® July 6-12 2026
Volume 47 Number 27
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EDITORIAL
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Editor | JOHN STANTON
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ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Next stop
New album is latest in La Reezy’s rise
LA REEZY’S NEW ALBUM IS A PARTY BUS RIDE around the Black experience, the New Orleans-born rapper says.
“When I was 13, I would ride the party bus with my friends, and we would look out the window and see different things. We would reflect on what’s happening on the bus [and] have a good time. That’s what I wanted this album to feel like,” La Reezy says. “[I] wanted it to feel like home, like New Orleans culture. Wanted it to feel alive and reflecting like you’re passing through the city. What better way to pass through the city than on a party bus?”
“Skiddle Bandana,” the first fulllength album from La Reezy, is out July 7 and drops as the 12th Ward native continues to reach new career heights.
The 21-year-old had a major 2025 — which itself built on years of hustle and hard work. A string of EPs, including one recorded with Grammy-winner PJ Morton, collided with nods from Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, The Creator and The Next Up Award from the national Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx.
This year has already included another EP, “Leader of Da Uth,” an appearance on the Jazz Fest stage with Jon Batiste and, most recently, inclusion in XXL magazine’s Freshman Class — a closely watched (and debated) feature bringing national attention to quickly rising rappers. The 2026 class also includes Slayr, Skrilla, YKNiece and Trim.
“I’m just really very grateful, honored to be selected,” La Reezy says.
But it wasn’t a surprise, he adds. He says he’s confident in his music and what it can give to others.
“I do the work,” he says. “I feel like my music is life changing. I feel my music is healing, important and necessary. And I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to spread my name to such a huge platform.”
That swaggering confidence can be heard across “Skiddle Bandana,” framed by vignettes of friends climbing onto a party bus for a ride around New Orleans. But it’s not just hot air: La Reezy is an introspective writer — one of his 2024 EPs, “We All Need Help,” focused on his mental health — who understands his value.
“For me, it was just a fresh realization of wow, like my curly hair is super cool. My chains are fly. I think I’ve grown to be more confident and proud of myself and my looks and my accent and where I come from,” La Reezy says.
by Jake Clapp
La Reezy co-executive produced “Skiddle Bandana” with Oakland producer ClayDough, using sample contributions by JBoogz, Al Hug, Spiff Sinatra and Ray Marco. New Orleans great Mac Phipps introduces La Reezy ahead of the album’s title track, vocalist Maleah appears on the song
“How Did You Love Me” and the throughline skits feature rapper and comedian Lolly.
A diligent creator, La Reezy tends to work months ahead and made “Skiddle Bandana” last year. But with four projects in line for 2025 — “Welcome to La Reezyana,” the PJ Morton collaboration “Pardon Me, I’m Different,” “La Reezyana Shakedown” and “Free99$” — he decided to hold on to the release and further flesh it out into a full-length. Bandanas have a long history in hip-hop, and the art around “Skiddle Bandana” features La Reezy draped in a large square of yellow and red. But
he’s leaving the title open to interpretation, he says.
“I said it one day, and it sounded fly,” La Reezy says. “It could be community, unity, vibrant — I just know that it’s a way to express the Black experience.”
La Reezy touches on a range of topics across the robust album. He raps about growing up in a home where money is tight on “Normal Struggles” and how family members have shown up for him over the years on “Family Bizzy.”
With the dynamic “Melanate It,” one of his latest singles, La Reezy celebrates Black identity. And on the warm “How Did You Love Me,” he reflects on love, growth and his relationship with his partner. He also reminds the listener to get out and live on the closing track “We Live.”
A lot of the album is “trying to find the balance in understanding Black identity through struggling and understanding how the limitations that may come with being young from New Orleans actually is a blessing,” La Reezy says. “It creates an opportunity for you to make something bigger.”
“There’s no rap music without limitations. There’s no great art without some form of adversity,” he adds. “So [I’m] finding that balance through these experiences that I’ve had.”
La Reezy is hitting another milestone later this year when he heads out on his first headlining tour. After dates in London, Amsterdam, Paris and Cologne, Germany, he spends October and November in the U.S. and closes the tour with a hometown show on Dec. 5 at Gasa Gasa. Those tickets are on sale now.
Find La Reezy on Instagram: @lareezymusic.
Running of the NOLA Bulls
Pamplona, Spain’s annual bull run inspired the Running of the NOLA Bulls, in which the “bulls” are roller derby skaters with horned helmets and plastic bats, and they chase runners around the Warehouse District from the starting point at Gallier Hall. The bull run is early Saturday, July 11, and is the highlight of the San Fermin in Nueva Orleans festival. The weekend also includes the El Txupinazo party Friday, July 10, and the El Pobre de Mi brunch, inspired by Ernest Hemingway, on Sunday, July 12, at Gallier Hall. For tickets and information, visit nolabulls.com.
Tori Amos
Pianist and rock icon Tori Amos has long used her music as a platform to talk about politics and social issues, and her May album, “In Times of Dragons,” is especially prescient. Amos’ 18th studio album plays like a parable set in a familiar world where democracy is under threat and the protagonist fights back against the tyranny of “dictator believing lizard demons.” Amos is now on a country-wide tour and plays the Saenger Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 12. Tickets at saengernola.com.
Zahria Sims
Along with leading her own genre-blending band, saxophonist and composer Zahria Sims has performed with Wessell “Warmdaddy” Anderson, Quiana Lynell and The Rumble. She next performs at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 8, at the International House Hotel’s Loa Bar as part of the Lilith in Loa series. Curated by Molly Graham, the series focuses on New Orleans female singer-songwriters and will feature Saskia Walker later this month. Admission is free. Find more info at ihhotel.com.
PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
La Reezy
PHOTO BY MADDIE SPINNER / GAMBIT
OPENING GAMBIT
NEW ORLEANS NEWS + VIEWS
The only thing more unreliable than S&WB these days is the weather forecast.
THUMBS UP/ THUMBS DOWN
Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad were the first people to read to children at the new Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago during its recent opening. The New Orleans cherry on top: The Kenner native and his wife chose to read Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews’ autobiographical picture book, “Trombone Shorty,” to the kids.
New Orleans continues to see a sharp decline in homicides and shootings. NOPD recorded 38 murders through June 25, The Times-Picayune reported, and if that pace holds, the city will finish the year with around 78 murders, the lowest number since 1969. New Orleans has seen a decline in violent crime since mid-2023.
