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August 24-30 2026 Volume 47 Number 34

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CONTENTS

AUGUST 24 — AUGUST 30, 2026 VOLUME 47 || NUMBER 34

NEWS Opening Gambit ............... 9 In Memoriam...................12 Blake Pontchartrain..........13

FIND THE

MOST INTERESTING MAN.

BONO Best of New Orleans Ballot Categories .............21

WIN

PULLOUT Nearlyweds .......................

THE MOS ST T T INTERESTING

HAPP PY Y HOUR R..

P H O TO BY M I C H A E L D E M O C K E R / T H E T I M E S- P I C AY U N E

Building the Beat How New Orleans can grow the business behind the music

F E AT U R E S Arts & Entertainment ........ 7 Eat & Drink .................... 35 Music Listings ................. 42 Music ............................44 Going Out ...................... 45 Puzzles ......................... 47 C OV E R P H O TO S BY S O P H I A G E R M E R / T H E T I M E S- P I C AY U N E , K AT K I M B A L L AND MADDIE SPINNER C OV E R D E S I G N BY D O R A S I S O N

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EDITORIAL (504) 483-3105 // response@gambitweekly.com Editor | JOHN STANTON Arts & Entertainment Editor | WILL COVIELLO

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GAMBIT (ISSN 1089-3520) IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY CAPITAL CITY PRESS, LLC, 840 ST. CHARLES AVE., NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130. (504) 486-5900. WE CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OF UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS EVEN IF ACCOMPANIED BY A SASE. ALL MATERIAL PUBLISHED IN GAMBIT IS COPYRIGHTED: COPYRIGHT 2026 CAPITAL CITY PRESS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Problem solved

Gary Clark Jr.

Comedian Matthew Broussard returns to New Orleans. | by Will Coviello COMEDIAN MATTHEW BROUSSARD SPLITS CAJUN AND JEWISH HERITAGE ,

which he talks about in his 2024 special “Hyperbolic.” “Those two groups don’t get along very well,” he says. “Here’s how much Cajuns hate Jews. They designed all of their food so Jews can’t eat it. Every dish has either shellfish or pork. All of it: shrimp Creole, crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, boudin. You know how not kosher boudin is? It’s made of ground up pork wrapped in pages of the Old Testament. “It’s delicious.” Broussard has settled into New York and its comedy scene, though he still regularly visits family in Acadiana. This weekend, he returns to New Orleans for two nights of shows at Sports Drink. Though he’s never lived in Louisiana, he’s spent a lot of time in the state, including visiting relatives in the town of Broussard. He also filmed his Comedy Central half-hour special at the Civic Theatre. Broussard has spent a lot of time on the edge of the boudin circuit, including time in Corpus Christi and Houston, where he went to college. His father was a scientist, and Broussard describes his work as a sort of Cajun Odyssey. “He left Louisiana for Texas for grad school,” Broussard says. “Refinery stuff. A Cajun is destined to work in refineries and oil.” The exile helped his dad connect with his heritage. “He’s someone who always wanted to escape, and once he did he realized it was inseparable from who he is,” Broussard says. Though his father continued to speak to his brothers in French, it wasn’t easy being proud of Cajun culture, Matthew says. “The only Cajun presence we had onscreen was Bobby Boucher,” he says, referring to Adam Sandler’s character in “The Waterboy.” “That was deeply offensive to my father. He hated that guy.” He adds that there are no famously Cajun scientists, and his search for famous Cajuns only turned up Ellen DeGeneres. He notes in “Hyperbolic” that she had a whole TV show about coming out as gay but never mentions Acadiana roots. Broussard spends the first part of “Hyperbolic” talking about his own link to Cajun culture, but he and his father connected more over math. Broussard

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MATTHEW BROUSSARD

got a degree in applied mathematics at Rice University, and he still occasionally posts visualizations of math equations on his Instagram, in between other clips from his specials and work at New York comedy club stages. But math led to a job as a financial analyst in Houston a year out of college, and that helped propel his other career. Broussard sketches visual puns as puzzles, and he often doodled them on the back of work documents. The 15-year-old project has its own life as Monday Punday (though he also uses @mondaypunday as an Instagram handle for comedy). The game developed enough of a following that now puzzle fans occasionally recognize him onstage, previously unaware of his career in comedy. He’s about to relaunch Monday Punday in a video format, in which he challenges people in public spaces to solve the puzzles. Houston also was where Broussard got into comedy. He started performing at open mics and then won a comedy contest. Eventually, he went to New York for its comedy scene. Now in his sets, he mixes in jokes about being Cajun and Jewish with some nerdy humor about things like his problems with the French and Hebrew languages. He has a story about an Atlanta high school which uses Gen. Andrew Jackson as a mascot, and he gleefully notes, “It’s only racist if you’re well read.” In “Hyperbolic,” he delves into the accidental discoveries of

pharmaceutical companies and what drugs were being tested for when their actual benefits were revealed. Viagra is an obvious and funny inclusion, and Broussard notes that it’s not nerdy at all. “I feel like Dave Attell could have told that joke,” he says about the gruff New York comedian. Broussard says the comedy scene is a relatively small community, and he shares it with his wife, Laura Sogar. She’s a former competitive swimmer who won a silver medal representing the U.S. at the World Championships. In his special, Broussard jokes that she only started doing comedy after figuring that if he could do it, she could too. But she actually was doing improv comedy while focused on swimming, before meeting him, Broussard says. He’s currently working on a short comedy project that he’s going to release online in the fall. He’s calling it “Jokes That Don’t Work on the Road.” It focuses on matters particular to life in the Big Apple and New York attitudes. It includes observations about Hasidic Jews, Luigi Mangione, things that happen on the subway and driving in New York traffic. Broussard has gotten to know the town well. One of his hobbies is exploring via City Bike, New York’s equivalent of New Orleans’ Blue Bike program. He notes that its tracking feature shows that he’s hit 1,700 of the city’s 2,500 bike stations. And that has him thinking about hitting them all. “Mathematically, it’s an incredibly difficult problem to solve,” he says. “It’s called the Traveling Salesman problem: Plotting the minimum route between a bunch of different nodes. Whether it’s 20 or 100, it becomes mathematically impossible. Even with computers, the amount of time it takes to compute is incalculable.” But at Sports Drink, he’ll be talking about more relatable things, like marriage and his cat. Matthew Broussard performs at 7 & 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, and Saturday, Aug. 29, at Sports Drink. Tickets $28.99 via sportsdrink.org.

Guitar phenom Gary Clark Jr. combines rock, blues, R&B, soul and hip-hop and won a Best Contemporary Blues Album Grammy for his 2019 release “This Land.” On his most recent album, 2024’s “JPEG Raw,” he included collaborations with Stevie Wonder, George Clinton and more. He performs at 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, at Orpheum Theater. Tickets $64.95 and up via ticketmaster.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO BY FRANK MADDOCKS

Savor the City

The event celebrating local restaurants features food from local restaurants, live music and wellness info for hospitality workers. The entertainment lineup features Jamaican musicians Rik Jam and Dalwayne, local singer Casme, DJ Megatron and Professor Shorthair. Restaurants include Atchafalaya, Bao Mi, Baru, Compere Lapin, Here Today Rotisserie, Mister Mao, Nikkei Izakaya, Porgy’s Seafood Market and more. The VIP pre-party also has more food and music by Zac Maras. Proceeds go to participating restaurants. VIP admission is at 6 p.m. and general admission is 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, at the Broadside. Tickets are $109.49 to $163.24 via savorthecitynola.com.

Buddy Guy

It’s been nearly 60 years since Buddy Guy released his first solo album. But he shows no signs of slowing down, collecting a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album earlier this year, and appearing in “Sinners” last year. Though he’s a native of Lettsworth, Louisiana, he went to Chicago and forged his electric blues sound there. D.K. Harrell opens for him at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, at Saenger Theatre. Tickets $60.39 and up via saengernola.com. PAGE 41

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Benjamin Franklin High School, Haynes Academy and Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy placed in this year’s U.S. News and World Report’s annual list of the top 100 public high schools in the country. Ben Franklin ranked 53rd while Haynes Academy placed 66th and Patrick F. Taylor came in at 95. The annual list accounts for state test scores, the graduation rate, student participation in Advanced Placement classes and more.

Republicans on the Public Service Commission voted to allow Meta to keep details hidden about how it calculates the electricity needs and the job projections for its massive Hyperion data center in Richland Parish. The PSC’s administrative law judge had issued a subpoena for those records to better understand Entergy’s commitment to building new plants to power the data center — and then in a 3-1 vote along party lines, Republicans on the PSC overruled the judge’s order.

U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, a Republican candidate for senator, signed a nondisclosure agreement with Meta in order to gain access to details about its Hyperion data center project — and then bought stock in Meta and Nvidia a few months later, the Gulf States Newsroom reported. She did not disclose those trades for more than a year, violating the 45-day reporting deadline required by the federal STOCK Act.

THE MINIMUM MONTHLY SANITATION FEE LIKELY TO BE IMPOSED ON NEW ORLEANS RESIDENTS IN THE COMING MONTHS But that figure could be higher. The current $24 monthly fee has stayed flat since 2011, and city officials say that no longer covers the cost of trash pickup and recycling services. A new audit shows that in order to keep up with inflation, the sanitation fee would need to be raised to at least $34.62 monthly; Mayor Helena Moreno said her administration is considering raising the fees by $8-12.

Sen. Royce Duplessis PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

State Sen. Royce Duplessis on Republican-dominated legislature: ‘We’ve got to hold them accountable’ LOUISIANA STATE SEN. ROYCE DUPLESSIS of New Orleans says it’s

hard being a Democrat in the state legislature these days. With Republican supermajorities in both the House and the Senate, “every day you’re swimming upstream, and every day you’re fighting a battle on a vote that you’re likely not going to win,” he told Gambit Editor John Stanton on The Get Down. That was especially true last spring, when state lawmakers eliminated New Orleans judgeships, as well as the city’s clerk of criminal court seat before Calvin Duncan, a wrongly imprisoned man who became a lawyer, could take it. After a Supreme Court ruling, they erased a majority-Black congressional district, sending the state back to one of six despite Black people making up roughly a third of the state’s population. But Duplessis remained a strong voice in opposition to these moves, speaking out at every turn. “We’ve got to hold them accountable, make a record, point out to them what they’re doing wrong,” he said. “Even if you can’t change the vote right now, we’re making a record for down the road, and I want voters, the people in New Orleans, to see what we’re fighting for and the

people across the state to see what we’re fighting for, so it’s not in vain.” He said the bills targeting Duncan’s seat and several judgeships in New Orleans were particularly offensive because they were introduced by legislators outside the city, Republicans Sen. Jay Morris of West Monroe and Rep. Dixon McMakin of Baton Rouge, without consulting the New Orleans delegation. “The way that they went about it, it was so disrespectful,” he said. “These are people you have to work with. These are your colleagues, and you ask them a basic question. You say, ‘If I did that to you, if I introduced some legislation to screw your parish or screw your hometown and didn’t even talk to you about it, how would you feel about it?’ But they don’t even want you asking those questions.” “It’s really all about power and getting New Orleans in line and basically getting us to bend the knee,” he added. “And I’m not going to do that, nor will my colleagues.” In its Callais decision, the Supreme Court decimated the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race in voting. It’s opened the door for state legislatures to reduce all or some of their majority-Black districts. PAGE 10

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“We don’t really have any protections for that now that the Voting Rights Act has been gutted,” Duplessis said. “So it’s like being back pre-1965 sometimes in the legislature.”

Sen. Royce Duplessis, left, and Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, speaking to Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen. PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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Duplessis said New Orleans lawmakers should fight to let the city keep more of the money it makes instead of sending so much of it to the state. In her 2019 “fair share” deal, Mayor LaToya Cantrell got a hotel tax that was going to the state to go to the city. Duplessis wants to keep going, though he acknowledged it will be an uphill battle with tensions between city and state leaders. He also isn’t hopeful his Republican colleagues will stand up to Gov. Jeff Landry, given that they’re all up for reelection in the fall of 2027. “We should always be fighting for a larger share of the revenue that this city generates,” he said, adding, “If you’re saying the city of New Orleans isn’t that special, then let us keep more of our revenue.” Next year’s legislative session is a tax session, which means lawmakers will be limited in the number of bills they can bring that aren’t tax related. “I’m going to put that front and center when this tax session comes around,” Duplessis said. He also wants to focus on creating tax incentives for early childcare centers and lowering the cost of homeowners insurance, possibly also through tax incentives. “The city of New Orleans is still going to be a target. It always has

been, and we still will be,” he said. “But in the midst of that, we got real issues we need to be fighting for, which is trying to lower the cost of insurance, expanding high quality early childcare education, real pay raises for teachers and just improving quality of life across the state.”

New Orleans’ music industry

Duplessis acknowledged that despite the immense amount of musical talent in New Orleans, the city has struggled to build the kind of music industry infrastructure where people don’t feel they have to leave to make it big. He noted that major New Orleansborn labels No Limit Records and Cash Money Records moved outside the state at some point. Duplessis said the key is convincing executives to anchor their labels in the city, like with LaFace Records in Atlanta, “where people say this is where I’m going to record, and this is where I’m actually going to be able to see revenue from what I record right here in the city of New Orleans.” He also noted that improving basic quality of life in the city, such as housing and infrastructure, will help attract industry in general. “We have that wonderful ingredient that so many cities around the world just even if they tried to recreate it, they couldn’t do it,” he said.

