundrels
Floats: 20
Queen: announced day of parade King: secret
Throws: seahorse beads, footballs, socks and doubloons
The old-line krewe’s floats will depict famous pirates and the lore of adventure on the high seas. Float titles include “Blackbeard’s Ghost,” “Barataria Pirates,” “Mermaids Grotto” and “Davey Jones Locker.” The krewe’s floats highlight traditional float designs using paper flowers and ornamentation.
Orphe u s
6 P.M. UPTOWN
Theme: As Above So Below
Floats: 43
Monarchs: Bianca Del Rio
Throws: cowboy hats, metal cups, doubloons and more
The parade theme draws on children’s stories, myth and folklore, and floats include “Pop Goes the Weasel,” “The Graves of the Deep,” “Ascending with Faeries” and “Down the Rabbit Hole.” The procession
also includes 30 marching bands and signature multi-trailer floats such as Leviathan and Smokey Mary. The Brothers Osborne perform at the Orpheuscapade after the parade.
Centu r ions
6 P.M. METAIRIE
Theme: Centurions Celebrates 45 Years with Luxurious Gifts
Floats: 18
Queen: Stacie Rasch
King: Dr. Michael Cash Sr.
Throws: swords, bracelets, necklaces, throwing discs, footballs, beads and doubloons
The krewe celebrates its 45th year, and floats depict the finer things, such as Champagne and pearls.
Kings
7 P.M. METAIRIE
Theme: Laissez Les Bons Temps
Rouler
Floats: 14
Queen: Macy Spahn
King: Dr. Thomas Cerullo
Throws: koozies, lighted medallion beads and more
The krewe celebrates fun times, and float titles include “Uncle Sam Jam,” “What’s Your Flavor?” and “Sundays in the Dome.” Former New Orleans Saints player Kyle Turley is a guest in the parade.
The Rex parade includes the Boeuf Gras float.
PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
TUESDAY, MARCH 4
Zulu
8 A.M. UPTOWN
Theme: Zulu from Africa to the Big Easy Floats: 44
Queen: Kristen B. Mason
King: Rodney P. Mason Jr.
Throws: Zulu coconuts and various krewe emblem beads
The theme will be illustrated on floats adorned with animal figures such as crocodiles, elephants, hippos and lions, as well as local landmarks. There are many floats carrying royalty and Zulu’s characters, including the Witch Doctor, Mr. Big Stuff, the Ambassador and more.
Rex
10:30 A.M. UPTOWN
Theme: La Belle Epoque Floats: 29
Queen: announced weekend before parade
King: announced weekend before parade
Throws: wildflower kits, bubble kits, hand soap, totes, towels, doubloons, beads and more
Rex alters its traditions this year, with the king greeting his queen on Napoleon Avenue at the beginning of the parade. The theme celebrates the era of prosperity and optimism in Europe, coinciding with the early decades of the Rex Organization. Floats depict artists Vincent Van Gogh and Edgar Degas, Parisian landmarks like Moulin Rouge, events like the Grand Prix, and more.
Arg u s
11 A.M. METAIRIE
Theme: Let the Games Begin Floats: 25
Queen: Sophie Elizabeth Chailland
King: J. Garrison Jordan Throws: fedoras, poker chips and doubloons
The theme celebrates all sorts of games. Signature floats include a three-trailer float decorated like a peacock, the symbol associated with the krewe’s namesake.
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The Zulu parade makes its way through the streets of New Orleans.
PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
The Krewe of Bacchus parade
PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
REX BULLETIN
BY DR. STEPHEN HALES, REX HISTORIAN AND ARCHIVIST, EMERITUS
AMONG THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER REMINDERS of the “Golden Age of Carnival” are parade bulletins — beautiful presentations of each year’s themes and float designs.
“Parade papers” or bulletins, with images of each float and notes describing the parade theme and float titles, helped the public anticipate and enjoy each parade, and preserved memories of those parades long after their brief time on the parade route and their return to the den. Much of what we know of early Rex parades, themes, and float designs we learn from parade bulletins.
Early versions of “parade papers” consisted of black and white engravings of float designs printed in newspapers along with descriptions of each parade, but these quickly evolved into more elaborate presentations. According to Carnival historian Henri Schindler, larger “broadside” sheets soon appeared with float sketches on one side and advertisements and float descriptions on the reverse. By 1886, these large-scale masterpieces of chromolithography were popular keepsakes of Carnival parades.
Newspapers competed for contracts to print each organization’s parade bulletin. According to Schindler, “These ten-cent bulletins have assumed an importance that could not have been imagined when they were produced. Because so few collections of original float and costume designs have survived, these lithographs became the visual record of the great processions, picturing every float from 1877 until the bulletins were discontinued in 1941.”
For all of those reasons, the Rex organization brought back the parade bulletin beginning with its 2003 Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial parade. The project combined contemporary artwork — float sketches and drawings prepared each year to illustrate a new theme — with elements of bulletins printed more than a century ago. The final product relied on the latest computer technology to bring the old and the new together. That work was done by Matthew Hales, a computer artist and the School of Design’s “Royal Lithographer.” For almost two decades Rex parade bulletins have been a popular souvenir of modern Rex parades. They have also played an important role in the Rex in the Classroom program, allowing students to explore the theme of each Rex parade during the weeks before Mardi Gras.
This year’s bulletin illustrates the 2025 Rex Parade, “La Belle Époque.” Coinciding with the origins of the Rex parade, La Belle Époque, spanning roughly 1871-1914, was not only a period of peace, cultural flourishing, and technological progress in France, but also saw the advancement of political and social freedoms. With a very Parisian theme, Rex is delighted to present a lovely procession featuring some of the greatest known works of art, astounding innovations, and many of the groundbreaking women who helped to define the “Beautiful Era.”
Today’s parade bulletins do not match the heroic size of the old broadside versions, but they accomplish the same goal, preserving in a unique art form images of beautiful parades that are on public display for just one day.