Louisiana AG Murrill indicted by New Orleans grand jury in intimidation case
LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL
LIZ MURRILL HAS REPORTEDLY BEEN INDICTED BY NEW ORLEANS GRAND JURY for allegedly attempting to New Orleans city officials including Mayor Helena Moreno, District Attorney Jason Williams and members of the city council this spring when she threatened to use a Reconstruction-era law to oust them from office, according to reports by WDSU and WVUE.
Gov. Jeff Landry line-item vetoed more than $64 million in state funding from community organizations, local governments and projects across the state, with New Orleans bearing around half of those cuts, WWL-TV reported. Along with the Crescent City, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lake Charles, Monroe and Opelousas lost funding. New Orleans organizations like Covenant House and the Ellis Marsalis Center and the Behrman Stadium project received cuts and millions were lost in capital outlay funding. Some state lawmakers believe the cuts were made as retribution for not voting in Landry’s favor during the recent legislative session.
According to WWL, a seated grand jury decided to launch the investigation into letters Murrill sent the city officials in May threatening to use the state’s “usurper law” after the council approved a measure to set an election for the newly created Clerk of Court position in the city.
The legislature created the job by combining the clerks of criminal and civil courts as part of Gov. Jeff Landry’s effort to block Calvin Duncan, a formerly incarcerated Black New Orleanian who was wrongfully convicted, of taking his duly elected office as Clerk of Criminal Court.
The conservative Murrill has long had a hostile relationship with city officials, and in the past has threatened to effectively take over the city. Duncan also accused Murrill of threatening retaliation against him for running for office.
During an unrelated July 1 press conference the normally tough talking and blunt Murrill was uncharacteristically reserved in comments to reporters.
“I have no confirmation of this. All I have is hearsay reports. I have never received notice from anybody,” Murrill said, adding she first learned of the investigation from a reporter. Asked if she was shocked by the investigation, Murril said “ shocking? No. I mean, I just can’t explain why they do things in New Orleans the way they do them.”
As for the specifics of the investigation, including complaints she sought to bully city leaders, Murrill was equally as restrained. “ I am not going to speak specifically to matters that they may or may not be address,” the normally fiery Attorney General told reporters.
The City Council May 11 set an election for Clerk of Court after Landry signed the new law just before Duncan had been scheduled to take office at the beginning of May. At the time, there was significant uncertainty over whether the new office required an election or if by combining the two offices Landry could circumvent the normal electoral process. The council also moved to appoint a temporary clerk to hold the job until the election.
If an election had occurred, Duncan was seen as the likely prohibitive
NUMBER OF POWER OUTAGES IN NEW ORLEANS EAST IN THE MONTH OF JUNE.
Only 25 of those were related to Tropical Storm Arthur. Other alleged causes included balloons hitting power lines, cars ramming into power lines, animals damaging equipment and underground infrastructure problems, according to Entergy officials. At a Tuesday City Council hearing, meanwhile, Sewerage & Water Board officials said Entergy’s $300 million power station couldn’t be relied on to run its drainage pumps due to routine dips in voltage.
How are you beating the heat this summer?
AG Liz Murril
PHOTO BY JOHN BAL / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
front runner, in no small part because of the controversy caused by L andry’s decision to eliminate the criminal clerk position, which was widely criticized in the city.
In response, Murrill sent city officials a letter May 13, warning ““The New Orleans City Council’s May 11 resolutions now trigger serious consequences under Louisiana’s usurper statutes, including the possible forfeiture of your own office.” She also urged the city to cancel the election to avoid those repercussions.
The letter was broadly viewed by city officials and residents alike as an effort to intimidate Moreno and the council. Indeed, in a video response Moreno pointed said “I will not be intimidated or threatened by the state attorney general.”
The state Supreme Court ultimately ruled a new election was not needed and that then-Clerk of Civil Court Chelsey Richard Napoleon could serve as a unified clerk. It also ruled that the council did not violate state law in setting up a new election even though it wasn’t ultimately needed.
The usurper law allows the state to remove officials from office who recognize or otherwise acknowledge or assist any official the state deems
as illegitimate. It dates back to the early 1870s and Reconstruction, when white terrorists were attempting to oust democratically elected
Black officials, as well as white politicians who did not support their violent anti-Black agenda.
Not long after it’s passage, violent white-supremacist terrorists attacked New Orleans, which at the time was the state’s capital, in an effort to overthrow the government, in what is now known as the Battle of Liberty Place. Terrorists murdered nearly two dozen people, including police and civilians.
The law was updated and expanded in 1960 – just as the civil rights movement was beginning to threaten the long-term viability of Jim Crow, and just five years before the Voting Rights Act was signed into law.
Relations between Murrill and the city have long been icy at their very best. After it was discovered that the city was facing an imminent financial crisis last fall, Murrill aggressively pushed to have the state take over effective control of the city, and she has long used social media to criticize New Orleans over a variety of issues. — John Stanton
Calvin Duncan
PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
JOHN STANTON
Something stinks at S&WB, and it ain’t just the sewage
STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE.
After years of neglect and half measures, the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans finally announces it has a plan to fix a problem, promises to have it done by a certain date and cost, only to blow past that deadline and budget before trying to tap dance its way out of a follow-up city council hearing unscathed.
While it’s not a very funny joke, it is the shared reality of everyone living in New Orleans, and the pattern has been on full display in the failure of the S&WB’s new power station and the Decatur Street debacle.
For years, S&WB assured us the new $300 million power complex would make the chronic flooding in huge swaths of the city after normal rainstorms largely a thing of the past.
Predictably, the other shoe dropped the first chance it got when Tropical Storm Arthur rolled into town. The plant failed, the flood waters rose and in the aftermath, S&WB officials sought to downplay its failure, shift blame and generally avoid scrutiny. What they didn’t do — and have never done to any real degree — is provide the public with a clear-eyed, honest explanation of the system’s problems. Worse still, the solutions they offered at a June 30 city council meeting were not particularly reassuring and frankly felt more designed to shift some of the blame onto Entergy than anything else.
Meanwhile, down on Decatur Street, S&WB’s mismanagement has dragged on for nearly a year, forcing businesses to permanently close, robbing workers of desperately needed income and pushing the neighborhood to the brink. It’s time for a ‘Come to Jesus’ moment with S&WB. While there’s some hope the city council’s new regulatory powers will help bring some reforms to the system, the board itself needs to change. That starts with taking real accountability for its failures past and present, developing a plan to get its house in order with specific goals and deadlines and setting realistic timelines and budgets for projects.