2027 elections

Duplessis said his biggest goal for the 2027 elections is breaking the Republican supermajorities in the House and/or the Senate. For the governor’s race, he says Democrats have to find the right candidate. “Just giving (Landry) a pass, giving him a walk like he had last go-around is a no go,” he said. “And I believe that people didn’t show up last time are now seeing what happened and what we’re getting as a result in real time, so people will show up this time.” Duplessis said he’s encouraged by the Louisiana Democratic Party ramping up its fundraising, but that there’s a lot more work to do. He also said he’s been impressed by Democratic Senate candidate Jamie Davis, his campaign and the public’s reaction to him. “He’s speaking to the issues, working people, cost of living, making life easier for everybody,” he said. “I think just focusing on those issues as opposed to all the division ... people are just getting tired of the division on both sides. It’s just sickening.” Duplessis said he recognizes why some people feel frustrated by politics, but that it’s important to turn that into momentum rather than apathy. “If our voice didn’t matter, if our vote didn’t matter, they wouldn’t be working so hard to take it away,” he said. — Kaylee Poche

Council President JP Morrell says New Orleans is overpaying millions for trash pickup THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HAS BEEN PAYING AROUND $3-4 MILLION MORE

than it should be for trash pickup, according to City Council President JP Morrell. During an interview on Gambit’s The Get Down, Morrell told Editor John Stanton an audit found that the city was paying for pickup at “a lot of different addresses ... that were not our obligation.” Eliminating those addresses should save the city a few million dollars of the $62 million it’s currently spending a year for once-a-week trash and recycling pickup. Mayor Helena Moreno’s administration and the council have launched

match made in heaven

A worker picks up trash in New Orleans. PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

a major reform of the city’s waste hauling contracting. Morrell said the administration and council will address the topic at a future committee meeting. In March, Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack told WWL’s Newell Normand that the city had been paying to service 34,000 more units than it had paying customers. “We’re potentially paying for 164,000 service units, meaning a resident with a garbage can or two, and we only have payers for 130,000,” Waguespack said. The news comes as city officials eye raising the city’s sanitation fee, which has stayed at $24 a month since 2011. That fee only brings in $38 million a year, leaving city officials to take money out of the operating fund to pay the other $24 million. Morrell said that even when the city stops overpaying, it would probably cost residents $8 more a month to cover current services. Jefferson Parish residents pay $25.20 a month for twice-weekly garbage pickup under a five-year contract that started in 2024. They do not have curbside recycling like New Orleans does. Sanitation fees are one of several fee hikes the council will consider when shaping the 2027 budget. They are looking to bring in more money to help stabilize the city’s finances. — Kaylee Poche

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IN MEMORIAM

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Eva Evelyn Wilson, 1943-2026

EVA EVELYN WILSON PARADED HER WAY INTO THIS LIFE on January 2, 1943, in

the city she would forever call home, New Orleans, Louisiana, born to the late Celeste and Ralph Dykes. And perhaps there was no better place for Eva to be born, because New Orleans did not simply shape her; she became a part of its culture. Eva was educated in the New Orleans Public School System and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, but her education did not end in a classroom. Eva had a way of majoring in everything she touched and mastering whatever she put her hands to. She was a woman of many gifts, many roles, and many stories. Throughout her life, Eva worked as a manager at Greyhound, special education assistant, bartender, caregiver and community servant. She served as First Lady of Tambourine and Fan and Hunter’s Field. Eva Evelyn Wilson was New Orleans. She carried the spirit of the city everywhere she went. She was the woman you brought people to when you wanted them to understand what it meant to experience a real New Orleans welcome. If you wanted somebody to feel at home, you brought them by Mrs. Eva. She had a gift for making people feel like they belonged. Her home was a gathering place, her kitchen was a destination, and her presence was an experience. Eva could turn any party all the way up with her food, her drinks, her laughter, her dancing and her unmistakable personality. And that same Eva could also decide, without warning, that the party was over. That was Eva. Real. Unapologetic. Loving. Funny. Strong. Completely herself. She had a way of telling you exactly what you needed to hear, even when you weren’t ready to hear it. Sometimes her words came with a little seasoning, as she cursed you out. You might have been offended at first, but eventually, you would laugh about it because you knew that was simply Mrs. Eva being Mrs. Eva. She loved hard. She helped freely. She welcomed everybody. And once you became hers, you were hers.

Eva Evelyn Wilson PROVIDED PHOTO

On August 10, 2026, at approximately 4:40 p.m., Eva transitioned peacefully in the comfort of her own home, surrounded by family and close friends. Eva was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Ronald Wilson Sr.; her parents, Ralph and Celeste Dykes; her brothers, Ralph “Zip” Dykes and Kenneth Dykes; and her son, Ronell “Mr. Woo” Wilson. She leaves her four children to cherish her extraordinary legacy: Sean Dykes; Cheryl (Keith) Roberts; Shelia (Edwin) Ross; and her baby boy, Ronald (Tontalana) Wilson Jr.; along with her beloved niece, Celeste Charlot; her grandchildren Nikisha (Kevin) Grinstead (affectionately known as Lil Eva), Ke’Shawn Roberts, Ke’Shone Roberts, Ronald “Ronu” Wilson, Janei Dykes; Evelyn Ross, Ronell Wilson, Edwin (DeAsia) Ross II, Rondell Wilson; Skylah Wilson, and Seanna Dykes; her great-grandchildren Kevin Jr., Rhyland, Korbyn, Blasie’, Rhoss, Ronell Jr., Graham, Kei’Auni, Khysin, Rondell Jr., and the newest blessing, Rylan. She is also survived by her sisters, Leatha (the late Dan), Carol (the late Alton), Gail (Samuel); her brother, Charles (Adrian) and her brother-in-law, Gregory Gibson; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family, friends, and countless others whose lives were touched by her presence. She came. She loved. She served. She led. She made a way. She made a home. She made an impact. And when her parade on earth came to an end, she left the road paved for generations to follow. We celebrate the mother. The grandmother. The sister. The aunt. The friend. The community leader. The caregiver. The cook. The bartender. The storyteller. The dancer. The protector. The matriarch. Our Grand Marshal. Our Mrs. Eva. — Dr. Keshawn Roberts and Nikisha Grinstead

BL AKE PONTCHARTR AIN™

Hey Blake,

A social media post from the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization asked for volunteers to help clean and restore the José Martí statue on Norman C. Francis Parkway. What is its history and did he have any connection to New Orleans?

Dear reader,

JOSÉ MARTÍ, BORN IN HAVANA IN 1853, IS A REVERED LEADER OF CUBA’S STRUGGLE

for independence from Spain in the 19th century. At age 16, he was imprisoned and exiled to Spain after writing a letter exposing political imprisonment in Cuba. After earning a law degree, he began a literary career in Mexico City. According to The Times-Picayune, he traveled frequently to New Orleans and Florida to raise money to overthrow the Spanish government in Cuba. He lived in New York from 1881 until 1895, when he left to join the war for Cuban independence. He died in 1895 during one of the war’s first skirmishes. In the 1960s, there was an effort to honor Martí with a monument in New Orleans. “(Organizer) Dr. Adrian Mesa points out that several statues in New Orleans have been dedicated to South American heroes — Simon Bolivar,

The Jose Marti statue at Norman C. Francis Parkway and Banks Street. PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Benito Juarez, etc. — but none to the memory of José Martí, Cuban national hero,” reported the States-Item on Dec. 1, 1969. A festival was planned to raise money, and Cuban sculptor Mario Santi was leading the effort. It would be another two decades before a statue would be unveiled in the city, after local Cuban-Americans restarted plans to locate a statue near the Simon Bolivar monument on Basin Street. “The José Martí monument is a long-awaited dream for the Cuban community in New Orleans,” said José “Papa” Vazquez. It was another nine years before a monument was created, after locals raised $50,000 and commissioned Miami sculptor Tony Lopez to create an 8-foot-tall statue of the revolutionary hero. Located on the neutral ground at Banks Street and Norman C. Francis Parkway, the statue was dedicated on Jan. 28, 1996 — the anniversary of Marti’s birth.

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Mississippi River and now known as Riverwalk Outlets. The Rouse Co. (no relation to the Louisiana-owned supermarket chain) had since 1976 created entertainment-oriented shopping centers called “festival centers” in cities such as Boston, New York, Baltimore and St. Louis. Their New Orleans concept, built at a cost of over $60 million, stretched more than a half mile on land that was part of the 1984 World’s Fair. According to The Times-Picayune, more than 45,000 people visited on opening day, Aug. 28, 1986. They enjoyed a Mardi Gras-style parade and music from jazz bands, the Southern University marching band and Gospel Soul Children. “Five-foot balloons floated into the sky, 200 pigeons streaked over the plaza out across the river, confetti filled the air, the (Spanish) plaza fountain was turned on and a fire boat shot red, white and blue jets of water into the air,” reported the next day’s newspaper. Riverwalk opened with more than 136 shops, restaurants and vendors. More shops would come online, employing some 2,300 workers in all. In December 1996, the mall and nearby Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel sustained $19 million in damage when the M/V Bright Field freighter lost power and crashed into the complex, injuring more than 60 people. In 2014, the Howard Hughes Corp. spent more than $82 million to renovate and reopen the shopping development as the Outlet Collection at Riverwalk. In 2022, real estate investment firm RockStep Capital acquired the property, which sits on land leased from the Port of New Orleans.

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Building THE

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How New Orleans can grow the business behind the music B Y J O H N S TA N T O N THIS WEEK NEW ORLEANS HOSTS the annual Cutting Edge CE

Conference, which brings together members of the music industry, musicians, lawyers and others to learn about and discuss the latest changes in the business of making, producing and selling music. The conference comes as AI and streaming are causing upheavals in the industry. Meanwhile, we’ve seen at least a partial collapse of the global festival industrial complex which has long been a key financial lifeline for many artists. All of that can feel a bit removed from life in New Orleans. After all, we are a city filled with music. On any given day or night, there are dozens of shows across the city, ranging from jazz and blues to hip-hop, bounce and house. Whereas in other cities kids dream of being the star of their local sports team, in New Orleans more often than not they dream of leading their own band. And music is a huge part of our economy. Before New Orleans was known as a foodie destination, it was already drawing millions of visitors from around the globe to experience our jazz, soul and funk scenes firsthand. But the reality is, if you want to make it big, you’re probably going to end up leaving the city. We’ve seen major performers like Lil Wayne, Master P and Jon Batiste (though he’s back on the Northshore) decamp to Los Angeles, Miami and New York. Likewise, up-and-coming musicians like Greer Grimsely, $leazy EZ and Lucky Daye have also left town in search of more profitable pastures. Meanwhile, our local universities train some of the best producers and

engineers in the business — only to see them head to one of the big music industry cities after graduation. It’s not a new phenomenon, though the reasons have changed over the years. Like a lot of early jazz musicians, Louis Armstrong famously left New Orleans, first for Chicago before ultimately settling in New York City. But while those early migrations had more to do with racism, in today’s day and age, musicians end up leaving because New Orleans doesn’t have the industry infrastructure necessary to sustain the kind of growth and, well, success, a lot of folks dream of. It’s a hard, but very real, truth. Artists have to go to Nashville for publishing, Los Angeles for production, Atlanta to join a label or New York for representation. That, in turn, is a drain not only on the city’s talent pool but on money that could be staying here at home. Not being an industry town inevitably makes it that much harder for musicians who don’t leave to get the recognition and success they deserve. It also undoubtedly plays a part in keeping the wages working musicians in New Orleans make at their gigs here lower than in places like Austin or Nashville. That’s not to say we don’t have any of the infrastructure needed to make New Orleans a music industry town. We’ve got live music venues, studios, record labels, management companies, copyright attorneys ... all the various building blocks are there. We just haven’t ever built upon that solid foundation. The question is how do we do that in a way that supports our existing industry and artists, respects our cultural

People dance to the music of the TBC Brass Band PHOTO BY MICHAEL DEMOCKER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

traditions and ensures the wealth generated is equitably distributed so it isn’t just C-suite executives who end up reaping the benefits. So we asked a group of New Orleanians to give us their thoughts, ranging from industry attorneys and venue operators to working musicians and cultural advocates. Their answers point toward turning New Orleans into a music industry city without leaving musicians behind or abandoning what makes us the greatest music city on earth. If a dusty city like Austin can transform itself into a major hub not just for music but the industry behind it, surely the birthplace of jazz — and pretty much all modern music by extension — can figure it out as well.

Nate Cameron ........... 16 MACCNO Staff ............ 17 Howie Kaplan ............. 18 Reid Wick ..................... 29 Sean Mulligan ........... 31 Ashlye Keaton ........... 32 Pell ................................... 34

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Helping Hand New Orleans doesn’t need more talent. It needs more infrastructure. BY NATE CAMERON, CULTURAL ADVOCATE, ARTS ENABLER & ARTIST MANAGER GLBL WRMNG PEOPLE LOVE to call New Orleans a music town. And they’re right. On any given night, you can hear world-class musicians in clubs, churches and neighborhood bars. Nearly every week there’s second lines, and the city hosts more festivals than any place on earth. The music here isn’t manufactured; it’s inherited, lived and constantly evolving. It’s one of the few places where culture is still a daily practice instead of a marketing strategy. But being a music town isn’t the same thing as being a music industry town. A music town creates artists. A music industry town creates careers. For too long, New Orleans has exported its greatest musical asset: its people. Artists leave because they have to, not because they want to. Managers relocate. Producers split their time between cities. Engineers chase better opportunities. Labels, publishers, publicists, booking agencies, entertainment lawyers and investors are concentrated elsewhere. The result is that too much of the value created by New Orleans music gets captured outside of New Orleans. If we want musicians to stay — and maybe even bring some home — we have to stop thinking only about stages and start thinking about systems. First, we need to invest in the people behind the artist.