Shows Shows Show SpringShow
PARADE
MONDAY, FEB. 24
MUSIC 6 P.M. Marrero
S C HED U LE
SATURDAY, MARCH 1
N.O.M.T.O.C. 10:45 A.M. Algiers
IRIS 11 A.M. Uptown 6
TUCKS NOON Uptown 7
ENDYMION 4 P.M. Mid-City
ISIS 6 P.M. Kenner
SUNDAY, MARCH 2
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26
NANDI 6 P.M. Marrero
DRUIDS 6:15 P.M. Uptown 1
ALLA 7 P.M. Uptown 1
THURSDAY, FEB. 27
BABYLON 5:30 P.M. Uptown 2
CHAOS 6:15 P.M. Uptown 3
MUSES 6:30 P.M. Uptown 1
SYMPHONY 6:30 P.M. Metairie
FRIDAY, FEB. 28
HERMES 5:30 P.M. Uptown 4
D’ETAT 6:30 P.M. Uptown 5
MORPHEUS 7:30 P.M. Uptown 1
MONDAY, MARCH 3
PROTEUS 5:15 P.M. Uptown 2
ORPHEUS 6 P.M. Uptown 9
CENTURIONS 6 P.M. Metairie
KINGS 7 P.M. Metairie
TUESDAY, MARCH 4
ZULU 8 A.M. Uptown 10
OKEANOS 11 A.M. Uptown 1
MID-CITY NOON Uptown 5
THOTH NOON Uptown 8
BACCHUS 5:15 P.M. Uptown 9
ATHENA 5:30 P.M. Metairie
REX 10:30 A.M. Uptown 11
ARGUS 11 A.M. Metairie
MORE MAPS ON P. 33
2
13
The Krewe of Proteus
PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
KREWE OF O.A.K.
7 P.M. FRIDAY, FEB. 28
CARROLLTON
THE KREWE OF O.A.K. holds its annual Carnival parade and pub crawl on Friday, Feb. 28. The theme is Spread ’Em.
The krewe gathers on Oak Street in front of the Maple Leaf Bar and makes its way around the Riverbend and Carrollton neighborhoods, with scheduled stops at Snake & Jake’s and Carrollton Station.
Krewe of O.A.K. names its royalty on Twelfth Night, and this year’s king is Robustus XXXIX Luis Murillo. The queen is Julie Ladato, a founder and
leader of the Dames de Perlage. The Dames are a Carnival group known for sewing beaded themed images on their corsets.
The parade is second-line style, and anyone is welcome to join in the procession. Costumes are encouraged.
The pub crawl returns to Oak Street, and the krewe holds its ball at the Maple Leaf. It’s open to krewe members and their guests.
For more information, visit @kreweofoak on Instagram.
RED BEANS PARADE
2 P.M. MONDAY, MARCH 3 BYWATER AND MARIGNY
THE KREWE OF RED BEANS is parading together with its bean offshoots this Carnival. The groups of Red Beans, Dead Beans and Queer Beans gather at the Krewe of Red Beans’ community hub, Beanlandia, and parade through Bywater and Marigny at 2 p.m. on Lundi Gras. The Dead Beans have a theme of Heroes and Villains. Members of the bean groups typically incorporate beans into their costumes.
The parade has a big lineup of bands, including Treme Brass Band, Panorama Brass Band, Bon Bon Vivant, Haruka Kikuchi and the Afro-Brazilian inspired Tamojunto.
The route follows Royal Street toward the Marigny triangle, reaches Esplanade Avenue and returns on N. Rampart Street to its end point on Franklin Avenue.
For a route map and information, visit kreweofredbeans.org/our-blog.
Members of the Krewe of Red Beans incorporate beans into their costumes.
PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
The Krewe of O.A.K.’s royals hail the crowd during its Midsummer Mardi Gras event.
PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES - PICAYUNE
CIRQUE DU
Dad’s Ball Mardi Gras extravaganza is March 1
BY KAYLEE POCHE
2025 HAS BEEN UNDENIABLY CHAOTIC all around — politically, environmentally and emotionally. And it’s only February.
Dad’s Ball is embracing the madness of the times with a circus theme for its fifth annual queer Mardi Gras extravaganza Saturday, March 1.
“The whole world feels like a circus right now,” says Ross Ransom, one of the organizers, or “Dads” as they call themselves.
Plus, importantly, the opportunities for puns were rife. The ball’s theme is officially “Under a Big Top,” though they’ve also been affectionately referring to it as “Cirque du So Gay.”
Think the fairs with rides and cotton candy you went to as a kid, Cirque du Soleil acrobatics and vintage circuses. Then mix them all together.
“We’re trying to really touch on all of those things and have all of that in the same space,” says Mark Louque, a fellow Dad. “It’s not all clowns.”
The ball will take place at a new location this year: the House of Blues. Because of the venue’s multiple stages and sound capabilities, there will be both live bands and DJs.
Vocalist Tasche de la Rocha, who sang at the first Dad’s Ball, will perform. And Bouffant Bouffant is curating the DJ lineup, which will span across three stages and include Funke, FREAK POV, Eden and cypriestess.
Plus, this year the Dads have secured a surprise main act that couldn’t be more on theme.
“For now we have to keep the clowns guessing,” says Nathaniel Howell, also a Dad.
While traditional gay balls have a more formal presentation of their royalty onstage, Dad’s Ball puts on a play for their annual tableau in which
costumed characters search for the queen. This year a giant puppet will serve as a main character.
The Dads are leaning into the performance aspect of circuses and are upping the production value of their tableau by bringing in drag and burlesque duo Kitten N’ Lou. From writing to acting to production, the couple are well-versed in putting on a show.
“We’re not directors, and we’re not necessarily stage performers,” Louque says. “So it’s great to bring somebody in who thrives in that in that arena.”
And though they’re keeping most of the details on the tableau close to their chest, the Dads hint at a “Wicked” influence and surprising performances.
Throughout the venue will be interactive art installations, an important fixture of the ball. For last year’s theme, “Myth Universe,” they created an upside-down reflecting pond as a nod to the Greek mythological figure Narcissus. This year the Dads also are incorporating different circus-style acts.