It needs to become realistic in its planning as well. There’s no reason for seemingly every project it undertakes to end up delayed and over budget. A little bit of under-promising and over-performing would go a long way to repairing trust in the board.
Crucially, S&WB needs to become much more aggressive in communicating with the public, including laying out sensible benchmarks and deadlines for projects and providing detailed explanations of potential complications or problems. That means informing us as soon as they occur, not only when someone comes asking why their street is still torn to shreds 80 days after the completion deadline.
S&WB isn’t the only one to blame for the new power plant’s failure or the only ones who need to start dealing straight with the city. When it approved the plant, the city council certainly seemed to believe in its promises — which, given S&WB’s track record, was clearly a mistake. Plus, throughout the process of getting the plant built, Entergy New Orleans — which had 82 power outages in the East in June alone — certainly never made it clear the plant wasn’t the panacea we were all led to believe it to be. At a bare minimum, ENO’s communication about the plant’s limitations with the public was woefully inadequate. Sounds pretty familiar.
shop @ gaetanasnola
Randy Hayman, Executive Director of Sewerage and Water Board
PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
@GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com
Hey Blake, With the news stories recently about street construction impacting restaurants and other businesses along Decatur Street, I was telling a friend about a great Mexican restaurant I remember being at Decatur and Gov. Nicholls in the 1980s and ’90s. Can you help me remember the name and its story?
Dear reader,
CHEF-PROPRIETOR EDWARD LANDIN
OPENED VERA CRUZ RESTAURANT IN 1980 at Decatur and Gov. Nicholls streets. Within a few years, local restaurant critics such as The TimesPicayune’s Gene Bourg hailed it for serving up “some of the city’s most imaginative Mexican dishes.” A second location of Vera Cruz opened in 1982 at 7537 Maple Street.
“A better name for this colorful, boisterous French Quarter hangout and its Uptown branch might be Guadalajara, since that’s where proprietor-chef Edward Landin’s origins lie,” Bourg wrote in 1989. He added that Vera Cruz broke out of the Tex-Mex mold, offering creative dishes such as lechon asado, “chunks of roasted and grilled pork swathed in a light garlic sauce, a salsa verde and poblano peppers.” In a review on his nomenu.com, the late food critic Tom Fitzmorris agreed
BLAKE VIEW
that the restaurant offered Mexican dishes that had not been offered much in New Orleans before. “With lots of greenery, a pleasant well-worn quality and a style of Mexican cooking seen elsewhere around New Orleans, it attracted a dedicated following of regulars,” Fitzmorris wrote. He also singled out the pork loin, as well as fajitas and “well-made versions of the standard Mexican combination platters.” Bourg’s 1989 article added that the quesadillas were “the perfect appetizer” and also loved the “tostados Merida, overflowing with black beans, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomato and grilled chicken or roast pork.”
The Decatur Street restaurant closed soon after Landin’s tragic murder in 1998. It later became a restaurant called Angeli and is now Zhang Bistro.
The Maple Street location of Vera Cruz remained open until 2008 and is now a location of Burger Nerds.
THIS YEAR MARKS THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OPENING OF ONE OF NEW ORLEANS’ HISTORIC RESTAURANTS, Maylie’s, which welcomed customers to its Poydras Street address for more than a century from 1876 until 1986.
It was founded by Bernard Maylie and Hippolyte Esparbe, Frenchmen who immigrated to New Orleans in the 1860s. They opened a coffee stall in the Poydras Market, the public market which at the time was located near Poydras and Loyola Avenue.
In 1876, the men opened their restaurant at 1001 Poydras St. In 1894, they added a second building at 1009 Poydras. They lived with their families on the second floor, and relatives continued to run the restaurant in the decades that followed.
“The food is good at Maylie’s, it hearkens back to a much older era and to one of the first real American cuisines,” wrote restaurant critic Richard Collin in his 1970 book “The New Orleans Underground Gourmet.”
“Maylie’s specializes in the old Creole meal served in a number of courses but with no printed menu,” he wrote, describing a meal which began with a deviled egg in an “excellent remoulade sauce,” followed by redfish vinaigrette, turtle soup, boiled beef with vegetables (a house specialty), ice cream and coffee.
Maylie’s closed in 1986. Copper Vine Wine Pub and Inn opened at the spot in 2018. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The restaurant Vera Cruz once stood at the intersection of Decatur and Gov. Nicholls streets, where Zhang Bistro is now located.
PHOTO BY MAX BECHERER / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
WHAT’S THE
BUZZ? BUZZ?
Inside the fight to save THC seltzers and edibles as ban nears
BY KAYLEE POCHE AND JOHN STANTON
IN THE LAST DECADE, consumable hemp products in Louisiana have gone from sketchy supplements sold from behind even sketchier gas station counters to a full-blown, legitimate industry.
These days the products have become a part of the cultural landscape for millions of Americans. THC seltzers line the shelves at grocery stores and are widely available at bars, and Crescent Canna, which sells Crescent 9 THC seltzers and edibles, even sponsors the Bayou Boogaloo music festival in New Orleans.
But these products, which use a compound from hemp, could be banned in a few months.
The hemp industry is ramping up for a final legislative push against a nationwide ban on THC seltzers, gummies and other consumable products. They’ve hired a small army of well-connected lobbyists in Washington, D.C., and are prepping a public campaign to convince Congress the industry should be saved.
But THC business owners warn time is running short.
The industry is facing a “ticking clock” of Sept. 30 to avoid a Nov. 13 ban outlawing any products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, according to one executive involved in lobbying against the ban.
Sept. 30 is when Congress will need to pass a temporary spending bill — called a continuing resolution — in order to fund the federal government through the November elections and avoid a government shutdown.
The ban, which Congress passed last year, could have enormous implications — and not just on the industry.
It’s a big business. Some estimates put the value of the hemp industry at around $30 billion. And in Louisiana,
which has state regulations on THC products, many small businesses have tapped into the market.
So when Congress abruptly decided to ban their products last fall, it hit the nascent industry hard — and sent THC business owners into panic mode.
Business owners were hoping to get the ban reversed or at least pushed back within a few months. But eight months later, the industry is still fighting to save itself from the ban.
“A lot of the industry is rightfully freaking out right now,” says Joe Gerrity, CEO of New Orleans-headquartered Crescent Canna.