Fats Domino at Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studio FILE PHOTO / THE RICK COLEMAN COLLECTION

Every successful artist has an ecosystem around them: managers, tour managers, accountants, marketers, grant writers, sync agents, attorneys, photographers, videographers, producers and label staff. These aren’t side characters; they’re the infrastructure that turns great music into sustainable careers. New Orleans has plenty of creative talent. What we’re missing is enough pathways for those careers to exist here. Second, we need more access to capital. Every other industry understands investment. Music is often expected to survive on passion. Imagine if local banks, foundations, city government and private investors treated creative businesses like legitimate economic engines instead of side projects. Artists need affordable recording budgets, touring support, publishing advances, business loans and startup capital for independent labels and studios. If we say culture is our biggest export, we should finance it like one. Third, we have to build institutions that artists don’t outgrow. Too often, New Orleans celebrates emerging artists but struggles to support them once they’re ready to scale. We need artist incubators, music business accelerators, label services, publishing companies, creative coworking spaces, studios, soundstages and

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year-round professional development that connects local talent to national and international markets. The goal shouldn’t be helping artists leave successfully. It should be making it possible for them to stay successfully. We also need to think beyond tourism. For decades, our music economy has been built around entertaining visitors. Tourism matters, but musicians shouldn’t have to depend solely on festivals, conventions and weekend crowds to make a living. A real music industry generates income through publishing, licensing, film and television, digital distribution, merchandising, education, intellectual property ownership and global touring. Those revenue streams don’t disappear when festival season ends. Finally, we have to stop treating culture bearers like attractions and start treating them like entrepreneurs. The musicians who carry this city’s traditions are also small business owners. Their songs are intellectual property. Their bands are companies. Their catalogs are assets that deserve protection, investment and succession planning. When artists own more of what they create, wealth has a better chance of staying in the communities that created the culture in the first place.

LaReezy is part of a new generation of New Orleans musicians making their mark. PROVIDED PHOTO BY WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY

None of this means becoming Nashville. Or Atlanta. Or Los Angeles. New Orleans shouldn’t imitate anyone else. Our competitive advantage has never been volume; it’s authenticity. What we need is a music industry built in the image of New Orleans. One rooted in Black cultural traditions, neighborhood networks, community ownership and creative independence. An industry where the people who create the culture also benefit from the economy surrounding it. The talent is already here. The stories are already here. The audience is already here. What’s missing is the infrastructure that allows all of it to thrive without requiring people to leave home. For generations, New Orleans has given the world songs, sounds and movements that changed music forever. Maybe the next chapter isn’t about creating more artists. Maybe it’s about finally building an industry worthy of the artists we’ve always had.

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To build a stronger music industry, support community first BY THE MUSIC & CULTURE COALITION OF NEW ORLEANS STAFF

At MaCCNO, most of our team aren’t just advocates, we’re also working musicians. Here are a few ideas, directly from lived experience, about how New Orleans can better support musicians and build a stronger industry.

Danovan Calhoun-Bettis, MaCCNO Director of Engagement and Partnerships; drummer and band leader, Bettis + 3rd Degree People often say New Orleans is the music capital of the world. I believe that. But being the music capital of the world and being the best city in the world to make a living as a musician are two very different things. We need to stop measuring success only by the number of festivals, visitors or headlines we generate. A stronger music industry asks different questions. Can musicians afford to stay in New Orleans? Can young artists see a future here? Can experienced performers retire with dignity? Can bandleaders build businesses instead of constantly surviving one gig at a time? Can culture bearers continue passing knowledge to the next generation? Those are the measures of a healthy music economy. If New Orleans truly wants to become not just a music city, but a music industry city, we have to start investing in the people behind the music the same way we invest in the events that feature them. New Orleans has already given the world the soundtrack. Now it’s time

to build the infrastructure that supports the people who create it.

Hannah Kreiger-Benson,

MaCCNO Director of Programs and Research; piano, trumpet, vocals and musical director New Orleans is exceptional in that it has a dense, complex ecosystem of gigs, which supports a far higher number of musicians per capita than most towns. However, this also means that musicians tend to play a lot of low-paying gigs, and the systems and structures that can lead to real stability and success are underdeveloped. To change this, the city of New Orleans and its business leaders need to broaden their support. They should lean into precedent set by the $200 per musician per hour minimum wage the city council adopted two years ago for city-funded gigs and amplify ethical hiring practices. Whether it’s second lines for weddings, jazz combos for corporate events, music in a restaurant or a lineup for a big event, the city and business leaders need to push for everyone to pay performers at a rate which will set a high standard for everyone else in New Orleans — and other cities as well. Tourism leaders in particular need to make sure that language aimed at visitors doesn’t accidentally perpetuate outdated ideas like “musicians do it for fun,” and instead emphasizes the professionalism and seriousness of our local cultural practitioners.

Arsène DeLay, MaCCNO

Director of Makin’ Gardens and Groceries; singer/songwriter, actor, bandleader and Black Seminole Baby Doll PAY MUSICIANS THEIR MONEY DOWN. Low pay is the greatest challenge facing New Orleans musicians, affecting housing, healthcare, and quality of life. Median gig pay for musicians is between just $100 and $125 per gig, wages that have barely changed since the 1980s. As Hannah Kreiger-Benson stated in the Antigravity article “Culture is the New Cotton: The failed promises of the Musician’s Village” by Drew Hawkins, a musician paying $1,300 monthly for rent would need to play roughly 42 gigs a month to meet the federal Housing and Urban Development office’s affordability standard, rent and utilities adding up to no more than 30% of one’s income. If Louisiana can offer tax incentives to industries like data centers, it can invest in the music industry that defines its identity. The arts contribute approximately $7 billion to Louisiana’s economy, accounting for 2.5% of our gross state product, while receiving just .018% of state expenditures, according to Louisiana Partnership for the Arts. I remain baffled as to why the state would clearly state the role culture plays in its Economic Development Strategy, while not even putting a whole dollar on a development with a 49% return on investment.

Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars PHOTO BY MADDIE SPINNER / GAMBIT

Brennan Adams, 3, performs with the TBC Brass Band. PHOTO BY MICHAEL DEMOCKER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

The City should also create a cultural advisory board reflective of the community it serves, supported by the Office of Cultural Economy and the Office of Nighttime Economy. That board should among other things, create a comprehensive and actionable cultural master plan, including longterm investment in city owned venues and creative spaces as protection against hotel-ization and gentrification practices.

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Up from the street

Removing barriers that constrain live music and cultural businesses is also important. The next Frenchmen Street is likely developing in violation of a few ordinances or the zoning code. Removing barriers for creating music venues and spaces will go a long way toward helping support the local industry.

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Live and direct Public investment in independent venues is key to a robust music economy. BY HOWIE KAPLAN, OWNER OF THE HOWLIN’ WOLF AND FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE NEW ORLEANS OFFICE OF NIGHTTIME ECONOMY I’VE SPENT MOST OF MY ADULT LIFE LOOKING AT THE NEW ORLEANS MUSIC BUSINESS

from every side of the stage and then some. I’ve owned and operated music venues, managed and developed artists, including the Grammy award winning Rebirth Brass Band. I also lobbied Congress to pass the Save Our Stages Act, which brought $118 million to independent venues and promoters in New Orleans, and even helped to develop a city office devoted to assisting our crucial nighttime economy. Through all of those perspectives, I’ve reached a conclusion that should be obvious to New Orleans: We shouldn’t ask what the city can afford to spend on our culture bearers and venues, but rather what it can afford not to invest. We already know live music has economic value. What we haven’t done well enough is capture that value and keep it here. The National Independent Venue Association’s State of Live study puts hard numbers behind what people in this business have known for years. In 2024, independent venues, festivals and promoters, many in our city and state, generated $153.1 billion in economic output, contributed $86.2 billion directly to U.S. GDP (more than the gaming, airline and beer industries), supported 908,000 jobs and generated $19.31 billion in taxes. Independent stages also drove $10.62 billion in tourism spending — money spent on hotels, restaurants, shopping and transportation outside these venues. And there is an astonishing contradiction inside those numbers: 64% of those venues were not profitable. In fact, the venues generating much of that economic activity are often the ones least able to capture enough of it to remain healthy. This matters enormously to New Orleans. Think about the “Red Rocks Effect.” A music venue like

Little Freddie King playing at d.b.a. PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks is more than just a place where people buy a ticket, it can be the reason they make it a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They fly in, stay in a wonderful hotel, eat a world class dinner, grab a drink or two (or three), take Ubers, shop and stay more than just that night to soak up all that not only the venue but the community has to offer. New Orleans already has that effect built into its DNA. People come here to experience our culture. They come for Jazz Fest or Mardi Gras, and they go to see a band on Frenchman Street or at Tipitina’s or the Maple Leaf. And they come back again and again and again. Live music doesn’t just fill that room; it fills the city. This is why independent venues should be viewed as economic infrastructure, not simply businesses that happen to have bands on a stage. The good news is that New Orleans is beginning to understand this and act. Greater New Orleans, Inc. launched the New Orleans Music Economy initiative with a simple but important premise: New Orleans has historically produced enormous amounts of music and culture without capturing enough of the business, jobs and wealth created around it. The goal was to build the underlying business of music here, managers, publishers, agents, labels and support services and more so that value stays here. METRONOME takes that idea further by helping homegrown music industry entrepreneurs build ventures here. That’s exactly the direction we should be going. We don’t

need to bring it in from somewhere else if it’s already here. MIC’D UP does the same thing on the workforce side, creating pathways for people to gain real experience in the music business here instead of having to leave New Orleans to find it. That’s economic development. The answer isn’t simply another study telling us that music matters. We already know it does. The answer is investment. The Office of Nighttime Economy’s Strategic Plan has already identified a Music Industry Fund as a potential tool, funded in part through large scale events, with grants and incentives supporting independent venues, artists and workforce programs. Let’s build it. Let’s invest in sound, lighting, accessibility, safety and other capital improvements that help venues remain viable and profitable for the city and the state. We know people come to New Orleans for conventions, major events or even

The John ‘Papa’ Gros Band performs at the Maple Leaf Bar. PHOTO BY ENAN CHEDIAK / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

just because. Let’s give them more reasons to come and more reasons to stay longer. And let’s give independent venues, restaurants and hotels a seat at the table when tourism, economic development and nighttime economy policies are written. If we put a dollar into a venue, how many jobs does it support? How much money goes to artists? How many hotel rooms does it fill? How much does it generate for restaurants, pedicabs and other small businesses? How much tax revenue comes back? Those aren’t arts questions. They are economic development questions. New Orleans shouldn’t ask why it should invest in its music industry; it should ask why it doesn’t PAGE 29 invest more.

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REID WICK HAS BEEN A PART of the New Orleans music landscape from virtually every angle. He’s a musician who plays guitar with the Bucktown All-Stars. He’s run his own label, STR Digital Records, releasing albums by Joe Krown and Tom McDermott, and worked closely with Loyola University’s college of music and its music industries program. He is also the Recording Academy’s New Orleans-based director of regional advocacy and member engagement. As part of that job, Wick has worked with communities around the country to build up their music scenes and the industry behind them. Wick over the years has regularly advocated for Louisiana musicians and worked to grow the state’s music industry through his position with the Recording Academy and as a board member with organizations like the Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience and the relatively new Louisiana Music Partners. Gambit recently spoke with Wick about the New Orleans music industry and how the city can better connect all of the pieces that already exist.

Recognizing what we already have and what we need to grow

Wick argues New Orleans already has most of the pieces it needs to make it a music industry city. I do think that dispelling the long-term myth that there is no music industry in New Orleans is something that we always need to work toward, right? And I think it starts with us, us being the music community itself. At the same time, because music is ubiquitous here, it’s easy to take it for granted. So much of the music industry that propels either the live music or recorded music scene is invisible. The average person sees the five people on stage play, and in their minds, that’s the extent of the music industry, not realizing that there might be 5,000 people working that festival or the 100 people backstage doing this, that or the other. It’s the people who book it two months in advance, who do the promotions — all the little pieces of the puzzle that touch a live performance. And then (it’s) the same thing with recorded performance. I think the average person has no clue how a song gets from an idea in a person’s head to they write the song to it finally comes out through Spotify on their phone.

BY JAKE CLAPP & JOHN STANTON

Pellow Talk, Nesha and Alfred Banks performing at the French Quarter Festival. PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

All of those are jobs, and [we need] to recognize that that’s where the industry really lives and that’s where the investment opportunity is. That’s where growth and wealth generation can come from, and that’s also what helps reverse the brain-drain. [Loyola] graduates 300 kids a year that want to work in the music industry. Because we don’t invest in those jobs in the industry, we’re forcing them to go to Nashville, New York and L.A. And then they try to be small fish in a big pond, and they wind up having to stock groceries at Whole Foods or pouring coffee at Starbucks or something. I’d rather see those kids that graduate stay home, become entrepreneurs and help support the local music community. And we see examples of that. MidCitizen Entertainment has been one of the shining examples of these local folks who saw an opportunity here and ran with it and have taken their artists to the point where they’re winning Grammys and touring all over the world. So it’s doable. It just starts with recognizing where that industry is. Music is worth $1.4 billion to Louisiana’s (gross domestic product) and employs almost [31,000] people across the state. When you tell a politician that, they’re blown away because they think of the five people on stage. They don’t realize that so much of that industry exists across the state. We have record

labels. We have music. We have two vinyl pressing plants in the Greater New Orleans area. People don’t know that, and they’re not only pressing vinyl for the locals. They’re pressing vinyl for major labels and everybody else. We have management companies. We have world-class recording studios. We’re blessed to have like four major video game manufacturers right here, right? And today, music placement in video games is worth more than the music placement in TV and film. We have a lot of pieces of the puzzle. But there are several pieces we don’t have.

‘Mailbox money’

While there’s money to be had in record sales and touring, the real payday when it comes to the music business is in publishing. Wick points to John Boutte collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties and fees for “Treme Song” because he owned the rights. That kind of “mailbox money” can turn into generational wealth. We don’t have any really major music publishing presence here, and music publishing is where the money is. How do we better connect the dots with all the great songwriters that we do have here? How do we make [local songwriters] see themselves as a songwriting community like Nashville does? How do we better connect them with the publishing community

Ivan Neville performs with Jon Batiste during Jon Batiste’s Love Riot Festival. PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

that can actually put those songs into commerce? We’re working on a video game songwriting camp that’ll happen in October, and we have three large independent music publishers that are going to come in and partner with us from New York and Nashville. We’re going to try and start tackling this issue because we know that the potential for the wealth generation that comes from your music being used in these kind of non-traditional ways, is a way to put what we call “mailbox money” into people’s pockets ... you’re potentially generating income for the rest of your life, ongoing income, and for the life of your kids and maybe even into your grandkids’ lives. I describe New Orleans as suffering from what I call the “Friday night gig mentality.” Our musicians put all their effort into that gig on Friday night that are going to play on Frenchmen Street. Yeah, they’re going to have fun. They’re going to make 150 bucks. They’re going to sell a couple CDs and some T-shirts. But they’re only making money that night. If they really put their efforts into their craft of songwriting and then plug it into the systems that can generate income, now they’re making money for the rest of their lives. And that’s a mentality. That’s an entire paradigm PAGE 30 shift that needs to happen.