“It was really easy to fit that theme this year because in New Orleans there’s so many people who overlap with different type of circus components, from acrobatics to just kind of freak show components,” Ransom says.
Lead painter Noah Church is heading up the backdrops and set pieces this year, and Jose Guadarama is in charge of decor, lighting, sculpture and other visuals. Volunteers will help paint and execute their vision in exchange for free tickets.
And don’t fret, the spanking booth is back. “It’s sort of a fetish driven area — very, very playful — and everyone seems to gravitate toward it,” Louque says.
Another highlight of the ball is people going all out with their costumes — with the Dads posting inspiration photos on their Instagram leading up to the event.
“People spend so much time making costumes for the ball, and it’s just really cool to see all the hard work they put in it and just like watching their friends scream when they see how cool they look,” Ransom says. But whatever you do, don’t ask them how their own costume planning is going. After all, they’ve got a lot on their plates planning the event and all.
“Don’t even,” Ransom jokes. The ball starts at 9 p.m. and runs until 3 a.m. with the tableau presentation scheduled to start around 11 p.m. For more information, visit Instagram: @notyourdadsball. Tickets for sale via dadsball.com.
Party goers at Dad’s Ball 2024 PROVIDED PHOTO BY LEONE JULITTE
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EAT + DRINK
Alma mater
IT’S BIG NEWS THAT NEW ORLEANS CHEF MELISSA ARAUJO OPENED a second restaurant in a much bigger location in Mid-City. She’s drawn accolades for her Bywater restaurant Alma and been named a semifinalist for the James Beard: Best Chef South this year and last year.
Araujo sees her journey as an immigrant success story.
“I am the American dream,” she says. “I started this journey with popups in 2016, opened my first Alma in 2020, then another bigger location four years later. I am first-generation American. And I’ve worked my ass off to get to this point.”
Born in Honduras and raised in New Orleans, Araujo’s resume includes stints at Doris Metropolitan and Restaurant R’evolution before leaving to stage in Italy. She also runs Oscar, the kitchen at Pirogue’s Whiskey Bayou in Arabi.
Araujo says the current anti-immigrant backlash in America is affecting restaurants in New Orleans and around the country, including hers. She’s gotten hate messages on Instagram, anonymous threats meant to intimidate her.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she says. “My uncle fought in the Vietnam War, my brother was a Navy Seal, my other brother, Salvatore, was an Army Ranger killed in action. I was in ROTC through high school and college. We paid with blood to be in this country. Nobody can tell me that doesn’t matter.”
The chef is expanding her queerand woman-owned company strategically. Rather than reinventing the wheel, she is replicating what works and growing a recognizable brand. Fans of her homey, intimate Bywater restaurant will recognize many elements at the new place, though it is much larger. The space has bright white subway tile and walls of family portraits. There are two painted images of the Mayan moon goddess Ix Chel, a deity of female power and fertility, also the restaurant’s logo.
FORK + CENTER
Battered chicken chain
PEOPLE GO TO BROTHER’S FOOD MART locations around the area for a tank of gas, a six-pack of beer or a few convenience store items off the shelves.
For many though, the name Brother’s is synonymous with fried chicken, juicy, crisp and served at affordable prices around the clock from its busy hot food counters. Big boxes of the chicken are a particular staple of the Carnival parade parties now reaching their peak season.
Araujo kept the new spot’s menu almost the same as the original. Savory pastelito meat pies are similar to empanadas, with crisp, braided edges. The Honduran breakfast has beans with eggs, plantains, avocado, crema and queso fresco. A puffy, griddle-warmed baleada sencilla delivers comfort for breakfast or brunch, topped with eggs, refried beans, house-made crema and slices of avocado.
The Deep South chicken sandwich has a buttermilk-brined fried thigh with coleslaw, the addictively creamy pink Honduran crack sauce, pickles and mayo — and is served with fries.
An oyster bar is new, doubling as a daytime tortilla station, where cooks make flour and corn tortillas by hand. There will be an oyster happy hour, much like she offers at Oscar, with oysters from St. Bernard Parish, offered raw ($1 each) or char-grilled ($1.50), along with special prices on draft beer and wine.
Although she’s opening from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to start, a happy hour will launch soon, along with dinner
service. She’s been playing with dinner entrees on Fridays in the Bywater spot. Her skill and polish shine in dishes including aguachile, whole fish, rib-eye carne asada, her version of duck confit and grilled local shrimp topped with Calabrian chili butter.
A dedicated entrance for the coffee bar gives customers the chance to pop in, order their latte and get some grab and go pastries. Bywater Alma has a scattering of outside tables, and Alma Mid-City has a large deck with 42 seats. The patio area is awaiting flowers and greenery to buffer the street view.
Inside, a bar made from 200-yearold carved wooden doors has room for 12. Add the dining room into the mix and about 160 guests can enjoy the chef’s modern Honduran cuisine.
“I don’t say I’m the best chef in the world,” Araujo says. “But I will be the chef that opens doors for Honduran cuisine. My objective is to survive the next four years, give good customer service, maintain my quality, keep my guests happy, do the right thing by my team. My guests feel at home in Bywater, and they’ll feel the same thing here.”
That’s why as some Brother’s locations around town have shut down and sit empty, the future of that fried chicken has stirred concern for aficionados. But now the Brother’s brand is in the process of a major rebuild by its local founders after a sale to a larger company that subsequently fell apart. Today, they operate close to 20 Brother’s locations, and more are in the works.
“The Brother’s name is well known, and we’re trying to bring back the brand the way people know us,” says Brother’s co-founder Imad “Eddie” Hamdan.
Hamdan and his brother-in-law Ziad “Z” Mousa opened the first Brother’s three decades ago along the West Bank Expressway. They eventually built the company into 50 locations. Its red and yellow logo became a familiar sight across the metro area, and its fried chicken earned a widespread following.
In 2021, Brother’s was acquired by Mountain Express Oil Co., a Georgiabased firm that was then embarking on an ambitious expansion around the region. That included plans to open at least 100 more Brother’s locations in different markets around the South.