FOR YEARS, the industry has fought bans at the state level across the country, many of which ended in new regulatory systems, potency limits and age restrictions instead.
But last fall, U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican who chairs the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, successfully included language in the 2026 agriculture spending bill that effectively regulates consumable hemp products out of existence.
The ban seemingly took the industry, which until then had only a modest presence in the nation’s capital, by surprise. In the aftermath, industry leaders and their allies drafted a handful of bills to create federal regulations on consumable hemp products, like THC seltzers and gummies, or push back the date the ban takes effect. So far those bills have failed to gain much traction.
Pro-THC lobbyists are now setting their sights on what they say is the most
likely measure to get through, one by Rep. Andy Barr, a Kentucky Republican.
That bill would replace the ban with a new national regulatory structure and authorize the Food and Drug Administration to set standards for consumable hemp products, including potency levels. It would also ban synthetic cannabinoids, require testing, mandate products only be sold to those 21 and older, and collect a tax on hemp beverages.
“The Barr bill is probably the industry’s favorite realistic bill,” Gerrity says. “We had a hand in crafting it.”
Pro-hemp lobbyists say they’ve also pursued a classic strategy for getting the Barr bill passed, offering it up as an amendment to must-pass bills rather than pursuing it as a standalone measure.
That strategy, they say, has allowed them to build support for the bill while not putting more conservative members in a position to have a vote that could be used against them in an election.
The plan seems to be working. So far, the industry and its congressional supporters have offered up the bill four times as an amendment to other high-priority measures. Although those attempts failed, “each shot was stronger,” the same executive notes.
DESPITE NOT HAVING MUCH INITIAL SUCCESS, the tide in D.C. appears to finally be turning in the hemp industry’s favor.
First, the National Restaurant Association, which carries significant weight with lawmakers, on June 17 called on
A Driftee THC sparkling water at Urban South Brewery
PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
A Driftee THC sparkling water at Urban South Brewery
PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
PHOTO
Congress to delay the ban and regulate the products instead.
Then the White House came out in support of keeping consumable THC products legal, specifically Trump’s Office of Budget & Management Director Russell Vought. On June 24, Vought sent a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson of Louisiana, outlining the president’s priorities for the then-looming war supplemental bill.
In addition to funding for high-profile Trump priorities, Vought also singled out Barr’s hemp bill, urging Johnson to “include revising the Federal regulation of hemp to ensure the fair treatment of hemp products in a manner consistent with [Barr’s amendment] ... or, at minimum, an extension of implementation of the regulatory framework.”
Although that language didn’t end up in the war funding bill, it nevertheless sent a clear signal that the issue has the White House’s attention and active support.
Vought’s influence in Washington is hard to overstate. Vought was one of the authors of Project 2025 and is one of Trump’s most trusted advisors.
Eric Becker, co-founder of New Orleans-based Louie Louie THC seltzers, says the letter “buoyed the industry.”
“That letter gave us, I won’t say a confidence, but more hope and was one of the most concrete things to date, if not the most concrete thing, that’s actually happened,” he says.
Meanwhile, over the last few months the hemp beverage industry has gone from having a handful of folks lobbying Congress and the administration to upward of 25, including some serious heavyweights in Washington.
According to Legistorm, which tracks lobbying contracts, among those now working for the industry are Daniel Jay Cameron, the former attorney general of Kentucky who served as legal counsel to Sen. Mitch McConnell, and Dan Ziegler, who most recently worked as House Speaker Mike Johnson’s policy director until early 2025. They could prove crucial to the industry’s success.
Additionally, Robert Butora, who previously worked for Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, has also lobbied for the industry, according to Legistorm.
Although McConnell is no longer Senate majority leader, he remains influential in the Senate. He fought for the ban in the first place and has long opposed relaxation of cannabis laws. So while he’s unlikely to actively support the bill, convincing him to not stand in its way would remove a major roadblock for the industry.
As for Johnson, his role as speaker means his job is to control what makes it through the House. And while at least publicly Johnson is no fan of vice, given the size of the industry here in his home state and Trump’s support, he could be convinced to back the measure.
As the deadline nears, pro-hemp lobbyists are planning to rally the public to pressure their Congress members to take action. They hope that by showing lawmakers how enormously popular and profitable these products are, they can overcome the stigma hemp and cannabis might still have with some members.
Gerrity of Crescent Canna and Becker of Louie Louie are teaming up with the Urban South, the creator of Driftee seltzers, to form the Louisiana Hemp Beverage Coalition. They haven’t officially launched yet, but their first task will be hiring a national polling company to conduct a public opinion poll on the products, he says.
Still, there is significant uncertainty about this industry’s future. For one, even if they can get something into the continuing resolution in September, what that language will be remains unclear.
“How it gets into that bill and what it looks like remains to be seen,” Gerrity says. “But with the Trump administration’s backing, we expect that rankand-file Republicans will support this, and we believe that there is enough bipartisan support for this issue that it should be something that is popular and supported by the American public and makes its way into that bill.”
Gerrity also says there’s talk that if it doesn’t get passed, Trump could take executive action to delay the ban, which would still leave them in limbo.
“We want to exist in a codified legal way,” he says. “We don’t love not knowing what the federal government’s position on this is.”
THE UNCERTAINTY caused by the looming ban has already started impacting the industry. Some farmers have continued growing hemp as usual in hopes the ban won’t go into effect. But others have either cut back or stopped growing hemp altogether.
Similarly, some distributors and retailers have scaled back their operations.
Becker says this could lead to some supply constraints in the fall, even if the ban doesn’t take effect. Gerrity says consumers could see “potentially slightly higher prices in the short-term.”
“The uncertainty is absolutely stifling innovation in this industry and harming small business owners and farmers more than the federal government seems to realize,” Gerrity says.
Gerrity says in June he laid off 20 salespeople at his national company Crescent Canna. Most were not based in New Orleans, though some were.
“While we have confidence that something is going to get done, the amount of confidence you can have in this current Congress with the current political climate needs to be tempered,” he says.
“It is extremely risky to rely on Congress to get anything done right now.”
Becker says at Louie Louie, the company has let go of four part-time out-of-state sales associates on their small team due to uncertainty federally and in other states.
Small businesses so far have led the way in the THC industry. Because there aren’t federal regulations on consumable hemp products, they were more willing to jump in in the beginning and operate in the legal gray area than big alcohol companies who were worried about losing their liquor licenses.
