The conundrum of musical choices continues to grow this weekend as we inch towards the mother of all fall weekends—Halloween. Here are my picks for what to do day and night.
The Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival, which is sponsored by the good folks who bring you the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival as a way of giving back to the community, kicks off this evening in Lafayette Square at 5:30 PM with Henry Butler and Walter “Wolfman” Washington. Though neither of these musicians plays music that could be described literally as “the blues,” they are both masters of their respective hybrid styles. I can’t think of a better duo to kick off the festival.
If you want to attend a free screening of a documentary about the performance painter Frenchy at Tipitina’s, you will have to miss Wolfman. It starts at 7:30 PM. The night begins early and ends late at the uptown club since Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes open for the Honey Island Swamp Band after the film screening.
There are some intriguing options all day Saturday at the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival beginning at 12 noon with King James and the Special Men. I have not had a chance to hear this group yet, since they only seem to play one night a week down at BJs in the Bywater. But the group is stocked with talent from the thriving Frenchmen Street scene. The bassist Robert Snow, who plays upright in numerous neo-trad groups, plays electric in this outfit.
The Jazz and Heritage Foundation scored a coup by booking Mel Waiters. This unheralded southern soul artist had a hit with “Hit It Or Quit It” and is known as “the king of the party.” He sounds like a perfect fit with the New Orleans aesthetic.
Saturday night presents a wide range of musical options including two intimate sets by Deacon John at Chickie Wah Wah and 1970s legend Maria Muldaur at Snug Harbor, but I am recommending that you head to the Blue Nile to see Bru Bruser’s Dirty South Afro-Beat Arkestra, better known as Gov’t Majik (pictured below).
They are celebrating the birth of the one and only Nigerian superstar Fela. The group is inspired by the legend, but they write original music in his style and are guaranteed to create a massive dance party. Bruser’s thumping bass anchors the proceedings, but it’s the impressive horn section that blows this listener away.
The last two acts at the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival on Sunday are not-to-be-missed in my book. The Campbell Brothers play sacred steel music—inspired by religion, but guaranteed to sooth even an atheist’s soul. Betty LaVette is a soul music legend and will also raise the roof with her powerful vocals. Here she is doing a classic by The Who.
Saints fans fear not—Abita beer is sponsoring a sports bar at the festival and they will be showing the game on a big screen.