Fried chicken is the specialty at Brother’s Food Mart, a local chain of gas stations and convenience stores in the New Orleans metro area.
PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
Melissa Araujo opens a second Alma cafe by Beth D’Addono |
Chef Melissa Araujo’s modern Honduran food in Mid-City
Chef Melissa Araujo serves Honduran-inspired dishes at her second Alma restaurant.
PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
Hamdan says the vision was eventually to build thousands of stores.
“A lot of brands were born in Louisiana… Popeyes, Raising Cane’s,” Hamdan says. “We thought it would be an opportunity to grow faster than we could without them. Our whole purpose with that was to take us into new states and franchise for more locations.”
FORK & CENTER
Those plans did not go well. By 2023, Mountain Express had filed for bankruptcy, and liquidation of its assets followed later that year, according to reporting from convenience store industry news site C-Store Dive.
Those reports included allegations of financial mismanagement by Mountain Express executives, with one attorney involved in the bankruptcy describing the company’s abrupt demise as “an epic failure.” Earlier this month, that case resulted in a $15 million settlement from the parent company and an executive to the bankruptcy trustee, according to C-Store Dive.
But back in New Orleans, the Brother’s founders already had the seeds to rebuild. They did not sell all of their locations in 2021 but kept seven under their own ownership even as Mountain Express took over the majority. They retained rights to the Brother’s name, Hamdan says, and their recipes. They have since been gradually rebuilding, in part by buying back locations from Mountain Express creditors.
While they now run fewer than half the number of locations they once did, the founders are working on adding more. That includes two long-vacant properties — one at 3331 Carondelet St., at Louisiana Avenue in Central City, and another at 123 N. Broad St., at Canal Street in Mid-City, among others.
The Mountain Express bankruptcy leaves a hodgepodge of locations that were once part of the Brother’s empire but have been operated separately since the 2021 sale. These other stores have been “de-branded,” and no longer use the Brother’s name.
But to people accustomed to their locations and their design, the difference may be hard to discern. For instance, two Terrytown locations just a mile apart on Terry Parkway that are now shuttered have the name Brother’s scrubbed from their signs,
which now read simply “Food Mart.”
While Hamdan and Mousa are expanding again, they say it’s unlikely all the Brother’s locations they once ran will be back under their umbrella, given the different operators now in place.
At the same time, though, they are eyeing a possible expansion down the Gulf Coast, starting in Destin, Florida, an area where many from the New Orleans area vacation.
Brother’s stores have long been bastions for 24-hour food around the metro area.
The fried chicken still measures up, as sampled from an Elysian Fields Avenue location during a mid-day lunch rush. Chicken tenders are particularly juicy under a light coating of batter. Fried pieces on the bone give an audible crunch and undercurrent of spice.
Through the day, people stop by for a few pieces for a quick workday meal, and cooks assemble 25-piece “party boxes” all day long. Brother’s is known for fielding much larger catering orders for weddings and even funerals. It’s not unusual for the locations to get orders for 1,000 pieces at a time for events.
But Carnival time is when Brother’s does the most business. Mousa says locations near parade routes see a big boost in business, but so do others around the area as people stop by en route to their destinations for party provisions.
“Consistency is no joke, and it’s not easy,” says Hamdan. “You have to have the right people; you can’t just hire anyone off the street. It’s about how you execute your recipe and if you can keep up when it’s busy. That’s why we say we’re often imitated, never duplicated.” — Ian McNulty / The Times-Picayune
Imad “Eddie” Hamdan (left) and brother-inlaw Ziad “Z” Mousa run Brother’s Food Mart.
PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
Zac Hill
Chef by Will Coviello
ZAC HILL GREW UP IN FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA, AND CAME TO NEW ORLEANS to attend Tulane University. While he had plans to open a coffee shop, he got more interested in cooking as a creative outlet. After four years at Union Ramen, he launched a Japaneseinspired, from-scratch sandwich pop-up called Gaijin Sandos, using the Japanese term for sandwiches. He will be at Sea Cave on Thursday, Feb. 27, and March 5-6; at AllWays Lounge on Friday, Feb. 28; at Anna’s on Saturday, March 1; and at Parleaux Beer Lab on Lundi Gras. For more information, see @gaijinsandos on Instagram.
How did you get interested in cooking?
ZAC HILL: I have always cooked. I started cooking with my grandmother when I was about 8. She has this story about me walking into the kitchen one day and saying, “I need to cook.” She let me pick out whatever recipes I wanted out of her cookbooks, and she let me do as much as I could. I think the first one I did was pot roast, or some classic American thing out of the Betty Crocker cookbook. I have been cooking ever since.
I came here for school at Tulane when I was 18. I started an economics and architecture double major because I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I was thinking I’d have a cafe, because I was really into this coffeeshop/comic book shop idea. Toward the end of school, I decided I wanted to do something with more creativity than coffee.
My first restaurant job was at District Donuts on Magazine Street. I was doing coffee. Then I started managing the coffee-focus District by Whole Foods. I did that for a year. Then I was going to move to Detroit, where I was going to work at a contemporary Roman restaurant. But Covid happened, and that fell through.
How did you get interested in Japanese food?
H: Like 10 weeks into Covid, I was going stir crazy. I walked by Union Ramen and saw that they were hiring. I applied to bartend, thinking that would be an easy in, and was hoping to move to the kitchen, but they hired me as a cook. That was my first real foray into any sort of East or Southeast Asian cuisine. Chef Nhat (Nguyen) was very open to people putting forward ideas,
so I got into it and started doing some research. I wanted to get a dish on the menu, and I did. It was tempura mushroom fries with jalapeno-lime aioli and garlic powder on top. They made me sous chef after 17 months, and chef de cuisine five months after that. I had to know my stuff at that point. I did lots of research and had lots of cookbooks. I looked up a lot of specific izakaya foods, and I did a lot of reading about Japanese home cooking and using that to get more of an idea of Japanese flavor profiles.