But some worry that if the ban were to take effect and then get reversed in a few months, many small businesses couldn’t survive the lapse, clearing the way for the major alcohol companies to take over the market.
“If they had it their way, the only three beverages that were in play would be Bud Light, Bud Light Green, Miller Lite Green,” Gerrity says. “They would love to wipe us out and start from scratch. It would be hugely advantageous for them, and there’s no doubt that that’s the reason a lot of these companies are pursuing a ban in the short term.”
Becker says he is hoping for the best but preparing Louie Louie for a temporary ban, which he doesn’t think would last longer than six months due to the demand for the products. The company is winding down their THC seltzer inventory to make sure they’re sold out by November and are planning to launch a new THC-free soda line after Labor Day.
“We’re of the mindset that better to be prepared and be delightfully surprised than the other way around,” he says.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought
PHOTO BY MARIAM ZUHAIB / THE AP
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and Rep. Andy Barr, R-Kentucky
PHOTO BY J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / THE AP
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and Rep. Andy Barr, R-Kentucky
PHOTO BY J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / THE AP
EAT + DRINK
Sweet spot
Barrio Bites opens in Mid-City
VICTORIA MELGAR NEVER INTENDED TO BE A BAKER. But after opening Barrio Bites in Mid-City in April with her daughter, pastry chef Laura Bueso, she’s back in the kitchen.
The road to opening the restaurant — which serves croissants, sandwiches, desserts and more — has been full of twists and turns.For years, Melgar and her sister had a thriving bodyworks business in the CBD, steps from the convention center, fed by a steady stream of stressed-out meeting attendees.
But then Hurricane Katrina wiped the landscape of both local clients and visitors.
“My sister was in Texas and saw a cupcake bakery,” Melgar says. “She came back and said, ‘Vicki, there’s no cupcake place here, let’s do it.’ We weren’t bakers. Fortunately, my mom is a baker, and using her recipes, we got it down.”
The sisters opened the Kupcake Factory, which grew to five locations around town. But the pandemic thwarted their long-term plans.
“It got to be too much, too hard to find help when the pandemic came,” Melgar says. So she pivoted and leaned into a third career, becoming a surgical tech.
While the cupcake brand didn’t survive, the business inspired her daughter, who had fallen in love with baking as a child.
“My grandmother taught me how to cook and bake,” Bueso says. “I remember standing on a chair cooking with her when I was about 4.”
Bueso was in the first cohort of culinary students at the New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute (NOCHI), studying under chef Zak Miller. She built her own following on the Northshore with Elizabeth’z Bakery and was a regular presence at local farmers markets, with a specialty in Dubai chocolate treats.
“It was my dream to have my own place — not just a bakery, but a cafe,” says Bueso, who currently lives across the lake with her partner and young son.
by Beth D’Addono |
Although the idea was to stay on the Northshore, when she saw on social media that the former Church Alley Coffee space was up for lease, it seemed like a perfect fit.
Located at street level at 4201
Canal St., most recently a storefront for Laozi Ice Cream, Barrio Bites exudes homespun charm and the family’s natural hospitality, which is tied to their Honduran roots. Melgar’s parents moved the family from Honduras when she was a toddler, and they settled in Gretna to be close to her great-grandmother.
“We are very connected to our culture,” Bueso says. “We love to feed people.”
The cafe is simply adorned, with comfy chairs and couches and sturdy wooden tables that Melgar and her boyfriend made by hand. The walls are a deep blue, punctuated by a handful of paintings by local artists. Guests order at the counter, which is connected to the compact kitchen.
On the savory side, there are ham and cheese croissants, a Cuban sandwich on bolillo bread sourced from Miami, and an outstanding mortadella and burrata sandwich with pesto and hot honey on house-made focaccia. A fluffy veggie mushroom quiche is built on a buttery crust. The chef makes the flour tortillas for the Honduran baleadas, which are filled with beans, avocado, queso fresco and crema.
Besides chocolate croissants and cinnamon rolls, baked goods include cupcakes in flavors like banana, Key lime and red velvet. The cookies are huge and studded with chocolate chips and other goodies. There’s a robust coffee program, with beans supplied by Luma Coffee Roasters in Hammond.
The best surprise on the menu is the chef’s outstanding Basque cheesecake, cut in a hefty wedge of heavy cream and cream cheese goodness under a burnished top crust — not too sweet and just right.
As if scratch baking and savory sandwiches weren’t enough, there’s a snowball window around back. Beyond scooping the usual favorites, the chef plays around with flavors like coconut mango sticky rice and matcha.
They are still looking to add bakers and a barista to the cafe.
“We are just really getting started,” Bueso says.
The name Barrio Bites translates to neighborhood bites, and it already fits.
“We are getting so many locals walking in from the neighborhood,” Bueso says. “We’re thrilled to be here.”
FORK + CENTER
Broussard’s has new owners
BROUSSARD’S RESTAURANT, A CREOLE GRANDE DAME OF FRENCH QUARTER dining dating back more than a century, now has new owners.
Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts, the New Orleans hospitality group that has owned and operated it for 13 years, has sold Broussard’s to chef Brian Landry and Emery Whalen, the company confirmed.
Landry and Whalen’s company QED Hospitality runs Jack Rose restaurant, the Bayou Bar, Hot Tin bar and the Silver Whistle Café, all at the Pontchartrain Hotel on St. Charles Avenue, and more restaurants outside Louisiana.
Broussard’s opened in 1920 in a historic mansion at 819 Conti St., a few steps off Bourbon Street. Across the property, there are numerous dining rooms, a lounge dubbed the Empire Bar, and one of the French Quarter’s great courtyards. It’s been the setting for countless weddings and functions through generations.
It has also had a number of owners through the years. From the 1980s, it was owned by chef Gunter Preuss and his wife Evelyn Preuss. They sold it to Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts in 2013, when that local company was just beginning a large expansion into fine dining.
“After many years of stewardship, it became just as important to us that Broussard’s be passed on to individuals who understand the responsibility of preserving this piece of culinary history,” said Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts CEO Marv Ammari.
Victoria Melgar and her daughter Laura Bueso opened Barrio Bites.
PHOTO BY MADDIE SPINNER / GAMBIT
Emery Whalen and Brian Landry of QED Hospitality bought Broussard’s Restaurant.
PROVIDED PHOTO
“We are endlessly grateful to this community for allowing us to serve them and be part of their celebrations, milestones and everyday moments over these many years.”