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Mailbox Money

The Recording Academy’s Reid Wick on supporting, and growing, New Orleans’ music industry

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On the need for a ‘music hub’ in New Orleans

According to Wick, one of the ways communities around the country, and the world, have helped nurture their music economies has been through the creation of so-called “music hubs,” centralized locations where musicians can work, meet and get access to the various parts of the industry they need to succeed. It’s a system that has been successfully adopted by communities with deep cultural histories as well as those that are decidedly less known for their musical output. There are several hubs that I can point to all over the country. There’s this place outside of Boston called the Norwood Space Center. In London, there’s this place called the Tile Yacht. In Huntsville, they have two or three places where it’s just a cluster of music companies, a studio, a publishing company, a record press, whatever it is, and it just becomes a place where people gather. I think that kind of thing is what would set New Orleans apart. It would give us a place where the music community feels like it has a home, a place where you have a management company, a law office, a studio, a couple of writing rooms. A space that has like WeWork, where we can hourly rent out a conference room or rent out a meeting space, a cafe or a coffee shop. That creates an opportunity where people can come on a regular basis ... and that way you foster this natural collision of creativity. Music Columbus [in Ohio], has a music industry incubator program, where they take a cohort each year, and similar to what Idea Village is doing, except not necessarily tech. Let’s say you want to be an artist manager, you want to be a booking agent, you want to be a whatever, and they help incubate these younger folks to really understand how the industry works, and then help them build their professional networks, so that once they graduate from that cohort, they’ve got the keys to success.

State-level support

Wick says that one way the state could help the music industry across Louisiana is to copy the Texas Music Office, a decades-old program that helps support and grow the music industry in communities across the state. The Texas Music Office is the longest-running and only standalone music office in the country. It’s been around for 35 years, and they have a really interesting program called Texas Music Friendly Cities Program.

They have 95 cities across Texas that belong to this program. And some of the cities are big, like Austin and Dallas, and some of them are little towns you’ve never heard of. They do things to help these cities learn from each other. What’s working in Dallas can also work in College Station, could work in whatever city, and it’s been interesting to watch over the last couple of years. Just within Texas, these guys learn from each other, like which best practices work here, or some small town comes up with something that’s really interesting. How can we emulate that in a bigger city? How does that program scale? The Texas Music Office also gets $10 million a year that the state carves out from liquor sales tax ... and it’s used for grants to do any number of things to support local music communities. It could be that this little row of music clubs where the street’s all torn up, we need to repair the sidewalk. It could be “Oh, this venue’s PA system blew up, and we need to invest in a new PA or a new air conditioning unit.” ... (It’s) pretty wide open in the way that they can apply for that money.

City-level support

Wick says that while the Office of Nighttime Economy and programs aimed at helping culture bearers are necessary, New Orleans government needs to treat the music industry like a distinct entity with its own needs and opportunities. Going back many years, even before Katrina, the city and the state had taken the first steps toward figuring out what to do to try and grow this industry. [Mayor Helena Moreno] asked me to serve on her transition committee, on the economic development committee, to talk about adding music to the mix of the economic development things. And that’s really been one of my main goals: to have music taken seriously as an industry that sits alongside of all the industry sectors in the city. Because it’s easy to say, “Oh, it’s because of tourism that we have music.” And my argument is the other way around. We wouldn’t have that tourism if we didn’t have that music, just like we wouldn’t have that tourism if we didn’t have the food. So I’m just trying to make sure that we have a seat at the table. And with that comes the recognition from the elected leaders, from the press, from everybody else that this is an industry worth investing in. What we don’t have is an economic development person whose job it is to actually grow business. Jeffrey Schwartz runs the (New Orleans) economic development office. I’d love to see a music industry development officer in that office.

John Boutté performs during Satchmo SummerFest PHOTO BY ENAN CHEDIAK / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

The high cost of not having a robust local music economy

Wick says for too long the city has been subject to “creative colonialization” by major labels and other outside interests, which treat New Orleans musicians like a resource to be harvested, leaving nothing behind. Typically, the artist that creates the music takes home 10 to 15 cents of every dollar. So management typically gets 20% off the top, and that’s the top of everything. That’s off the top of touring, publishing everything. Then your booking agent is going to take 15 to 20% off the top of every gig that they generate. Then you have legal fees, you got publicity, marketing, label costs, all these things. If none of those services that you need to be a professional in the industry are based in Louisiana or in New Orleans, then essentially, that income that you’re generating and then paying in fees or percentages to your team are all going to leave the state. And so the outflow of cash that artist generates — Michael Hecht at GNO, Inc., used to call it “creative colonialization.” These other companies come in, and they colonize our music and they extract the value, and that [money] leaves the state. That’s why MidCitizen is a great example. They started out just managing New Orleans area bands and then grew to where they were managing bands from New York and Houston and other places, where they were now taking that 20% [management fee] they were getting from those artists elsewhere and bringing that to our economy. And then

hiring more people locally to work for them. That’s what we want, right? That’s the scenario we’d love to see.

Evolving national landscape

Finally, Wick says now is the time for New Orleans and the state to invest in the music industry, pointing to cultural changes and economic pressures in major cities like New York that are pushing people out. No other city is ever going to be at a point where they compete with New York, L.A., Nashville, right? But what I’ll tell you is that those places are all changing. The cost of living in these places, the homogenization of those places ... Columbus and Cleveland, believe it or not, are booming [as a result]. Tulsa, Oklahoma, I mean, come on! Tulsa had been spending millions of dollars on attracting the film industry. That’s going away. So what are they doing? They’re now focusing on music ... these music offices that are happening in states and cities all over the country, they are way more focused on their local economies. They want to support their local music industry. They want to support their local community. If we really thought through this and really invested in more of the invisible part of the industry, we have an opportunity to really, really grow things here and make a better New Orleans, a better Louisiana. We’re never going to be Nashville, but those people that are leaving Nashville, those people that are leaving New York, we sure have an opportunity to lure some of them here.

New Orleans has the music talent. Now it needs the innovation. BY SEAN MULLIGAN, SENIOR PROGRAMS MANAGER AT THE IDEA VILLAGE NEW ORLEANS HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN as a place for music creation

and innovation. People travel not only from across the U.S., but from all over the world to experience live music in the Crescent City. But while we may have music constantly floating through the streets and access to world-class musicians across the city, the opportunities on the business side of the industry are lacking, causing artists to seek out other known music cities with these established capabilities. This could be changing soon. In 2025, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center listed New Orleans as one of the top 20 cities for entrepreneurial growth, 34% above the national average. With music and live events anchoring a large part of the city’s economy,

New Orleans and its bevy of founders have an opportunity to develop tools and systems that could scale to the rest of the world. One of the first signs of this was global ticketing platform AXS acquiring a majority stake in WRSTBND, a New Orleans-based startup that now powers event access and credentialing for major events like the NFL Draft and the US Open. WRSTBND Founder and CEO Conway Solomon, says, “Our background was in event production here in New Orleans, working alongside the teams behind ESSENCE Festival, Voodoo and Tales of the Cocktail. That gave us something most tech founders don’t get: real trust with the people we were building for before we ever wrote a line of code.” Building a successful startup requires constant communication with early customers to build a solution that truly

to 130 annual festivals and over 100 major conventions each year. That level of activity is an opportunity for a founder who can streamline processes toward efficiency. For founders, access to industry professionals who can vouch for the potential of a technology is an asset that money cannot buy. The Idea Village’s METRONOME program, going into its fourth cycle this fall, pairs entrepreneurs with mentors who can truly open doors. Those mentors are artist managers, festival organizers, nonprofit leaders and venue staff who can introduce founders to the customers they are building solutions for. In an industry that prioritizes relationships, this means that those doors open faster and trust can be established during the early stages of building innovative entertainment companies. The support systems are established for New Orleans to lead the next wave of innovation in music and entertainment. It won’t be long before we see even more companies making headlines and putting the city on the national stage as a leader in music industry innovation.

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solves their problems. New Orleans grants proximity to those customers with its concentrated population of music industry professionals. In 2024, the NOLA Music Census saw 26% of respondents identified as industry professionals, which was higher than the average across other cities, including Nashville and Austin. That report also showed half of New Orleans venues are independently owned as for-profit businesses and 28% are nonprofit organizations. For a startup founder, this means a more direct path to decision makers and access to people who can inform changes to products so that they can work across multiple venues and settings. Another asset is our packed calendar of events which make for invaluable piloting opportunities. When a solution in the music or events space is ready to be widely marketed or tested under pressure, New Orleans has Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, and most recently, the Super Bowl, to bring massive crowds and spending. In 2025, the Super Bowl host committee, sponsors and media spent over $180M on various events and projects. New Orleans is also home

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decades, there has been a lot of talk and numerous initiatives around developing a “real music industry” in this city. I myself am guilty of saying that there’s no real music business infrastructure in New Orleans. But, at some point, I had kind of an “aha moment” that changed my perspective. When I really think about what defines and constitutes a music industry, for me, it is obvious that New Orleans is actually a music industry city and has been for decades. I represent a bunch of musicians and music businesses based in New Orleans. Among my clients are songwriters, performers, producers, record labels, publishers, music venues, recording studios, engineers, arrangers, agencies, managers, tour operators, festivals, licensors, talent scouts, promoters, journalists, educators, attorneys and all kinds of other people that comprise a traditional music industry. Most of my clients operate small to midsized businesses, and they transact with other businesses on a local, national and even global scale. So, it would seem kind of absurd for me to suggest that New Orleans has no music industry. If you compare the music industry in New Orleans to that of Los Angeles or New York, the Crescent City has almost the same kind of constituency or industry makeup. However, there is at least one big difference: size. New Orleans is a much smaller market than those extraordinarily large cities. New Orleans doesn’t have music businesses of the same size and scope as Sony or Universal Records. However, we do have record labels, and they are engaged in the commercial exploitation of music, just as the major labels are in those larger markets.

Nashville is unique in that the “Performance Rights Organizations” (groups which act as intermediaries between musicians and the industry) are housed there. I think that’s one of the reasons there’s such a robust songwriting scene there. But, again, there is a lot of songwriting happening here, too. I think about all the early jazz that came out of this city, including (later) Louis Armstrong. I think about the collaborative relationship between Dave Bartholomew and Fats Domino. I think about Cosimo Matassa recording and Wardell Quezergue arranging “Tutti Frutti” with Little Richard at Cosimo’s studio in the Quarter. I still represent much of Allen Toussaint’s massive catalogue, most of which he recorded at Sea-Saint Recording Studio in Gentilly. Cash Money Records had a profound influence on hip-hop and has produced some of the biggest acts in relatively recent history. Anyone heard of Lil Wayne? There are scores of examples illustrating great musical content being written and recorded in New Orleans, continuing into the present day. So, when I hear people chatting about how New Orleans just “needs more IP” (intellectual property), I honestly don’t get it. Sure, many local artists have assigned their rights to entities

operating in larger markets, but that’s often because the giant corporations offer the most attractive deals — even if they lie, cheat and steal to get you to sign the dotted line. I can’t even begin to count the licensing deals I’ve put together between older New Orleans artists and big commercial entities, which signals that plenty of artists have held onto their intellectual property rights. Most of my clients are holding onto their rights these days, and there’s a lot of reasons for that, including the way the overall music industry has evolved. If what it means to be a “real music industry” is to attract large, corporate interests like Sony and Universal, then I respectfully suggest that’s a nonstarter. We already know the many reasons that New Orleans is dysfunctional. Even with tax incentives, it’s challenging to attract any new business to this city. New Orleans is vulnerable to hurricanes. The cost of insurance has skyrocketed. The infrastructure is completely busted, from drainage to potholes to traffic lights. It’s impossible to drive anywhere without running into street closures due to construction — often without any workers present. I think you have to really love New Orleans to want put up with what it takes to live in New Orleans. If our

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Kermit Ruffins PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

local government could effectively tackle our crumbling infrastructure, I think New Orleans would have a shot at attracting more businesses, which would grow our declining population and generate greater revenue for city projects with a larger tax base. The city can’t do anything to prevent hurricanes, but it can repair New Orleans and make it a sustainable place to reside and even thrive. I fell in love with New Orleans on my first day here, and I have no regrets about choosing it as my home (though I do reserve the right to air my frustrations). Most of my clients are here because they want to be here, not because they have to be here, and certainly not because they can’t make it elsewhere. New Orleans has its own special groove, that secret sauce, that kind of mysticism, that “thing” that you can’t really define, the thing that allures and captivates those who are lucky enough to sense it. It’s the kind of thing that turns sweaty into sultry, and dirty into funky, and grungy into soulful. Yeah, it can be a sweaty, dirty and grungy place. But it’s that magic that makes it so truly wonderful and regarded across the globe as an international treasure. Recently, the World Monuments Fund designated the entire city of New Orleans as part of its Irreplaceable America program. It is the only city in the entire world to achieve this monumental status, and in large part because of its music scene. Our music industry has been shaped by the very people who have and continue to be part of the cumulative creative process that generates New Orleans music, from the horn player to the festival producer to the audio engineer. I think our music

industry works more like improvisational jazz rather than pop or country music. It’s less methodological and more organic in the way it plays out. And that means we don’t look, sound, feel or work like Nashville or Austin or Atlanta — and certainly not like New York and Los Angeles. But our music industry does in fact exist, and it’s robust. There is arguably more musical talent in New Orleans per capita than any other city in the world. We have a ton of music venues. We have more festivals than anywhere, and they all incorporate musical performances. Many of our celebrated restaurants showcase live music on a regular basis. OffBeat Magazine and Gambit publish weekly content dedicated to promoting local music. We have the world’s greatest local radio station, WWOZ-FM, the “Guardians of the Groove.” It is hard to walk down a street for more than a couple of blocks without hearing live music coming from somewhere. Indeed, New Orleans has a lot of musical assets worth honoring, nurturing and protecting. The million dollar question is not how we develop a music industry, but how we maximize opportunities to invest, leverage and grow what we have here already. We are at a critical point where we need to actively address our declining population and focus on developing strategies and plans for retaining our residents, including those who work in the local music industry. I probably say this too often, but cultural erosion is an existential threat to New Orleans’ identity, authenticity and legacy. Our local music industry can be propelled to grow and improve our city in a way that is only in New Orleans. I don’t want to live in Nashville.