There was Cajun and Asian fusion (at Union Ramen). We wanted to tie dishes to Japan in at least one way and to New Orleans in at least one way. One of my more successful dishes was a panko-crusted catfish, like togarashi- and panko-crusted catfish, that I served with a carrot puree and meuniere sauce. I did a “red beans and rice,” but it was more of a Southern version of a Japanese dish called sekihan, made with sweet rice and azuki beans, the Asian red beans.
Why did you start your pop-up?
H: I learned a lot from chef Nhat. But I had an opportunity to do a pop-up. The first one was at d.b.a. They were looking for someone to do food. I did a panko shrimp sando. And I did the fried chicken sando and miso cabbage sando that I still do. I rocked with those three for a little while. Then I introduced the karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken), which I almost always have.
WI NE OF THE WEEK
I like the Japanese approach: simplicity, let the ingredients speak, don’t over complicate something. Because I had been doing it for a while, I felt like it was true to me and my food history. I wanted to do Japanese style sandos, but more informed by my food history and foods I ate growing up. I am Japanese inspired, Southern influenced. I keep things straight forward, the most pared down version of something I can while presenting a well-rounded sandwich. Being able to make my own milk bread and doing everything from scratch is important to me.
There are sando pop-ups in New York and LA. They’re now on menus of places that do general Japanese cuisine. Also, I had already done milk bread before. I can make some pretty good milk bread, so there was a confluence of factors. It’s an easy street food. I can make it American or Southern.
I am going to bring shrimp back on the menu for Lent, maybe do an ebi katsu, basically a shrimp patty katsu, and I’ll dress it up like a po-boy — lettuce, tomatoes and my house mayo. I spend a lot of hours between the bread and mayo, but I think it’s worth it. It’s better quality than I could buy.
The fried chicken sando was the first thing I figured out. I had panko-fired shrimp at first, but now I do a patty melt. I took it off in large part because the patty melt doesn’t require a crazy amount of prep time. Patty melts were like late night Waffle House food in high school and Whataburger. I like American flavors that are familiar to my upbringing and my clientele.
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Medical Weight Loss
Out to Eat is an index of Gambit contract advertisers. Unless noted, addresses are for New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: Email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.
Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream.
com — This Mid-City sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ices, cannolis, biscotti, fig cookies, tiramisu, macaroons and more. There also are coffee drinks. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $
com — Gulf Drum Yvonne is served with brown butter sauce with mushrooms and artichoke hearts. There also are seafood pasta dishes, steaks, lamb chops and more. Reservations recommended. Dinner Thu.-Mon. $$$
Bamboula’s — 514 Frenchmen St.; bamboulasmusic.com — The live music venue’s kitchen offers a menu of traditional and creative Creole dishes, such as Creole crawfish crepes with goat cheese and chardonnay sauce. Reservations accepted. Lunch, dinner and late-night daily. $$
The Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar — 118 Harbor View Court, Slidell, (985) 315-7001; 7900 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 284-2898; thebluecrabnola.com — Basin barbecue shrimp are served with rosemary garlic butter sauce over cheese grits with a cheese biscuit. The menu includes po-poys, fried seafood platters, raw and char-grilled oysters, boiled seafood in season, and more. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lakeview: Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. Slidell: Lunch Wed.-Fri., dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$
Broussard’s — 819 Conti St., (504) 5813866; broussards.com — Rainbow trout amandine is served with tasso and corn macque choux and Creole meuniere sauce. Brunch includes Benedicts, chicken and waffles and more. Reservations recommended. Outdoor seating available. Dinner Wed.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$
$ — average dinner entrée under $10
$$
Crispy skinned duck basil is prepared with vegetables and Thai basil. Delivery available. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $$
Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 5860300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — A menu full of Gulf seafood includes chargrilled oysters topped with Parmesan and herbs. The menu also includes po-boys, po-boys, gumbo, blackened fish, fried seafood platters and more. Reservations recommended. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$
Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House — 144 Bourbon St., (504) 522-0111; bourbonhouse.com — There’s a seafood raw bar with raw and char-broiled oysters, fish dip, crab fingers, shrimp and more. Redfish on the Half-shell is cooked skin-on and served with crab-boiled potatoes, frisee and lemon buerre blanc. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$
Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse — 716 Iberville St., (504) 522-2467; dickiebrennanssteakhouse.com — The menu includes a variety of steaks, plus seared Gulf fish, lobster pasta, barbecue shrimp and more. A 6-ounce filet mignon is served with fried oysters, creamed spinach, potatoes and bearnaise. Reservations recommended. Dinner Mon.-Sat. $$$
El Pavo Real — 4401 S. Broad Ave., (504) 266-2022; elpavorealnola.com — The menu includes tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, ceviche. tamales and more. Pescado Vera Cruz features sauteed Gulf fish topped with tomatoes, olives, onion and capers, served with rice and string beans. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lunch and early dinner Tue.-Sat. $$
Juan’s Flying Burrito — 515 Baronne St., (504) 529-5825; 2018 Magazine St., (504) 569-0000; 4724 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-9950; 8140 Oak St., (504) 897-4800; juansflyingburrito.com — The Flying Burrito includes steak, shrimp, chicken, cheddar jack cheese, black beans, rice, guacamole and salsa. The menu also includes tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, fajitas, nachos, salads and more. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Thu.-Tue. $$
Cafe Normandie — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The menu combines classic French dishes and Louisiana items like crab beignets with herb aioli. Sandwiches include po-boys, a muffuletta on flatbread and a burger. No reservations. Breakfast and lunch Mon.Sat., dinner Fri.-Mon. $$ The Commissary — 634 Orange St., (504) 274-1850; thecommissarynola.com — A smoked turkey sandwich is served with bacon, tomato jam, herbed cream cheese, arugula and herb vinaigrette on honey oat bread. The menu includes dips, salads, sandwiches, boudin balls, fried oysters and more. No reservations. Outdoor seating available. Lunch Tue.-Sat. $$ Curio — 301 Royal St., (504) 717-4198; curionola.com — The creative Creole menu includes blackened Gulf shrimp served with chicken and andouille jambalaya. There also are crab cakes, shrimp and grits, crawfish etouffee, po-boys and more. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$
Dahla — 611 O’Keefe Ave., (504) 7666602; dahlarestaurant.com — The menu includes popular Thai dishes like pad thai, drunken noodles, curries and fried rice.
Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — The Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, ham, cheese and pickles. The eclectic menu also includes char-grilled oysters, sandwiches, burgers, pizza, fried seafood platters, pasta, salads and more. Delivery available. Reservations accepted for large parties. Lunch and dinner daily. $$
Kilroy’s Bar — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The bar menu includes sandwiches, salads and flatbreads, including one topped with peach, prosciutto, stracciatella cheese, arugula and pecans. No reservations. Lunch Fri.-Mon., dinner daily. $$
Legacy Kitchen’s Craft Tavern — 700 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 613-2350; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes oysters, flatbreads, burgers, sandwiches,
salads and a NOLA Style Grits Bowl topped with bacon, cheddar and a poached egg. Reservations accepted. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$
Legacy Kitchen Steak & Chop — 91 Westbank Expressway, Gretna, (504) 513-2606; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes filets mignons and bone-in rib-eyes, as well as burgers, salads and seafood dishes. Reservations accepted. Outdoor seating available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $$ Luzianne Cafe — 481 Girod St., (504) 2651972; luziannecafe.com — Boudin Benedict features two poached eggs over boudin and an English muffin, served with green tomato chow chow and hollandaise. No reservations. Delivery available. Breakfast and lunch Wed.-Sun. $$
Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado and snow crab. The menu also has noodle dishes, teriyaki and more. Reservations accepted. Delivery available. Lunch Sun.-Fri., dinner daily. $$ Mosca’s — 4137 Highway 90 West, Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery serves Italian dishes and specialties including chicken a la grande, shrimp Mosca, baked oysters Mosca and chicken cacciatore. Reservations accepted. Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$
Mother’s Restaurant — 401 Poydras St., (504) 523-9656; mothersrestaurant. net — This counter-service spot serves po-boys dressed with sliced cabbage and Creole favorites like jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, red beans and rice and more. Breakfast is available all day. Delivery available. No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$
Neyow’s Creole Cafe — 3332 Bienville St., (504) 827-5474; neyows.com — The menu includes red beans and rice with fried chicken or pork chops, as well as shrimp Creole, seafood platters, po-boys, chargrilled and raw oysters, salads and more. Side items include carrot souffle, mac and cheese, cornbread dressing, sweet potato tots and more. No reservations. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Nice Guys Bar & Grill — 7910 Earhart Blvd., (504) 302-2404; niceguysbarandgrillnola. com — Char-grilled oysters are topped with cheese and garlic butter, and other options include oysters Rockefeller and loaded oysters. The creative menu also includes seafood bread, a Cajun-lobster potato, wings, quesadillas, burgers, salads, sandwiches, seafood pasta, loaded fries and more. No reservations. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat. $$$
Orleans Grapevine Wine Bar & Bistro 720 Orleans Ave., (504) 523-1930; orleansgrapevine.com — The wine bar offers cheese boards and appetizers to nosh with wines. The menu includes Creole pasta with shrimp and andouille in tomato cream sauce. Reservations accepted for large parties. Outdoor seating available. Dinner Thu.-Sun. $$
Palace Cafe — 605 Canal St., (504) 5231661; palacecafe.com — The contemporary Creole menu includes crabmeat cheesecake with mushrooms and Creole meuniere sauce. Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended. Breakfast and lunch Wed.-Fri., dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$$
Parish Grill — 4650 W. Esplanade Ave., Suite 100, Metairie, (504) 345-2878; parishgrill.com — The menu includes burgers, sandwiches, pizza and sauteed andouille with fig dip, blue cheese and toast points. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $$
Peacock Room — Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, 501 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 324-3073; peacockroomnola.com — At brunch, braised short rib grillades are served over grits with mushrooms, a poached egg and shaved truffle. Reservations accepted. Dinner Wed.-Mon., brunch Sun. $$
Rosie’s on the Roof — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The rooftop bar has a menu of sandwiches, burgers and small plates. Crab beignets are made with Gulf crabmeat and mascarpone and served with herb aioli. No reservations. Dinner Mon.-Sat. $$
Tableau — 616 St. Peter St., (504) 9343463; tableaufrenchquarter.com — The menu features traditional and creative Creole dishes. Pasta bouillabaisse features squid ink mafaldine, littleneck clams, Gulf shrimp, squid, seafood broth, rouille and herbed breadcrumbs. Outdoor seating available on the balcony. Reservations recommended. Dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Thu.-Sun. $$$
Tacklebox — 817 Common St., (504) 827-1651; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes raw and char-broiled oysters, seafood platters, po-boys, fried chicken, crab and corn bisque and more. Redfish St. Charles is served with garlic-herb butter, asparagus, mushrooms and crawfish cornbread. Reservations accepted. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$
Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 733-3803; 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; 70488 Highway 21, Covington, (985) 234-9420; theospizza. com — A Marilynn Pota Supreme pie is topped with mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, mushrooms, bell peppers and onions. There also are salads, sandwiches, wings, breadsticks and more. Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $
Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco — 1433 St. Charles Ave., (504) 354-1342; titoscevichepisco. com — The Peruvian menu includes several types of ceviche, as well as steak and seafood dishes. Traditional lomo saltado features sauteed beef tenderloin tips, onions, tomatoes, soy sauce and pisco, served with potatoes and rice. Delivery available. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$
The Vintage — 3121 Magazine St., (504) 324-7144; thevintagenola.com — There’s a full coffee drinks menu and baked goods and beignets, as well as a full bar. The menu has flatbreads, cheese boards, small plates and a pressed veggie sandwich with avocado, onions, arugula, red pepper and pepper jack cheese. No reservations. Delivery and outdoor seating available. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$
LA Filing #21-11910
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Sims Collective opens at 9 p.m. Tickets are $22 via tipitinas.com.