He said Landry and Whalen’s track record made them the right fit to take over the historic property.
“Their deep respect for tradition, commitment to hospitality, and love for this city give us confidence that Broussard’s will continue to thrive for generations to come,” he said. “We are proud to pass this landmark to them and are grateful to see its next chapter begin.”
Landry called Broussard’s “a cornerstone of this city’s dining scene for generations.”
“Our focus is simple, honor what makes Broussard’s special and carry it forward thoughtfully,” he said.
Landry said the restaurant will not close with the transition, and its staff will become QED Hospitality employees. The chef said he and Whalen intend to continue business as usual at the restaurant and that they have no immediate plans for significant changes. They want to watch and learn how
Broussard’s runs first and eventually put their stamp on it.
Early in his career, Landry was the chef at Galatoire’s Restaurant. He later served as an ambassador chef for the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board, part of a campaign following the BP oil spill. He was the opening chef at Borgne, the downtown seafood spot from BRG Hospitality, the restaurant group where Whalen was an operations manager at the time. They formed QED Hospitality together and led the transformation of the Caribbean Room at the Pontchartrain Hotel into Jack Rose, recasting it for a new generation. It serves a much more modern Creole menu (while keeping its predecessor’s famed Mile High Pie) in a vibrant setting that has made it a destination for festive brunches.
In addition to the properties at the Pontchartrain Hotel, they run the restaurants and bars at the Thompson Nashville hotel in Tennessee and the restaurant at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky, called the Kitchen Table. Broussard’s history runs deep. From the 1920s, it served a traditional
French Creole menu and hosted dances with live music, and by the 1940s, it was boasting an air-conditioned cocktail lounge.
In the 1970s, it was run by the late legendary New Orleans restaurateur Joe Segreto and his partners, who turned it into a magnet for visiting celebrities. The chef in that era was Nathaniel Burton, one of the most respected chefs in the city and co-author of the seminal cookbook on Black Creole flavor, “Creole Feast.” For many years prior to that, he was chef at the Caribbean Room.
The Preuss era at Broussard’s lasted more than 30 years. After its purchase, Ammari’s company completed a $1 million renovation of the restaurant to improve back-of-house systems, polish the dining spaces, expand the bar and landscape the courtyard anew. — Ian McNulty / The Times-Picayune
14 Parishes closes on Oak
THE JAMAICAN RESTAURANT 14 PARISHES HAS CLOSED its Oak Street location, but owners are teasing future plans to continue serving its Caribbean dishes.
The restaurant’s owners announced June 20 in an Instagram post that the 8227 Oak St. location would close after five years on the popular Uptown street.
However, 14 Parishes will still sell jerk dishes and meat pies from its food truck, and owners are preparing for the “next project.”
“Ten years in the game and five great years on Oak Street, we’re turning the page on a new chapter,” 14 Parishes’ Instagram post read. “We’re saying goodbye to this location, we’re not saying goodbye to 14 Parishes ever!”
14 Parishes opened its Oak Street location in 2021. The restaurant, owned by husband and wife team Charles and Lauren Blake, had a stand at the now-closed Pythian Market and a previous Central City location on Clio Street.
In 2023, 14 Parishes expanded to an Algiers Point location, but the restaurant storefront closed late last year after Charles Blake had health issues. — Marco Cartolano / The Times-Picayune
Weekend Specials
July 3-5
—APPS—
SpinachDip
Friedblackberry jalapeño ribs
—LUNCH
Shrimp stew with friedcatfish
Barbecue pulled pork sandwich topped with slaw with fries
Atwo meat barbecue platepulledpork legquarter with bakedbeans andcoleslaw
Crawfish
mac&cheese with friedcatfish
BRUNCH
Saturday &Sunday!
—DINNER—
Athree meat barbecue platethree ribs,pulledporkleg, quarters
bakedbeans,coleslaw, andpotatosalad
Friedredfishover jambalaya with crawfishétouffée or seafoodcream
jumbosoftshell platter
—Brunch EGGS ACADIANA
French toast with bourbon, blueberry sauce, andbacon
Jacob Roark Scott
Pitmaster/chef
by Will Coviello
it was me and kids my age. Once I got into it, it was so much fun. I wanted to do as much TV as they’d let me.
I did “Chopped Junior” after that, and that one was out of this world. It was back to back to back 30 minutes, you’ve got to get something on the plate.
JACOB ROARK SCOTT GREW UP IN THE BARBECUE BUSINESS in Yazoo City, Mississippi. His family sold barbecue sauce for generations and ran Ubons BBQ restaurant, and they also competed in barbecue competitions like Memphis in May. Scott recently graduated from the John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, and his family now lives in New Orleans. Over the years, they’ve visited the city often, including competing on Team Ubons at Hogs for the Cause. He has appeared on TV cooking shows before, but now Jacob and his mother Leslie Roark Scott are competing as a team on the Food Network barbecue competition “Pitmasters,” which premieres July 13. For more about the show, visit foodnetwork.com/shows/pitmasters. For more about Jacob Scott, see @pitmasterjacob on Instagram.
3701 iberville st 504.488.6582 katiesinmidcity.com Mon-Thurs 11am-9pm Fri&Sat 11am-10pm•Sun 10am-5pm nmidcity
What was it like growing up in a barbecue family?
“Pitmasters” was out of this world. It was intense, constant work. I was the youngest participant out there, so there’s a little bit of nerves. Although I was competing with everyone there, there was some camaraderie that we had. It was barbecue at its primal instincts. It wasn’t just live fire, it was true live fire from the ashes and embers. It was a long form cooking format, but there were still elements that were fast paced and you couldn’t catch your breath.
JACOB ROARK SCOTT: I am originally from Yazoo City, Mississippi. It’s a very small town, the gateway to the Delta. My family has been doing barbecue for about five generations now. It started with our barbecue sauce. My great-great-grandmother started the recipe, and it moved down. It was my grandfather and my mom who started doing competitions. They were doing small stuff in Mississippi, and then they branched out in Memphis.
it’s there to balance out the fattiness and richness from the pork. There are so many different views of what barbecue is. You have Texas, and they focus on beef. You have South Carolina and Kansas City. Every place has a different style, but we all share hospitality.
Why did you go to culinary school?
S: I wanted to get more formal training. I wanted to focus on business aspects and get more classical French training. When I went into school, I was already a pitmaster. I was already proficient with longform cooking and smoking.