VOTE

Best Locally Owned Jewelry Store

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California Dreaming

BY JAKE CLAPP

Pell discusses his time in L.A. and how New Orleans can help young musicians IN 2015, NEW ORLEANS -born rapper

Pell decided to make the move to Los Angeles. He was fresh off the release of his album, “Floating While Dreaming,” which had landed him on tour with G-Eazy, Kindness and Kehlani, and was already working with an agent, lawyer and others who were living in L.A. So after signing a publishing deal with Pulse Recording, Pell landed on the West Coast. A few years later, amid the Covid pandemic, Pell decided to return to his hometown, intending to stay for a few months, he says, to build the glbl wrmng project — a collective of New Orleans rappers, producers and music industry professionals — and release the album “glbl wrmng, Vol. 1.” But he ultimately decided to make the move to New Orleans permanent, and he has since been invested in building up the music community in the city. Gambit spoke with the busy rapper and DJ about what he learned in L.A. and what New Orleans can do better to grow its music industry. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

GAMBIT: What did you feel like the benefits were to being in L.A.? PELL: The relationships. I think talent is one thing, and especially me being like 21 or 22 at the time, I think my brain was hyper-fixated on recording over everything. I want to be the best. I want to make [sure] that I’m with the best producers, with best engineers, etc. I think that was my main focus: making the best music and telling my story the best that I could. But also, everybody in different areas of the industry go to L.A. to be the best they can be, and it felt like steel sharpens steel. So everybody was bouncing ideas off of one another. We were collaborating, and I felt like it was more of a full-time industry where it was supported through the money that they already had in their ecosystem, as well as just the jobs that were available. I could see that there are so many different parts of the food chain present, and that really inspired me, and that was my goal being there: to touch as much as I could while I was there … One of the pluses of L.A., and I wish we had (more) in New Orleans is, artists when they go outside, when we go to

Pell PHOTO BY MADDIE SPINNER / GAMBIT

a party, were meeting not just other artists. [New Orleans is] not at a lack of artists but I don’t see the managers or the booking agents when I go outside, especially the young professionals. I think the problem with that is it creates an environment where we feel like we have to network up, like we have to talk to the people who are already established or are at a different level than where we are currently as an up-and-coming artist. That creates a weird dynamic. You’re networking up instead of networking across, and I think networking across is so important to an artist that’s trying to develop their identity and their business. I would love for those people to let themselves be known. I know they exist, but I feel like, one there could be more (young professionals), and two they could be more engaged. That knowledge, in and of itself, that there are people out there, will create an environment where we feel like it’s worth it for me to go out to this show. I can meet somebody who can see what I’m doing, and we can build together. Were there any cons to being in L.A.? PELL: You think about L.A. or you think about a hub like that, there may be so many different types of voices,

that people think they have to appeal to everyone in order to be heard — versus honing in on what makes them special. I’ve seen people change in ways going through the L.A. experience to kind of meld in with everybody else that they’re around instead of what they came there with. You can lose yourself. Another con, I think there’s a lot of paths that have already been tread in the music industry in L.A., and it can feel like you want to go a conventional route and if things don’t happen for you in that conventional route, you may get discouraged. Where I think art is something that you sometimes can’t see the fruits of your labor until way later. There are so many ways to consider success, and I feel like the uniformity of it all can make it very tough for artists that aren’t on that conventional track. You moved back to New Orleans in 2021, originally thinking it’d be just a few months. What’s kept you for five years ? PELL: What has kept me here is the spirit, the spirit of the city and the fact that this is home over everything else. I think when it came time to leave, I didn’t want to. And I knew that it was because I had forged new relationships here, but also I hadn’t felt as good about what I had done the previous five years

as it did coming home to experience that with people that I grew up with, with people that I first made music with, with people that I look up to. My first year back was so inspiring, just to see not only the response from “glbl wrmng, Vol. 1” but also the energy of people whose voices aren’t often heard. Everybody feels like they have to leave — and I think at a certain point everybody should leave, in order to experience what it’s like to come back home. I’ve been blessed in seeing it from both sides and being able to experience how much love is in this city. What could New Orleans do better to help young musicians who choose to stay here and make a career ? PELL: I think investing in helping build management teams and booking agencies. We have a couple of people that help with booking here, and we have a few management companies that are doing really good work with more established artists. But I think there’s an undercurrent of these great, young creatives that haven’t been paired with people who can help bring them to the next level. It takes a village and it takes a team. It’s a financial investment. It’s not putting us on the backburner when it comes to New Orleans culture.

Diva turn

FORK + CENTER

Tacos Diva is a new taqueria in Marigny | by Beth D’Addono

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

DEFINE DIVA AS A SINGLE HONDURAN MOM working day and night to make

a better life for her two sons, and you’ve met Iris Cardona, a.k.a. the Tacos Diva. Cardona, 40, moved to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and started her Tacos Diva food truck, cooking homemade Mexican, Honduran and Salvadoran food. Now, she has her own brick-andmortar restaurant. Sitting in the cobalt blue building at 2633 St. Claude Ave., it’s a great new spot for classic tacos, ceviche, margaritas and more. Cardona opened Tacos Diva Bar & Grill on July 1, and for now, the interior of the 60-seat restaurant reflects the previous restaurant, The 337, and its chef’s focus on central Louisiana food and heritage. There’s still a large bayou mural from artist Scott Guion on one wall, but now with a Tacos Diva sign in the middle of the scene, getting the side eye from a white egret. “When we have the budget, we will make a few changes,” says Cardona’s son Elvin Garza, 18, a recent graduate of Chalmette High School, near where the family lives. Cardona is a self-made woman. She taught herself how to cook and worked long hours to provide for her sons, Elvin and 16-year-old Marvin. Now that Elvin is out of school, he’s taking a bigger role in the business. “It’s always just me, my mom and my brother,” he says. “We always helped out growing up. But now, I can do more.” Cardona’s menu delivers all the greatest hits, with fresh ingredients, house-made flour tortillas and sauces and generous portions. Tacos are priced at $3.50-$4 each. The al pastor is brilliant, filled with pineapple and marinated pork, sprinkled with onion and cilantro and served with a grilled jalapeno and zippy salsa on the side. She does the same recipe with grilled shrimp. Flautas are filled with fried chicken, vegetables, avocado and sour cream,

Book store fare A NICE DRINK, A GOOD MEAL AND A GREAT READ might be some of the best

uses of time. Combining them has a multiplier effect I find rejuvenating. Around New Orleans, there are now a number of places combining books with food and drink for just such a spell, making a visit feel like more than a meal and more than a shopping errand. In the rapacious online marketplace for our attention span, logging out with a book and a bite — and maybe a glass — can feel almost radical, like turning the tables by turning a page. Here are a few of the local spots offering that experience. People were predicting a digital doom for bookshops back when Octavia Books opened on Octavia Street in 2000. Instead, there’s been a revival, and this shop in particular has been thriving. Elvin Garza and Iris Cardona serve tacos and more at Tacos Diva. PHOTO BY MADDIE SPINNER / GAMBIT

and there also are a few Honduran dishes and pupusas. Hot entrees include an outstanding carne asada plate, with thin steak, grilled crispy on the edges, and served with rice and creamy refried beans, salad, guacamole and tortillas. It’s a bargain at $16. There also is a pounded and grilled chicken breast a la plancha served with the same sides. The cold seafood also is terrific. There is a shrimp ceviche made with mango and serrano peppers and aquachile made with shrimp and fish, bright with lime and bits of cucumber and red onion. Vegetarians have options, from grilled vegetable quesadillas and burritos to chile relleno, which can be made vegan without the cheese. Once the weather cools off, this will be the spot for fragrant bowls of traditional Mexican menudo and pozole soups.

“I feel very grateful to have this business, very grateful to my mom,” Elvin says. “She teaches me how to make money and work hard. It’s not an easy way to make a living.” His mom used to work late hours when the truck was parked by The Circle Food Market, but she wanted to move to a more secure situation. Now Elvin drives the truck to a spot on St. Claude, by some bars, and with a team member runs the truck’s kitchen until 11 p.m. during the week, and later on weekends. This lets Cardona focus on her restaurant, which is open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day except Monday. The margaritas at Tacos Diva are as good as Cardona’s home cooking. She knows her way around a bar for good reason. Cardona worked a second job for five years as a bartender at Casa Borrega. “I was so tired all the time, but when my customers were always so happy to see me and loved my drinks, it was all worth it,” she says. “Hospitality keeps me going.”

? WHAT

WHERE

WHEN

HOW

CHECK IT OUT

Tacos Diva Bar & Grill

2633 St. Claude Ave., (504) 238-3342; tacosdivabargrill.com

Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun.

Dine-in

A new spot for tacos, Mexican classics and Central American fare

Cafe Malou is a breakfast and lunch spot next to Octavia Books. PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

There have been different restaurants next door through the years, including a location of Toast, but a recent renovation and expansion of Octavia Books has created a delightful new interplay with the latest to open in that space, Café Malou at 5433 Laurel St. A bank of pivot doors that double as bookshelves open on their hinges to connect directly to the restaurant. Of course, the shelves are stocked with cookbooks. Someone who arrives just for brunch will inevitably discover the colorful shop just through the doors, and someone wandering the retail aisles might find a favorite new brunch spot, or maybe just a brown butter chocolate chip cookie to go. Café Malou serves breakfast and lunch with a warm sense of style and a menu anyone would want to find PAGE 36

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FORK & CENTER

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Relax with selections of

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around the corner, and might cross neighborhoods to try. A top dish is baked grits a la carbonara, which revamps the hearty Italian classic for a brunch role, with baked eggs and thick-cut smoky bacon pieces between pecorino grits. Breads from the newly revived local Bellegarde Bakery brand are excellent across the board, whether as the foundation of a mushroom melt sandwich or a hunk of country loaf to soak up the buttery juices of the roasted shrimp Malou. There’s often a wait for a table at Café Malou, which naturally means time to browse for the next book. The Garden District Book Shop occupies just one part of The Rink (at 2727 Prytania St.), the 19th-century roller skating rink long ago converted to an arcade of shops and offices. There’s an open flow through the common space between them, all under high rafters and skylights, connecting both a standalone cafe and a bar run by the same bookshop proprietors. The Chicory House is a counter-service cafe with cozy window seats and more tables on an indoor terrace leading up to the bookshop. The daytime menu runs through biscuit sandwiches and breakfast bowls, fancy grilled cheese, soups and salads. Bar Epilogue is a newer addition, built within the bookshop, and it feels like a library lounge with a full cocktail list and its own short menu of snacks and sandwiches. People browse the shelves one minute, and find themselves at the bar the next, ordering a drink, a bowl of marinated feta or the uncommonly delicious lemon sumac popcorn. The Rink is where some Garden District walking tours gather, and tourists are often delighted to discover a bar within the bookstore. Locals make it a stop en route to reservations at Commander’s Palace a block away, or they loop back in after brunch to shop or grab a drink. Regulars greet the free-roaming shop dog, Pete, while the bartender pours another glass of bubbly. The Garden District Book Shop has a special connection to the legacy of the late novelist Anne Rice, who had a home nearby. The shop still has a collection of autographed books, and

NOLA Art Bar is a bar and lounge related to the Baldwin & Co. bookstore. PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

there’s a tribute cocktail on the Bar Epilogue list called the Vampire’s Kiss, a darkly seductive blend of bourbon, fig liqueur and cherry. The house wine is cheap and cheerful at $6 a glass and $25 a bottle (essentially all-day happy hour pricing) and there’s higher-shelf wine too. NOLA Art Bar (2128 St. Claude Ave.) has a collection of art based around Black artists from New Orleans. But after a renovation and relaunch this year, the Faubourg Marigny nightspot is also dedicated to the pleasure of settling in with a book and cocktail together. Proprietor D.J. Johnson calls NOLA Art Bar a “reading lounge.” He also created Baldwin & Co. (1030 Elysian Fields Ave.), the adjacent bookstore and coffee shop. With its “nerd chic” style and frequent events centered on Black authors and other literary stars, it has become a hub for creatives. Johnson heard from people who wanted a place to keep conversations going after events at the bookshop. That got him thinking of the need for social spaces devoted to quieter pursuits than clubs or pubs. Think of the new NOLA Art Bar, then, as Baldwin & Co. after dark. Sofas and easy chairs plot out spaces for small groups to gather. Glowing shelves filled with books line the walls, with art displayed between them. The bar is focused on wine and cocktails, with a selection of nonalcoholic drinks as well, including tea and a menu of snacks, like charcuterie and cheese boards. Whatever patrons have in hand, though, many also have books, sometimes stacks of them. — Ian McNulty / The Times-Picayune

3 COURSE INTERVIEW

Deanna Holdcraft & Paul DeSana

savory options lately. Today we had spinach-feta rolls and tomato pesto. Some days we have bacon and cheddar with a hot sauce glaze.

by Will Coviello DEANNA HOLDCRAFT AND PAUL DESANA MET IN ARKANSAS, where they both

How did you decide to open your coffee shop?