Choke Hole: Armageddon
It’s the end of the world — really kinda feels like it, right? — and the exxxtreme drag wrestlers of Choke Hole are fighting for their lives amid the apocalypse. Wild, queer wrestling promoter Choke Hole host their next Earthshattering shows at 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, and Saturday, March 1, at the Fred Hampton Free Store in the Lower 9th Ward with hosts Gorleenyah and Visqueen and wrestlers Jassy, Raid, Jocelyn Change, Laveau Contraire, Deep Sea Double and more. Tickets are $30 via linktr.ee/choke.hole.
Bacchus Bash
The Bacchus Bash features entertainment from Mannie Fresh, Kings of Neon, Paperchase and more. The party takes place inside and outside Generations Hall. Gates open at noon Sunday, March 2. VIP packages are available via eventbrite.com.
Donald Fest
Donald Lewis Jr. has reached a lot of New Orleanians as a performer, teacher, storyteller and DJ. Lewis is currently recovering from a series of strokes and health issues, and a host of local performers are participating in Donald Fest to raise funds for his care and support. The lineup includes Panorama Jazz Band, Aurora Nealand, Harry Mayronne, Tom McDermott, David Symons and more. At 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at AllWays Lounge. Suggested donation is $25. Visit donaldfest.com for information.
Judy Collins
Singer-songwriter Judy Collins has had a wide-ranging career, recording everything from folk and country to showtunes and the music of The Beatles, and she won a Grammy Award in 1969 for her recording of the song “Both Sides, Now.” At 85 years old, Collins is still touring and will play a concert covering her 50-plus year career at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $50 via jeffersonpac.com.
Greasing of the Poles
The poles beneath The Royal Sonesta’s balconies will be greased on Bourbon Street for Carnival. The event is a greasing competition, with this year’s contestants including musician HaSizzle, Fleurty Girl founder Lauren Haydel and others. Robin
Barnes serves as emcee and performs, along with HaSizzle and Leroy Jones. Participating Carnival groups include the 610 Stompers, The Merry Antoinettes, members of the krewe of N.O.M.T.O.C. and the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, and more. At 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 28. For information, visit neworleansroyal.sonesta.com.
The Convenience
New Orleans multi-instrumentalists
Nick Corson and Duncan Troast can often be seen with the synth-pop band Video Age, but the duo occasionally dips into post-punk and experimental rock in their project The Convenience. Corson and Troast are now building toward the release of “Like Cartoon Vampires,” their second full-length album as The Convenience, out in April. Hear some of the new music live at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, at Saturn Bar. SPLLIT and T.A.C.K. also play, and there’s a DJ set by Jake Orrall. Tickets are $12.47 via dice.fm.
Steve Kelly
The journey to vocalist-guitarist
Steve Kelly’s first solo full-length, “Here’s the Thing,” has taken some twists: A devastating car crash, the end of a relationship, wide-ranging travels, weathering the pandemic and more. Kelly reflects on the last decade of changes on the album. A longtime presence in New Orleans music, especially with the funk-soul band Gravy, Kelly turned to his friends on the album, which was co-produced by Galactic’s Robert Mercurio and features Stanton Moore, Isaac Eady, Gabrielle Cavassa and more. Kelly celebrates the release of the new album with a pre-parade block party at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, on the 4800 block of Magazine Street. Find more info on Instagram: @nolaskelly.
NOMA Piano Series
Ahead of the kickoff at Super Bowl LIX, Jon Batiste performed the National Anthem on a colorful piano that had been painted by his wife, artist and author Suleika Jaouad, and the instrument is now on display at the New Orleans Museum of Art. To celebrate Batiste and Jaouad’s work, NOMA and composer Mahmoud Chouki are hosting a series featuring local musicians playing the grand piano. Americana musician Lilli Lewis kicked things off Feb. 23, and the series continues with Shea Pierre at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 2, and Sam Kuslan at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 5. More performances are being planned. Find details at noma.org.
SUMMER
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E W O R L E ANS A RE A, VISIT CALENDAR.GAMBITWEEKLY.COM
To learn more about adding your event to the music calendar, please email listingsedit@gambitweekly.com
MONDAY 24
30/90 — Margie Perez, 6 pm; Piano Man G, 9 pm
ALLWAYS LOUNGE — Betsy Propane’s Smokeshow, 7 pm
APPLE BARREL Mark Appleford, 6 pm; Decaturadio, 10:30 pm
BACCHANAL Byron Asher, 6 pm
BANKS STREET BAR — Soul Food Song Share, 8 pm
BOURBON O BAR — Vince Henningfeld, 4 pm; Blue Horn Jazz, 8 pm
BUFFA’S David Doucet, 7 pm
FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Matinee All Star Band, 1 pm; Tin Men, 5 pm; Richard "Piano" Scott and Friends, 8 pm
HOLY DIVER DJ Reverend Robert Sinewave, 10 pm
MAPLE LEAF BAR — George Porter Jr. Trio with Chris Adkins, 7 pm;10 pm
JR. AND THE MUSICIANS he tours with tend to eat well when they’re out on the road, the bassist and New Orleans funk icon says with a laugh. Looking through the song titles on his recently released album “Porter’s Pocket,” a culinary theme emerges with tracks like “Tito’s Dumpling Machine,” “Sauce on the Side,” “Proteins & Carbohydrates” and “Buttermilk.”
“It’s not necessarily that it’s always good,” Porter adds. “So sometimes ‘sauce on the side’ might have been related to that sauce that was horrible.”
Porter, who is working on his 38th year of sobriety, had to field a couple of text messages from friends after they saw the track “Don Julio Rides Again.”
“I had to call them back and tell them how the song developed and where it came from,” Porter says chucking. “I couldn’t name any names, but they said ‘Oh, cool,” because they thought I had slipped off the wagon. I had to tell them, ‘Oh, no, no, no. You don’t have to worry about me.’ ”
Porter earlier this month released the album with his band Runnin’ Pardners, which includes keyboardist Michael Lemmler, guitarist Chris Adkins and drummer Terrence Houston.