I was about 10 when my grandfather started bringing me in. He’d get me a bread box to stand on so I could reach the table and break down and prep butts for competitions with him. So I have been doing this for a long time. It’s in my blood. It’s who I am to my core.
My family, we always say, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” but there were moments where you had to pick up the gas and run a little bit. We got to represent who we are. Me and mom focused on pork because that’s where we felt most comfortable. We could work with anything, but we did pork and a little bit of chicken. We had to do two proteins and two sides.
The goal was to take what I learned and go back home and put it toward the restaurant. I have already been in this industry for a while, and it’s helped me be more comfortable when I go into these big, fastpaced kitchens in New Orleans.
With Memphis in May, it feels like a lot more time. There’s no potential of a crowd watching. With this show, you’re taking into consideration that, OK, I don’t want to look like a fool. You have to create a great product and be informative and entertaining, and you don’t want to look a little crazy. But Memphis in May feels like you’re cooking at your house instead of a stage.
My entrance was working at the restaurant, whether it was waiting tables, washing dishes or cooking. On top of that, my learning to barbecue was on the barbecue circuit and at competitions, so I had to learn real quick and avoid mistakes. It truly was trial by fire.
I like to stick to the Memphis style of cooking. Memphis style is low and slow cooking. The barbecue sauces are a little more on the vinegar base side. They’re more suited to enhance the barbecue flavor instead of being its own thing. A lot of barbecue is sticky and sweet. Here it is more on the savory side, and
Now, I am taking what I have learned and am putting it into solo projects with my mom. Me and my mom are taking advantage of the summer and doing some YouTube stuff and making videos. We’re starting to do some social media stuff.
What have you learned from competing on TV cooking competitions?
S: The first show I did was “Kids BBQ Championship.” It was kind of similar to this. It was elimination based, and
My mom and I have been a team forever. This feels like second nature for us. With all my previous shows, I was a minor and you had to have a guardian. So my mom would be in the green room. She has done shows in the past, and she’s just as nervous as I am. In these competitions, we’re working with the same mind. We’re separate but working on the same task and not stepping on each other’s feet. We’re a pretty efficient team.
Leslie Roark Scott and Jacob Scott PROVIDED PHOTO BY KIM RAFF
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.
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. $$ The Commissary — 634 Orange St., (504) 274-1850; thecommissarynola.com — Dickie Brennan’s Commissary supplies his other restaurant kitchens and also has a dine-in
$ — average dinner entrée under $10
$$ $11-$20
$$$ — $20-up
menu and prepared foods to go. A smoked turkey sandwich is served with bacon, tomato jam, herbed cream cheese, arugula and herb vinaigrette on honey oat bread. The menu includes dips, salads, sandwiches, boudin balls, fried oysters and more. No reservations. Outdoor seating available. Lunch Tue.-Sat. $$
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. $$$
Domenica — 123 Baronne St., (504) 6486020; domenicarestaurant.com — The Italian restaurant offers a mix of wood-fired Napolitano-style pizzas and house-made pastas. Appetizers include various salumi and cheese boards, antipasti, roasted cauliflower and more. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$
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. $$
Mosca’s — 4137 Highway 90 West, Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery serves Italian dishes and specialties including shrimp Mosca, baked oysters Mosca and spaghetti bordelaise and chicken cacciatore. Chicken a la grands is sauteed with garlic, rosemary, Italian herbs and white wine. Reservations accepted. Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$
OUT TO EAT
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 Orleans-style 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, housemade cheddar whiz, mushrooms, onions, banana peppers and more. Delivery available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Wed.-Sun. $
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Jay Light
Los Angeles comedian Jay Light also has worked in TV, serving as a producer on shows like “MasterChef.” One of his funnier recurring shows is the faux game show “Wrong! A F*cked Up Game Show,” in which he asks contestants from the audience questions based on the analytics of PornHub and its record of searches and preferences of users. He performs stand-up at 9 p.m. Thursday, July 9, at Sports Drink. Tickets $28.99 via sportsdrink.org.
‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’
In the musical adaptation of the movie, Elle Woods enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend. She delights in defying expectations, especially in the courtroom. The show features the songs “Omigod You Guys,” “Bend and Snap” and more. It runs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 9, through Saturday, July 11, and 2 p.m. Sunday, July 12, at Rivertown Theaters for the Performing arts, and continues July 15-19. Tickets $52.19$56.58 via rivertowntheaters.com.
Glow in the Oaks
The party in City Park’s Carousel Garden and Amusement Park features a silent disco and unlimited rides. There also is a glitter bar, face paint, lemonade, glow-item giveaways and more. Food vendors include the Mo Fries food truck, Nothing Bundt Cakes and Parker’s Pizza. At 7-10 p.m. Saturday, July 11. Tickets $35, $30 for Friends of City Park members, and children under 36 inches get in free. Visit neworleanscitypark.org for tickets and information.
Bastille Fete
The Alliance Francaise de la NouvelleOrleans celebrates the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille at the beginning of the French Revolution. There’s music by Les Provocateurs, Elijah Hartman & Band and DJs, as well as a costume contest. Food and drinks include crepes, cheese, charcuterie, ice cream and French wines. There also are kids activities. At 6-10 p.m. Friday, July 10, at the Alliance Francaise at 1519 Jackson Ave. Tickets $15 online and $20 at the door. Visit af-neworleans.org for tickets and information.
‘Astral Plane Drifter’
Mike Caravella wrote, stars and helped direct “Astral Plane Drifter,” a mashup that seems designed to be a midnight movie favorite. His drifter lives in the California desert and alternately seems like a slacker or mystic
in a film invoking throwback martial arts films, sci-fi, drug movies and more. Caravella will do a Q&A after a screening at 9 p.m. Sunday, July 12, at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge. Admission $8-$10. Visit zeitgeistnola. org for information.
Joe Krown Trio + 1
New Orleans pianist and organist
Joe Krown is a go-to player for blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and his trio has been a local mainstay since the 2000s when Krown and the late Walter “Wolfman” Washington and Russell Batiste began playing Sunday nights at the Maple Leaf. Krown continues to hold down Sundays at the Leaf and is now joined by drummer Eric Bolivar and bassist Cass Faulconer and their +1, guitarist Papa Mali. The ensemble recently released the album “Qualified,” featuring songs by Dr. John, Professor Longhair, James Booker and some Krown originals. They next play at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 12. Tickets are $18 advance via mapleleafbar.com.