PAUL DESANA: We were looking to do something different. I have a background in technology and always worked for private companies. But my passion used to be beer, and then it transitioned to coffee. I was brewing mead a little bit. But as I got older, I started geeking out about coffee. Deanna has a background in archeology and historic preservation. She worked for the state of Arkansas for 12 years. She also has a passion for baking and cooking. We put our heads together and talked about what a business would look like. This is a new venture. We have a lot a different skillsets combined between us. We thought if we could put them together, we’d have a small business. We did lots of test recipes on coffee and teas, but it didn’t really kick off until we found a space we were happy with and filled out the whole creative vision. Deanna is responsible for a lot of that. We painted it and Deanna found the decorations. We opened with having a space for real practitioners and locals in mind. We don’t want to be kitschy, but be authentic and support the community. All of our tarot readers that read in house, we don’t charge them anything. We give them space for them to practice. We learn new stuff every day. We’re open to new knowledge and sharing every day. DEANNA HOLDCRAFT: These are events hosted by our customers. We just provide a space for people to come together and have fun.

who to see

What kind of coffee do you serve?

Coffee shop owners

had professional careers. In the last couple of years, they moved to New Orleans and opened their own coffee and tea shop, Witches Brew Coffee Co. in Mid-City. At the shop, Holdcraft makes custom pies, cakes, pastries, scones and breads, and they offer an array of coffee drinks, teas, matcha and more. It’s also a home to tarot card readings and other practitioners and cultural events. For more about the shop, visit witchesbrew.co.

where to go

Deanna Holdcraft and Paul DeSana PHOTO PROVIDED BY WITCHES BREW

DESANA: We have a pretty big selection of esoteric materials — books, tarot cards and that sort of thing for practitioners. We host a lot of events during the week. We have a magic skill share where a practitioner comes in and teaches different things. We have a play read every Wednesday. Tuesdays we have Akashic book club. We both foster cats. That’s where the cat in our logo comes from. We wanted to give back. So we partnered with Tomato Club Rescue and 0.5% of our coffee sales go to them as a donation.

What sorts of things do you make in house? HOLDCRAFT: We have grown very quickly in the last few months. In the beginning, I was doing all the baking. I have never worked in food service before. I just always loved to bake and cook at home. I started baking with my mom and I have always been in the kitchen. Most of the recipes I use I have collected over the years for my own use, and we’re adapting them for the coffee shop. I really like making pies and cakes. I love pastry. DESANA: I hear a lot of feedback on our scones. Tarts are super popular. HOLDCRAFT: We don’t have a set menu. We’re always experimenting in the kitchen. We usually have several varieties of scone each day. We do lavender, pumpkin, matcha, almond, blueberry, cranberry-orange and other ones. We make a little bit of everything. We have quick breads with bananas or zucchini. We’ve been doing more

DESANA: How I found the beans we use was just trying all of the coffee shops around New Orleans. I came across Mammoth because I fell in love with their beans and met with their owner. Right now, we do all of our beans through Mammoth, but there are plans to do some roasting in house. We use their traditional espresso blend, the Double Trouble. What is more unique is we have draft nitro matcha and draft nitro cold brew. Our cold brew program has gotten better and better as we have changed our techniques to get different extraction levels. Most cafes traditionally do the Toddy method, and we use the HIVE system. It creates more expresso-like cold brew extraction, and then the nitro brings it to the next level. We have also had good feedback with the matcha. It allows us to work with a smaller staff and serve matcha quickly. We don’t think it takes anything away from the presentation. Traditional matcha whisking is a little overdone. Most people who drink matcha have seen that done a million times. They don’t need to see you do it.

How about the tea drinks? DESANA: For loose leaf tea we’re really proud to partner with Wild Coast Brew out of Oregon. They’re a husband- and wife-owned farm. They source all their ingredients locally or forage and grow. We were kind of surprised by the New Orleans response to loose leaf tea. People have really embraced the tea program. We are the only shop that offers yaupon, which is America’s only native caffeinated plant. It’s a tea. It has a rich history with Indigenous people and we source it through CatSpring Yaupon. HOLDCRAFT: It’s a small, Indigenous women-owned company out of Texas. We get the tea leaves from them. DESANA: We have a lot of seasonal drinks. Most of our seasonal drinks have cold foam. We’re trying to be unique about it and have more unconventional flavors, like our matcha in the Rose Garden Ritual. For all the signature and seasonal drinks, we make all the syrups in house.

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O U T T O E AT

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. $ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11-$20 $$$ — $20-up 3rd Block Depot — 316 Chartres St., (504) 552-4095; 3rdblockdepot.com — The menu ranges from seafood and sausage gumbo and Gulf shrimp ceviche to smashburgers and steaks. Brunch brings crab cake Benedict with hollandaise on an English muffin. Reservations available. Breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Acropolis Cuisine — 3841 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 888-9046; acropoliscuisine.com — The menu of classic Greek dishes includes souvlaki, gyros and pita wraps, spanakopita, hummus and Greek salads. Moussaka has layers of eggplant, potatoes, zucchini, ground beef and bechamel. No reservations. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream. com — This Mid-City sweet shop serves its own gelato in flavors like praline, salted caramel and tiramisu, as well as Italian ices in flavors like lemon, strawberry and mango. There also are cannolis, biscotti, fig cookies, tiramisu, macaroons and coffee drinks. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Annunciation — 1016 Annunciation St., (504) 568-0245; annunciationrestaurant.com — Gulf fish Capri includes artichokes, crawfish, tomatoes and capers. There also are oysters, seafood pasta dishes, salads, steaks, lamb chops and desserts like bananas Foster bread pudding and lemon icebox tart. Reservations recommended. Dinner Thu.-Mon. $$$ Audubon Clubhouse — 6500 Magazine St., (504) 558-1200; audubonclubhouse.com — The menu by Dickie Brennan and Co. includes crabmeat cheesecake, shrimp remoulade, fried oysters, burgers, sandwiches and more. Shrimp Tchefuncte combines house-made andouille, mushrooms, popcorn rice and Creole meuniere sauce. Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended. Brunch, lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Banana Blossom — 500 9th St., Gretna, (504) 500-0997; 504bananablossom. com — There are traditional Thai dishes like pad thai, green curry, pineapple fried rice, drunken noodles and coconut shrimp as well as original creations. Beef rib Chiang Mai features a slow-braised beef rib with yellow curry, egg noodles, pickled mustard greens, cilantro and chili oil. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Budsi’s Authentic Thai — 1760 N. Rampart St., (504) 381-4636; budsisthai.com — Chef Budsaba Mason prepares dishes from her native Issan region of Thailand and other popular Thai dishes like papaya salad, grilled pork shoulder, larb, khao soi, pad thai and red curry. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop — 2309 N. Causeway Blvd., Metairie, (504) 835-2022; gumbostop. com — The Gumbo Stop has several gumbo varieties including chicken and sausage gumbo and seafood gumbo with shrimp, crab and crawfish. The menu also has boudin

balls, Bayou shrimp scampi, crawfish etouffee and fried shrimp po-boys. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ The Commissary — 634 Orange St., (504) 274-1850; thecommissarynola.com — Dickie Brennan’s Commissary supplies his other restaurant kitchens and also has a dine-in menu and prepared foods to go. A smoked turkey sandwich is served with bacon, tomato jam, herbed cream cheese, arugula and herb vinaigrette on honey oat bread. The menu includes dips, salads, sandwiches, boudin balls, fried oysters and more. No reservations. Outdoor seating available. Lunch Tue.-Sat. $$ The Country Club — 634 Louisa St., (504) 945-0742; thecountryclubneworleans.com — The Bywater restaurant and pool has a menu of crab beignets, truffle mac and cheese, shrimp and grits, burgers and more. Seared redfish is served with kale, toasted chickpeas, sesame seeds, chili crisp and whipped tahini. Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended. Lunch, brunch and dinner daily. $$$ Delacroix Restaurant — 1 Poydras St., (504) 655-9002; delacroixrestaurant.com — With views overlooking the Mississippi River, the restaurant serves a mix of South Louisiana dishes like smoked duck gumbo, crawfish bisque, shrimp Creole, blackened redfish and crawfish étouffée. Drum amandine is served with green beans and stewed potatoes. Reservations available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 586-0300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — A menu full of Gulf seafood includes oysters served raw on the half-shell or char-broiled with with Parmesan, garlic and herbs. The menu also includes po-boys, gumbo, blackened fish, fried seafood platters and more. Reservations recommended. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House — 144 Bourbon St., (504) 522-0111; bourbonhouse. com — There’s a seafood raw bar with raw and char-broiled oysters, fish dip, crab fingers, shrimp and more. Redfish “on the half-shell” is cooked skin-on and served with crab-boiled potatoes, frisee and lemon buerre blanc. The bar offers a wide selection of bourbon and whiskies. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ 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. $$$ Domenica — 123 Baronne St., (504) 6486020; domenicarestaurant.com — The Italian restaurant offers a mix of wood-fired Napolitano-style pizzas and house-made pastas. Appetizers include various salumi and cheese boards, antipasti, roasted cauliflower and more. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$

Tavi (330 N. New Hampshire St., Covington, 985-200-2045; tavirestaurant.com) serves Middle Eastern dishes like labna, baba ghanoush, hummus and moussaka with pita bread. PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Don’s Seafood — 4801 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 888-1555; donsseafoodonline.com — The seafood options range from char-broiled oysters to seafood gumbo, fried shrimp and catfish platters and stuffed flounder. The menu also has rib-eye steaks. Reservations accepted for large parties. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Elizabeth’s Restaurant — 601 Gallier St., (504) 944-9272; elizabethsrestaurantnola. com — Elizabeth’s is known for its signature praline bacon, and the menu also includes boudin balls, shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles and eggs Florentine. Outdoor seating available. Reservations accepted for parties of 10 or more. Breakfast and lunch daily. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — The Cajun Cuban is stuffed with roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. 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. $$ King Brasserie & Bar — Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, 501 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 324-3000; kingbrasserieandbar.com — The restaurant’s menu is inspired by the cuisine of the Riviera and southern France. There are dishes like steak frites and bouillabaisse as well as blackened Gulf fish and barbecue shrimp and oysters. Reservations recommended. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Legacy Kitchen’s Craft Tavern — 700 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 613-2350; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes oysters, flatbreads, burgers, sandwiches, salads and sharable plates like NOLA Tot Debris. A slow-cooked pulled pork barbecue sandwich is served with coleslaw on a brioche bun.

Reservations accepted. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Legacy Kitchen Steak & Chop — 91 Westbank Expressway, Gretna, (504) 513-2606; legacykitchen.com — The selection of steaks and chops includes filet mignon, bone-in ribeye, top sirloin and double pork chops and a la carte toppings include bearnaise, blue cheese and sauteed crabmeat. There also are burgers, salads, pasta, seafood entrees, char-broiled oysters and more. Reservations accepted. Outdoor seating available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $$ Luke — 333 St. Charles Ave., (504) 3782840; lukeneworleans.com — The raw bar offers oysters, boiled shrimp, cured tuna, smoked trout dip and more. The menu has dishes like shrimp and grits, crab omelets, crawfish etouffee and steak frites. Reservations encouraged. Breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Lyons Corner — 537 Gravier St., (504) 5270006; lyonscornernola.com — The eclectic menu includes Cajun prawns, bang-bang fried oysters, chicken sandwiches, salads and more. In the morning, there are breakfast empanadas, muffins, croissants, scones, beignets and more. Delivery and takeout available. No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The menu of Japanese cuisine includes sushi, signature rolls, tempura fried items, udon noodles, teriyaki, salads and more.The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado, snow crab, green onion and wasabi roe. 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

shrimp Mosca, baked oysters Mosca and spaghetti bordelaise and chicken cacciatore. Chicken a la grands is sauteed with garlic, rosemary, Italian herbs and white wine. Reservations accepted. Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$ Mother’s Restaurant — 401 Poydras St., (504) 523-9656; mothersrestaurant.net — This counter-service spot serves po-boys dressed with sliced cabbage like the Famous Ferdi filled with ham, roast beef and debris. Creole favorites include jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, red beans and rice and more. Breakfast is available all day. Delivery available. No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Orleans Grapevine Wine Bar & Bistro — 720 Orleans Ave., (504) 523-1930; orleansgrapevine.com — The wine bar offers a selectoin of cheese boards and appetizers. Creole pasta combines shrimp and andouille in tomato cream sauce. Reservations accepted for large parties. Outdoor seating available. Dinner Thu.-Sun. $$ Pascal’s Manale — 1838 Napoleon Ave., (504) 895-4877; pascalsmanale.com — This Creole-Italian spot invented New Orleansstyle barbecue shrimp, and the menu also includes seafood gumbo, crab cakes, oysters and Italian-style pasta dishes. There’s also an oyster bar. Reservations recommended. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$$ 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. The dinner menu has oysters, salads, pasta, shrimp and grits, a burger, cheese plates and more. Reservations accepted. Dinner Wed.-Mon., brunch Sun. $$ Pizza Domenica — 4933 Magazine St., (504) 301-4978; pizzadomenica.com — Pizza is the focus of this offshoot of the Italian restaurant Domenica. There also are meatballs, roasted cauliflower and housemade pastas. No reservations. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Restaurant August — 301 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 299-9777; restaurantaugust. com — The fine dining restaurant serves Creole and contemporary dishes featuring foie gras, Gulf fish, duck and more. Gnocchi are served with crab, summer truffles and Parmesan. Reservations recommended. Dinner Sun.-Fri., lunch Fri. $$$ Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, Jefferson, (504) 834-4938; rivershacktavern.com — This tavern along the levee offers a casual menu of roast beef po-boys, burgers, wraps, fried shrimp platters, catfish and gumbo. A country fried steak is served with brown gravy, mashed potatoes, vegetables and salad. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Shaya — 4213 Magazine St., (504) 891-4213; shayarestaurant.com — The Mediterranean and Middle Eastern menu includes dishes like hummus, falafel, kebabs, grilled chicken and wood-oven pita bread. A chicken schnitzel sandwich is dressed with little gem lettuce, pickles and harissa mayonnaise on sesame brioche bread. Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Stingray’s Restaurant & Bar — 1303 W. Esplanade Ave., Kenner, (504) 443-4040; stingraysseafoodrestaurant.com — Zydeco fish is stuffed with crabmeat dressing and topped with shrimp cream sauce. The