The group can be seen most Mondays at the Maple Leaf when Porter isn’t on the road. They next play at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, and there’s an 8 p.m. set on March 3 ahead of the New Orleans Suspects’ Lundi Gras show.
The title of the eight-track instrumental album is a nod to where Porter can be found in the songs: in the pocket. The Meters co-founder is content to let Lemmler, Adkins and Houston — who shines on the record — take the forefront on the album of classic New Orleans funk, with some touches of jazz and reggae.
“I think the idea of these songs was to identify those individual players and not necessarily be
centered around George Porter Jr.,” Porter says. “I think I’m doing what I do best, which is hold down a deep pocket for the keys and the guitar to shine.”
“Porter’s Pocket” came out of a few days of recording sessions, when the band ended up with around 40 new tracks, Porter says. The idea was to earmark songs for a Runnin’ Pardners album, a set for his trio with Lemmler and Houston, and a project featuring Porter singing some of his favorite songs from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, including tunes by Earl King and Curtis Mayfield.
For the new Runnin’ Pardners album, though, Porter initially wanted to cut an instrumental jazz record. “Sometimes we do a lot of swing and bebop,” Porter says. “We can swing hard.”
But things didn’t quite work out that way in the studio. “It was on the table, but it kind of fell off because we tend to be more funky,” Porter says.
After Mardi Gras, Porter has a handful of dates along the East Coast before returning to New Orleans for a busy schedule during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. He tends to stay busy during the two weeks of the festival, racking up around 20 gigs both at Jazz Fest and around the city. This year, he says, he’ll play about 16 shows.
“I’m getting ready to pull the plug on that,” he says. “I’m 77 years old now. I need to think more about getting paid more and playing less.”
Find “Porter’s Pocket” at georgeporterjr.com.
George Porter Jr & the Runnin’ Pardners PROVIDED PHOTO BY STEVE RAPPORT
GOING OUT
Joining the circus
by Will Coviello
PROFESSIONAL CLOWN CHASE
CULP HAS PERFORMED IN NEW ORLEANS before, first with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, and more recently in Vaudeville-style circus and variety shows produced by LadyBEAST. He returns for a new edition of her show, Vaudeville Revival, on Friday, Feb. 28, at the Joy Theater.
After joining Ringling Bros. at 18 years old, Culp got a lot of attention in the ring. One of the big group gags he did featured a group of clowns whipping up shaving cream and getting into a battle royale, splashing a whole circus ring.
“We called it a soap gag,” Culp says. “We whipped up bars of shaving soap, like the old mug soap. We would make over 100 gallons of shaving cream a show that we would throw on each other and make a huge mess. I was one of the lucky three clowns that would get completely covered and have to redo my make-up between shows.”
But he loved it. Becoming a clown had been a lifelong dream.
“I always wanted to be a clown, since I was 3; since I was able to speak,” he says. “My favorite movie growing up was ‘The Greatest Show on Earth,’ which was old-time Hollywood, shot at Ringling Bros. In 1953, it won best picture. I was totally enamored with circus life and clowns. I taught myself how to juggle in the third grade.”
His parents probably hoped it was a dream that would fade. His father is an attorney, and his mother was the first member of her extended family to graduate college. But Culp was hooked.
“I taught myself how to do pratfalls and things like that and drove my parents nuts,” he says. “Much to their chagrin, I am still doing it. But now they’re proud of it.”
While he didn’t run away to join the circus, he joined a touring summer troupe, Circus Smirkus!, at 16. That lead directly to Ringling Bros., and he lived on the touring clown train, where clown accommodations were a 5.5 by 7 foot room with a sink, microwave, fridge and bed. The train pulled into a new city every week for as many as 13 shows in a week.
Since leaving Ringling Bros., he’s performed in 11 countries and recently off-Broadway in New York with Cirque Mechanics at the New Victory Theater.
Culp constantly masters new skills and works up new acts, based around anything from physical tricks to humor. At Vaudeville Revival, he’ll do a bit tuning cowbells and a trick manipulating stacks of wooden boxes.
Culp met LadyBEAST when they toured together for a summer with Venardos Circus.
She draws from her connections performing elsewhere to bring new performers to New Orleans shows. Also visiting for this show is Chris McDaniel, who does cowboy-style roping tricks with a lasso. LadyBEAST will do her bottle-walking act. There also are aerial acts, including hair hanging, circus arts, comedy, music and burlesque. Performers include Kitten N’ Lou, Angie Z, Aria Delanoche, Mz. Juno, Gigi Marx, Lauren Mearcat and more.
Culp is currently based in Las Vegas, but for the summer, he’s turning his attention to Ringling Bros. again. He’ll be performing for several months at Circus World in Baraboo, Wisconsin, where Ringling Bros. began.
While that show is more traditional, the circus is in a period of change. Many circuses have changed as they’ve stopped featuring elephants and large animals. At the same time, Cirque de Soleil has modernized the artform and brought circus back to large theaters.
“The great thing about circus right now is that it’s in a changing time,” Culp says. “Any time that circus has changed over the years, it’s gotten a new level of popularity.”
Vaudeville Revival is at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, at The Joy Theater. Tickets are
ticketmaster.com.
Kitten N Lou perform in Vaudeville Revival. PHOTO PROVIDED BY LADYBEAST
PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE
PD ALERT
By Frank A. Longo
ONLY2 UNITSLEFT
CRS, GRI, SFR,SRS CELL: (504) 913-2872
Michael.Zarou@Compass.com
“Horrors!”
Ten: Prefix
Gibe rudely
“CSI: Vegas” network
“The Wind in the Willows” author
Dishes of mixed greens
Fancy crowns
Most frigid
Toffee bar from Hershey
“The Planets” composer Gustav
Jokes
Make sense
Texas county whose seat is Odessa
French river
Seeing things
Easy win
Eats dinner
Encountered
Bruins’ Bobby
Tiny
Paranormal gift, in brief
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