This evening is the Big Easy Entertainment Awards, which are presented by Gambit Weekly at the Harrah’s Theater. They are the New Orleans version of the Grammy awards. Everyone who’s anyone on the music scene gets dressed up to the nines and waits patiently to find out which nominees are winners.
Everyone except the five members of the Radiators who know in advance that after 33 years of playing music together they are getting the ultimate prize.
The award has been handed out since 1989. Here is the list of past winners—Germaine Bazzle, Aaron Neville, Eddie Bo, Ellis Marsalis, Irma Thomas, Harold Battiste, Art Neville, Sam Butera, Wardell Quezergue, Gatemouth Brown, Boozoo Chavis, Pete Fountain, Blue Lu Barker, Al Hirt, Harold Dejean, the Humphrey Brothers, Danny Barker Dave Bartholomew, Dr. John, Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint and Cosimo Matassa—heady company indeed.
The Radiators just got back from their last performances in San Francisco. They played four nights in a row at the historic Great American Music Hall. They didn’t repeat a single song over eight sets of music.
The band is set to play numerous shows during the 10-day run of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival before closing the whole shebang on May 8 at the New Orleans Fairgrounds. They play their last three shows at Tipitina’s the second weekend in June.