menu also includes fried shrimp and oyster platters, grilled redfish, crabmeat jalapeños, and boudin egg rolls. Reservations available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Tableau — 616 St. Peter St., (504) 9343463; tableaufrenchquarter.com — The menu features traditional and creative Creole dishes. Pasta bouillabaisse features squid ink mafaldine, little neck clams, Gulf shrimp, squid, seafood broth, rouille and herbed breadcrumbs. Outdoor seating available on the balcony. Reservations recommended. Dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Thu.-Sun. $$$ 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. $$ Tavi — 330 N. New Hampshire St., (985) 200-2045; tavirestaurant.com — The menu combines dishes from the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean. There’s hummus, falafel, kebabs, flatbreads, grilled fish, lamb burgers and more. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ 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 daily. $ 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 vegetable sandwich with avocado, onions, arugula, red pepper and pepper jack cheese. No reservations. Delivery and outdoor seating available. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Vyoone’s — 412 Girod St., (504) 381-4384; vyoone.com — The French-Creole menu includes dishes like escargot, crawfish beignets, crab cakes, shrimp pasta, duck a l’orange and lamb chops. Reservations recommended. Dinner Wed.-Sun. $$$ Willa Jean — 611 O’Keefe Ave., (504) 5097334; willajean.com — The bakery and cafe serves biscuits with honey butter, cookies, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, shrimp and grits and more. Avocado toasts are made with house-baked ciabatta topped with tomatillo, spiced pepitas, pickled onion, cilantro and chipotle aioli. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Breakfast and lunch daily. $$ Yinzer’s Amazing Cheesesteaks — 1514 Delachaise St., (412) 860-6801; yinzersamazingcheesesteaks.com —There are classic and original cheesesteaks filled with steak, chicken and more. Diners can opt for toppings like provolone, house-made cheddar whiz, mushrooms, onions, banana peppers and more. Delivery available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Wed.-Sun. $

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‘Love Letters of World War II’

Melange Dance Company reprises its show about French connections during World War II. The original work, which debuted in 2019, was based on letters between a young French couple, Roger and Yvette, who were separated during the war. Local musician Sarah Quintana wrote an album based on the trove of letters, and that music was the basis of the show. The piece was expanded last year with stories of Cajuns who fought in the war and were dubbed “Frenchies,” because they spoke French. The show runs three nights at the Josephine in preparation for performances in September at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. At 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, through Sunday, Aug. 30. Tickets $35 via melangedanceofnola.com.

‘Together in the Eye: 20 Years Later’

On the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, filmmaker Yasmeen Blake screens her 2025 documentary,

“Together in the Eye: 20 Years Later.” The film looks at the harm caused by the storm and its aftermath and how communities in areas like the St. Bernard Housing Project survived. The film blends archival footage and her interviews and more. Blake will do a Q&A after the screening at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at The Broad Theater. Tickets $15 via thebroadtheater.com.

Brad Walker

Saxophonist Brad Walker can be seen all over New Orleans and beyond, playing with everyone from Anders Osborne and Stanton Moore to the Extended Trio, Honey Island Swamp Band and Colin Lake. He also spent a stretch leading Sturgill Simpson’s horn section, and last fall released his latest album, the great “A Sliver of Catharsis.” Walker will celebrate his 42nd birthday with two shows on Sunday, Aug. 30, at Snug Harbor featuring friends including Moore, Joe Ashlar, Martin Masakowski, Tif Lamson, Aurelien Barnes, Johnny Vidacovich and more.

The music starts at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., and tickets are $35.65 via snugjazz.com.

Dusky Waters

Americana musician Dusky Waters is set to have a busy fall, with the upcoming BlackAmericana Fest and the release of her new album, “Mother Magnolia.” Catch her playing some of those new tunes in a more relaxed venue, the Jazz & Blues Market’s lounge, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26. Tickets are $17.55 via jazzandbluesmarket.com.

GAY

Bella Blue hosts a burlesque and drag showcase and proceeds go the Southern Decadence parade. Performers include Velvet Incognito, Mayven Misbehavin’, Tara Hole, Peachy King, Truffle, Betsy Propane, Nicki Nicolai, Sheila Strange and more. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, at the Original Nite Cap at 1300 St. Bernard Ave. Admission is $20. Visit bellablueforever.com for information.

Devo

Devo, the art punk new wave band, only climbed the charts with one song, the unforgettable “Whip It.” But in the early years of MTV music videos, the band’s outfits and theatrics helped it stand out. Decades later the song “Uncontrollable Urge” became the theme song for the network’s show “Ridiculousness.” In between tours with fellow ’80s stars Billy Idol and the B-52s, Devo performs at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, at The Fillmore. Tickets $68 and up via ticketmaster.com.

‘Night of the Living Dead’

The New Orleans Fringe Festival hosts a screening of George Romero’s zombie classic “Night of the Living Dead,” in which zombies overrun a rural Pennsylvania town and a group of strangers take refuge in a farmhouse to try to fight off the undead onslaught. There’s a pop-up thrift store at 7-8 p.m. and the screening starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, at Big Couch. Admission is $5. Proceeds benefit the fringe festival.

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To learn more about adding your event to the music calendar, please email listingsedit@gambitweekly.com

MONDAY 24 30/90 — Josh Benitez Band, 6 pm; Piano Man ‘G’, 9 pm APPLE BARREL — Bread for Sale, 6 pm; Decaturadio, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Byron Asher, 7 pm BAMBOULA’S — The New Orleans Rug Cutters, 12 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Red Beans & Blues with The Rump Shakers, 9 pm BROADSIDE — Hot Summer Salsa Nights, 7 pm BUFFA’S — David Doucet, 7 pm CARROLLTON STATION — Biscuits n’ Jam with Meryl Zimmerman & Friends, 10 pm DA JUMP OFF LOUNGE — Sporty’s Brass Band, 9:30 pm DBA — Secret Six Jazz Band, 6 pm; Corey Henry & the Treme Funktet, 9:30 pm DOS JEFES — John Fohl, 8:30 pm FRITZEL’S JAZZ CLUB — Tin Men, 5 pm; Richard Scott & Friends, 8 pm HOLY DIVER — Black Altar, Poltergeist, Angel Massacre & Mehenet, 10 pm MAHOGANY JAZZ HALL — Tom Hook, 6 pm; The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, 8 pm THE MAISON — Gene’s Music Machine, 8 pm MAPLE LEAF BAR — George Porter Jr. Trio, 7 & 10 pm NO DICE — Kill Bill: The Rapper + Ashton Larold, 9 pm NOLA BREWING & PIZZA CO — Bluegrass Pickin' Party, 7 pm SATURN BAR — Robin Rapuzzi’s Glo Worm Trio, 8:30 pm SNUG HARBOR — Charmaine Neville Band, 7:30 & 9:30 pm SPOTTED CAT — Jenavieve Cooke & the Winding Boys, 2 pm; Dominick Grillo & the Frenchmen Street AllStars, 6 pm; Betsy Propane & The Accessories, 9 pm ST. ROCH TAVERN — Lefty’s Right Hand Band + Scamp Walkers, 9 pm TRUE SOUTH — Danny Alexander Blues Jam, 8 pm

TUESDAY 25 30/90 — Sugar & The Daddies, 6 pm; Higher Heights Reggae, 9 pm

APPLE BARREL — Bubbles Brown, 6 pm; Jackson’s Flying Circus, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Tangiers Combo, 6 pm BAYOU BAR — The OG’s, 8 pm; 10 pm BUFFA’S — Alex McMurray, 7 pm CAFÉ ISTANBUL — Phil Degruy & Sasha Elliahna Durta + “Jonathan Freilich Does Bob Dylan”, 8 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — The Super-MostFantastic-Blues-N-Such Jam, 7 pm DOS JEFES — Javier Guiterrez, 8:30 pm THE FILLMORE — Devo, 8 pm FRITZEL’S JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 1 pm; Colin Myers Orchestra, 5 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band with Zach Lange, 8 pm GASA GASA — The Miss B. Haven Show, 9:30 pm HOLY DIVER — Fat Kids Art Presents: VHS Night, 9 pm MAHOGANY JAZZ HALL — Big Joe Kennedy, 6 pm; Leroy Jones & The Home Team, 8 pm THE MAISON — Jacky Blaire, 5 pm; The Melatauns, 8 pm THE RABBIT HOLE — Rebirth Brass Band, 10 pm SAENGER THEATRE — Buddy Guy 90 with D.K. Harrell, 8 pm SALON SALON — Belinda Moody, 7 pm

SIBERIA — Save Ferris with 504 Horn Troopers, 9 pm SPOTTED CAT — Brett Gallo Jazz Band 2 pm; Sweetie Pies of New Orleans, 6 pm; Smoking Time Jazz Club, 9:30 pm ST. ROCH TAVERN — Hairaoke: Haircuts & Karaoke, 8 pm VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE — Cuttin’ Up with Lil Prince & the Youngbloods, 10 pm

WEDNESDAY 26 30/90 — Jeff Chaz Blues Band, 6 pm; The Budz, 9 pm APPLE BARREL — Hobo Gadget, 6 pm; Jackson’s Flying Circus, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Jesse Morrow, 6 pm BAYOU BAR — Firm Roots, 8 & 10 pm BLUE NILE — Carolina Gallop’s Fashion Show Extravaganza, 7 pm BOURBON O BAR — Shawan Rice, 8 pm BUFFA’S — Millie Grace Band, 7 pm CAFÉ ISTANBUL — Spiritus Mundi Crescentis, 8 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — Jam-ilton, 7:30 pm CARROLLTON STATION — Pocket Chocolate + Britti, 9 pm DBA — The Next Level Band, 8 pm DOS JEFES — Tangiers Combo, 8:30 pm FAVELA CHIC — Better Late Than Jake, 8 pm

Phin Choukas performs with Scally and Lyla DiPaul at Saturn Bar at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26. PHOTO BY MADDIE SPINNER / GAMBIT

THE FILLMORE — Jacquees + K Camp + Lihtz, 8 pm FRITZEL’S JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 1 pm; Bourbon Street Stars, 5 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band with Kevin Ray Clark, 8 pm HOLY DIVER — The Amazing Henrietta, 8 pm THE MAISON — Gene’s Music Machine, 6 pm MAYFIELD’S 208 — Irvin Mayfield ft. Kermit Ruffins, 6 pm NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & BLUES MARKET — Summer Music Series ft. Dusky Waters, 7 pm PAULIE’S — PUPS Jam, 8 pm SANTOS BAR — Chambre Noir with DJ Paco, 10 pm SATURN BAR — Scally + Phin + Lyla DiPaul, 9 pm SIBERIA — Big Red + The Pause + SWARM, 9 pm SNUG HARBOR — JFA presents “BRW”, 5 pm; Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, 7:30 pm; 9:30 pm SPOTTED CAT — Brett Gallo Jazz Band, 2 pm; Shotgun Jazz Band, 6 pm; Marty Peters & The Party Meters, 9:30 pm

MUSIC

SPOTTED CAT — Brett Gallo Jazz Band, 2 pm; Miss Sophie Lee, 6 pm; Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Band, 10 pm TRUE SOUTH — Patrick Cooper & Mark Carroll, 6 pm VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE — Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet, 10 pm

THURSDAY 27

FRIDAY 28

30/90 — The Dapper Dandies, 6 pm; Where Yat Brass Band, 9 pm APPLE BARREL — Felipe Kerra, 6 pm; Dale Robertson Blues Band, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Juan Tigre, 7 pm; BAYOU BAR — Cryptic, 8 & 10 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Hanoun Brass Band, 9 pm BLUE NILE — Irvin Mayfield’s Music Church, 9 pm; DJ T-Roy, 11 pm BMC — The Funky Soles, 6 pm; Maurice Cade & ESS, 9 pm BUFFA’S — Tom McDermott with Aurora Nealand, 7 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — Blues at Work with Phil Breen, 6:30 pm; Armani Smith & Soul Ties, 10 pm CAROUSEL BAR — Leslie Martin, 5:30 pm; Lena Prima & Her Band, 9 pm CARROLLTON STATION — Daffodyl & Friends, 9 pm DBA — Vegas Cola Band, 8 pm DOS JEFES — Mr. Kohl, 8:30 pm DOUBLE DEALER — Matt Wilson & the Sinking City, 9 pm FAVELA CHIC — Josh Benitez, 8 pm FRITZEL’S JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12 pm; Doyle Cooper Band, 2 pm; John Saavedra Band, 5 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band with Kevin Ray Clark, 8 pm GASA GASA — Sheer Terror + King’s Cannons + Wishful Thinking + Numb Ways, 8 pm LE BON TEMPS ROULE — The Soul Rebels, 11 pm THE MAISON — The Champagniacs, 4:30 pm; Brett Gardner, 8:30 pm MAPLE LEAF BAR — Booker & Beyond Piano Series with André Bohren, 6 pm Johnny Vidacovich Trio, 8 pm NO DICE — Black Pontiac, 9 pm PAULIE’S — John Fohl, 6 pm PEACOCK ROOM — Da Lovebirds: Robin Barnes & Pat Casey, 8 pm SALON SALON — Geovane Santos, 7 pm SATURN BAR — Vinny’s Mirro + Mango + Lizette, 9 pm SNUG HARBOR — Amina Scott Quintet, 7:30 pm; 9:30 pm

30/90 — Josh Benitez Band, 5 pm; The Frequency Koneckt, 8 pm; Street Lyfe, 11 pm THE ALLWAYS LOUNGE & CABARET — The New Orleans High Society Hour - Live Jazz and Burlesque, 8 pm BACCHANAL — Willie Green, 7 pm BAMBOULA’S — The New Orleans Rug Cutters, 11 am BAYOU BAR — Oh Yeah!, 8 pm; 10 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Jenn Howard + Teena May, 9 pm BLUE NILE — The Rozes, 8 pm; Kermit Ruffins & the BBQ Swingers, 10 pm; DJ WestBankRed (upstairs), 10 pm BMC — Danny Ray & the Electric Barrelhouse, 6 pm; Big Mike & the R&B Kings, 9 pm BUFFA’S — Washboard Chaz, 8 pm CAFÉ ISTANBUL — Swampass Serenade, 8 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — Jamey St. Pierre & The Honeycreepers, 6 pm; Higher Heights, 10 pm CARROLLTON STATION — Album Release Show: Jabroni Express + Pepperbelly, 9 pm CHAPEL CLUB — Kowboy, 9 pm DBA — Dana Abbott, 6 pm; Khris Royal & Dark Matter, 10 pm DOS JEFES — Sax & the City with Tom Fitzpatrick, 9 pm DOUBLE DEALER — Caleb Tokarska, 9:30 pm FAVELA CHIC — J.A.M. Brass Band, 7 pm; Surprise Band from NYC, 10 pm THE FILLMORE — La Fiesta del Verano ft. Magic Juan, 10 pm FRITZEL’S JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12:30 pm; Owen Callahan Band, 2:30 pm; Lange/ Woodis Band, 6 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band with Kevin Ray Clark, 9 pm GASA GASA — Healing Gems, 8 pm HOLY DIVER — DarkLounge Ministries, 8 pm HOWLIN’ WOLF — Miss Martha & Her Goodtime Gang, 8 pm LE BON TEMPS ROULÉ — Shawan Rice, 11 pm LE PONCE — Manny Artega, 8 pm THE MAISON — Shotgun Jazz Band, 5 pm; The Kazzettes, 9 pm

MAPLE LEAF BAR — Boukou Groove, 8 pm SANTOS BAR — DJ NOX, 9 pm; DJ Shane Love (upstairs), 9 pm SATURN BAR — Hotel Burgundy + Petite Choux + Twin Sugar, 9 pm SNUG HARBOR — Jason Marsalis, 7:30 & 9:30 pm TIPITINA’S — Free Fridays Concert Series, 9 pm

SATURDAY 29 30/90 — Daphne Parker Powell, 8 pm; T. Cherrelle & Lou’s Bayou, 11 pm ANNA’S — Mike Cam & Friends, 9 pm BACCHANAL — Raphael Bas, 7 pm BANKS STREET BAR — Matthew Looney, 8 pm BAR REDUX — Dirty Rotten Snake In The Grass + Stumps Duh Clown, 9 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Malevitus + Norco Lapalco, 9 pm BLUE NILE — The Caesar Brothers’ FunkBox, 7:30 pm; Afrobeat NOLA, 10 pm BMC — Andre Lovett Band, 3 pm; Sugar & The Daddies, 6 pm; Piano Man ‘G’, 9 pm BUFFA’S — Uriel, 8 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — The Rumpshakers, 2 pm; Dana Abbott Band, 6 pm; Zena Moses & Rue Fiya, 10 pm CARROLLTON STATION — Mid Summer Mardi Gras, 9 pm DOS JEFES — The Afrodiziac’s Jazz, 9 pm THE FILLMORE — Don McLean, 8 pm GASA GASA — SOUP ft. Elliot from Earth & more, 10 pm HOLY DIVER — The Sky Imposed Its Will, Dreams Without Colours, Walkingonsunshine & Spirit of Possibility, 9 pm HOTEL ST. VINCENT — Oatmeal Dubs, 12 pm HOUSE OF BLUES — The Pretty Reckless, 8 pm LE BON TEMPS ROULÉ — Grits & Greens, 11 pm THE MAISON — Nola Axe Men; 1 pm; Smoking Time Jazz Club, 4 pm; Tyler Kinchen & the Right Pieces, 8 pm; DJ B Dot, 11 pm RABBIT HOLE — Hairitage + Dr. Jax, 10 pm SANTOS BAR — Space Disco Presents: RAVE!, 9 pm SIBERIA — Kult Desastre + Flender + Walmart2 + Traum, 9 pm SNUG HARBOR — Shea Siraj, 4 pm; Herlin Riley Quartet, 7:30 & 9:30 pm TIPITINA’S — Phoush - A New Orleans Phish Tribute, 9 pm

SUNDAY 30 30/90 — St. Julien X, 3 pm; The Andre Lovett Band, 6 pm; Manic Mixtape, 9 pm ALLWAYS LOUNGE — Sunday Swing with Old Growth Jazz Band, 8 pm BACCHANAL — Noah Young, 7 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — James McClaskey & the Rhythm Band, 9 pm BMC — Tropical Weather, 3 pm; Lynn Drury, 6 pm; Mother Ruckus, 9 pm THE BRASS MONKEY — Adam Pearce, 7 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — John Lisi & Delta Funk, 4 pm; Maurice Cade & the E.S.S. Band, 9 pm DBA — Ryan Robertson Jazz Quintet, 6 pm; The Jump Hounds, 9:30 pm DOS JEFES — Basch Jernigan, 8 pm FAVELA CHIC — Christian Coleman & His Band, 8 pm GASA GASA — Aaniyah Anderson + Mac Infinity + Kai De Lua, 6 pm; Paul Faith The Barstool Prophets + The St. Claude Serenaders, 9 pm HOLY DIVER — Mean Habit, Swarm, Spare & Quilt, 9 pm HOWLIN’ WOLF — Hot 8 Brass Band, 10:30 pm THE MAISON — Eight Dice Cloth, 4 pm; Jenavieve & The Winding Boys, 7 pm MAPLE LEAF BAR — Pastor J Funky Revival, 8 pm OKAY BAR — Redundant Korpse + Offal Lettuce + Safe Word + More!, 7 pm ORPHEUM THEATRE — Gary Clark Jr., 7 pm SANTOS BAR — Last Sunday with DJ MIJITA + Open Decks, 9 pm SATURN BAR — Ruff Cutz Ethical Music Collective + Leaux Fye Tribe, 8 pm SIBERIA — Goth Line Dancing with Giddy Up Two Step, 6:30 pm SNUG HARBOR — John Fohl, 4:30 pm; Brad Walker Birthday Party, 7:30 & 9:30 pm SPOTTED CAT — Jacky Blaire & the Hot Biscuits, 2 pm; Treme Brass Band, 6 pm; Pat Casey & the New Sound, 9 pm VIRGIN HOTEL — Phlegm, 3 pm

SCAN FOR THE COMPLETE GAMBIT CALENDAR

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E W O R L E A N S . C O M > A U G U ST 2 4 ! 3 0 > 2 0 2 6

TRUMPET & DRUM COFFEE SHOP — Krewe of Callas Opera Night, 5 pm VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE — Robin Rapuzzi’s Glo Worm Trio, 8:30 pm VIRGIN HOTEL — Leaux Fye Tribe, 6 pm

NEWSVIEWS MUSICPOLITICS

WHAT’SWORKING WHAT’SNOT

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E W O R L E A N S . C O M > A U G U ST 2 4 - 3 0 > 2 0 2 6

Hosted by John Stanton

WATCH

the

CULTURE CUISINE CARNIVAL

MUSIC

Storm tested by Jake Clapp

LAST YEAR, AS ALVIN HARRIS WAS APPROACHING HIS 29TH BIRTHDAY

and the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans rapper poured his memories into “2005,” his latest album as Allay Earhart. Harris turned 9 on the day Katrina changed the city and his life, and “2005” is about New Orleans from the perspective of a boy growing up in the Calliope projects. The album opens with songs about New Orleans before the storm as Harris raps about life in the Calliope, idolizing Lil Wayne and spending the day with his father. The track “War” is an homage to ’90s New Orleans hip-hop, especially No Limit Records, while a faux Q93 promo plays in his mother’s car and introduces the party track “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” Halfway through the album, he pivots to songs about the storm and its aftermath. On tracks like “Treading Water” and “FEMA,” Harris remembers the tragedy and heartbreak unfolding around him. The album’s cover is a photo taken by Michael Appleton of Harris’ father, Alvin Williams — who also was known as 6th Ward Pook and wrote a book about his life and Katrina — carrying his 9-year-old son, dehydrated and sick, away from the Superdome to board buses to evacuate. Harris and his family stayed in Atlanta for some time, but he returned to a changing New Orleans. The song “Move Out” is about seeing the gentrification of his neighborhood. “I feel like I’m a part of the last generation that had a chance to really experience a lot of the things that made New Orleans New Orleans,” Harris says. Harris released “2005” with a packed show on his birthday in 2025 at The Fillmore’s B.G. Lounge. He’s now playing another birthday show to celebrate making 30 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at The Parish at the House of Blues. He is calling this a farewell show, but he won’t explain more until the night of the show, he says. Harris in the past wasn’t the biggest on celebrating his birthday, he says. He preferred to grab some beignets, maybe watch a movie and keep things simple. But when Harris was considering transitioning away from making music, feeling like he had stalled, a friend pushed him to book his own show.

Allay Earhart PROVIDED PHOTO BY KING ROYAL PRODUCTIONS

Harris was worried he wouldn’t have 100 people show up, he says, but the turnout to B.G.’s Lounge blew him away. “That made me realize that it was bigger than just my thoughts. There are people that appreciate what I’m doing … that show is the reason why I’m still in music right now,” Harris says. Harris skipped his senior trip in 2013 in order to afford his first MacBook and start making music. He loved rapping as a kid, and after the murder of a cousin who had encouraged him, Harris wanted to try and make a career in music. He released a mixtape, “Dear Diary,” that year and dropped his first album, “Reaching All People’s Ears,” in 2016. He followed those up with a string of releases. The last decade in Harris’ life has been marked by heavy moments, including the death of his father in 2017 and his 13-year-old brother, Ahmad Brown, who was buried on Aug. 29, 2020. Although he didn’t realize it at first, Harris would turn to music to help him process those tragedies. “I was writing a lot, and I started to discover a lot of things in those writings,” Harris says. Along with his music, Harris also has been active in organizing school supplies giveaways, community fundraisers and youth events through his brand Vaku, a term he created to mean boundless joy. He is next planning a youth talent show in November at one of the NORD facilities. “I’m just appreciative that I’m here,” Harris says. “There’s been a lot of people I grew up with and that I love dearly that didn’t get a chance to see the age of 30 … And I’m doing what I love to do and I’m celebrating with people I love.” Tickets for the Aug. 29 show are $27 via neworleans.houseofblues.com.

GOING OUT

by Will Coviello THE KREWE OF O.A.K. HOLDS ITS MARDI GRAS PARADE ON THE LAST BIG

weekend of Carnival, when parades are everywhere. Its Midsummer Mardi Gras is a blast of costuming and revelry that attracts costumed revelers and many of the small walking krewes and dance troupes from a variety of Carnival events. “It’s two weeks of Carnival boiled down to one hot night,” says Andrew Quaid, who reigned as the krewe’s 2024 monarch, Robustus XXXVIII. This year’s Midsummer Mardi Gras is Saturday, Aug. 29, with a parade on Carrollton Avenue and a block party on Oak Street. It’s free to join the procession, and costumes are encouraged. It’s the krewe’s 40th year of naming monarchs, and Robustus XL will be Johnny Vidacovich, the renowned New Orleans drummer and a fixture at the krewe’s de facto den, the Maple Leaf Bar. The Queen is Alison Young of the Song Dogs. In the band’s early years, it held down a Tuesday night residency at the Maple Leaf. The parade theme is “The Rhythm Method,” which is at least in part a reference to the musical royalty. The procession will include a few brass bands and possibly a drum line to honor Vidacovich, says Quaid, who is wrangling small krewes for the parade. There will be more than 15 small krewes and dance troupes. Groups include the Mexican wrestling Lucha Krewe, the Mystic Krewe of Conus and the WeatherGirls. There often are subkrewes from the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus, and this year includes the Krewe of Arthur Dent and the “Star Trek”-inspired marching troupe, the Starfleet Steppers. The Space Vikings organize an annual Pillage party for Midsummer, and this year, they’re taking over Pink Lotus on Oak Street where there will be music by Pork ’N Grind and the krewe’s Val Carre dance troupe. Dance groups in the parade include the Muff-a-Lottas, Sassyracs, the Jamettes Krewe and more. Oak Street will be blocked off for the evening starting at 5:30 p.m. when the krewes and revelers gather. The royalty will address the crowd from the balcony of the Maple Leaf at 7 p.m., and at 7:30 p.m. the parade

Love Coffee For the

PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

departs, making a loop on S. Carrollton that stretches from Freret Street to Spruce Street. It returns to Oak Street where a music stage will be set up at Oak and Cambronne streets. This year, the krewe is honoring Douglas “Douggie” Trager, who died in July. Trager was the music booker at the Maple Leaf and a beloved figure on Oak Street and in the music scene. The Krewe of O.A.K. holds its ball at the Maple Leaf following the parade. Tickets are available from krewe members. Costumes are mandatory, and former royalty will wear purple sashes. Though it’s made its home on Oak Street, the krewe name is an acronym for Outrageous And Kinky. The group made the Maple Leaf its home base, and the bar’s patron saint, pianist James Booker, became one of the krewe’s early icons. Krewe members running events sometimes wore eyepatches and wigs resembling Booker. In its early years, the krewe’s parades used to be bar crawls, and large busts of figures popular at the Maple Leaf, including Booker, were part of the procession. In recent years, the format of the parade has changed. Sometimes it’s a pub crawl through the Carrollton and Riverbend neighborhoods. There have been parades looping on S. Carrollton Avenue, and at other times, there were festivals in nearby Marsalis Harmony Park. But the events always started and ended on Oak Street. For information about Midsummer Mardi Gras, visit facebook.com/koak69.

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