Snooper
A Snooper show is a lot of high-energy fun. The Nashville, Tennessee, punk band starts fast and loud and stays there, incorporating big papier-mache props and high kicks along the way. Snooper released its second studio album, “Worldwide,” last year, and the group is back in New Orleans for a show with W-9 and Fiend at 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 7, at Siberia. Tickets are $24.92 via dice.fm.
Honey Island Swamp Band
The roots rock band headlines a Free Fridays show at Tipitina’s. Deltaphonic opens at 9 p.m. Friday, July 10. Admission is first come, first served. For information, visit tipitinas.com.
‘Gaslit’ screening
In the new documentary “Gaslit,” actor and activist Jane Fonda travels to communities in Texas and Louisiana to talk with locals living in the shadow of the fossil fuel industry. Along with shrimpers, ranchers and former oil workers, the film also focuses on the activists and organizations fighting against pollution and exploitation by oil and gas companies. “Gaslit” won the best documentary award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and now makes its local premiere at 7 p.m. Monday, July 6, at the AMC Elmwood Palace. A Q&A with director Katie Camosy will follow. Find info and tickets at gaslitdoc.com.
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MUSIC
FOR COMP L ETE M U SIC L ISTINGS AND MORE EVENTS TAKING P L ACE IN THE NEW OR L EANS AREA, VISIT CALENDAR.GAMBITWEEKLY.COM
To learn more about adding your event to the music calendar, please email listingsedit@gambitweekly.com
MONDAY 6
30/90 — The Dapper Dandies, 6 pm; Velvet Collective, 9 pm
ALLWAYS LOUNGE — Betsy Propane & The Accessories, 7 pm
APPLE BARREL Mark Appleford, 6 pm; Decaturadio, 10:30 pm
BACCHANAL Juan Tigre, 6 pm
BAMBOULA’S The New Orleans Rug Cutters, 12 pm; Jon Roniger, 4:30 pm; Ted Hefko & the Thousandaires, 9 pm
BUFFA’S David Doucet, 7 pm
CAFÉ ISTANBUL James Singleton, Brian Haas & Justin Peake, 7 pm
CAFÉ NEGRIL Keep It Rollin Brass Band, 8:30 pm
CARROLLTON STATION — Biscuits n’ Jam with Meryl Zimmerman & Friends, 10 pm
DBA — Secret Six Jazz Band, 6 pm; Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet, 9:30 pm
DOS JEFES — John Fohl, 8:30 pm
HOLY DIVER — International & Irrational with DJ Chrischarge, 10 pm
FRITZEL’S JAZZ CLUB — Tin Men, 5 pm; Richard Scott & Friends, 8 pm
THE MAISON — Gene’s Music Machine, 8 pm
MAPLE LEAF BAR — George Porter Jr. Trio, 7 pm; 10 pm
MAYFIELD’S 208 — Kermit Ru ns: Red Bean Mondays, 6 pm
NOLA BREWING & PIZZA CO — Bluegrass Pickin' Party, 7 pm
POORBOYS — Gumbolaya, 9 pm
SATURN BAR BC Coogan, 8:30 pm
SIBERIA — The Pause + Oh Dang + Badout t, 9 pm
SNUG HARBOR — Charmaine Neville Band, 7:30 pm; 9:30 pm
TRUE SOUTH — Danny Alexander Blues Jam, 8 pm
TUESDAY 7
30/90 Kayla Jasmine, 9 pm
APPLE BARREL — Bubbles Brown, 6 pm; Jackson’s Flying Circus, 10:30 pm
BACCHANAL — Tangiers Combo, 6 pm
BAYOU BAR Double Bird, 8 pm; 10 pm
BJ'S LOUNGE BYWATER Bruisey's Bottoms Up Open Mic, 9 pm
BUFFA’S — Wilson-Weber Project, 7 pm
CAFÉ NEGRIL — Super-Most-FantasticBlues-N-Such-Jam, 7 pm
CAJUN BOIL HOUSE — Les Getrex, 3 pm
DBA — Les Femmes Farouches, 6 pm; Kid Chocolate + the Free POC, 9:30 pm
DOS JEFES Tom Hook, 8:30 pm
GASA GASA — Adjust the Sails + HummusVacuum, 8 pm
MAHOGANY JAZZ HALL — Big Joe Kennedy, 6 pm; Kevin Louis & The Home Team, 8 pm
THE MAISON — Jacky Blaire, 5 pm; Paradise Jazz Band, 8 pm
OKAY BAR Big Easy Stompers Line Dancing & Lessons, 7 pm
THE RABBIT HOLE Rebirth Brass Band, 10 pm
SATURN BAR — Giddy Up Two Step, 5 pm; Personal Space, Jon Sheckler, and Trivial Matters, 9 pm
SIBERIA — Snooper + W-9 + Fiend, 9 pm
ST. ROCH TAVERN Hairaoke: Haircuts & Karaoke, 8 pm
VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE Cuttin’ Up with Lil Prince and the Youngbloods, 10 pm
WEDNESDAY 8
30/90 — Je$ Chaz Blues Band, 6 pm
APPLE BARREL Felipe Kerra, 6 pm; Joey Houck, 10 pm
BACCHANAL Jesse Morrow, 6 pm
BAYOU BAR — Firm Roots, 8 pm; 10 pm
BJ'S LOUNGE BYWATER Nic Cage Movie Bingo, 8 pm
BLUE NILE — Gumbo Funk, 9 pm
BUFFA’S — Mark Carroll, 7 pm
CAFÉ DEGAS Gizinti Trio, 6 pm
CAFÉ NEGRIL — Jam-ilton, 7:30 pm
DBA Stephen Walker N’em, 6 pm; The Next Level Band, 9:30 pm
DOS JEFES — Joplin Parnell, 8:30 pm
FRITZEL’S JAZZ CLUB — Ross Hoppe Trio, 1 pm; Bourbon Street Stars, 5 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band with Kevin Ray Clark, 8 pm
GASA GASA — Hardgore Brutality, 7 pm
HOLY DIVER The Amazing Henrietta, 8 pm
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE HOTEL — Lilith In Loa, 7 pm
JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Funkin’ It Up with Big Sam, 7:30 pm
LOA BAR Lilith In Loa Concert Series ft. Zahria Sims, 8 pm
MAHOGANY JAZZ HALL Paul
Longstreth Trio, 6 pm; Mahogany Hall All Stars ft. Tom Fischer, 8 pm
THE MAISON Gene’s Music Machine, 6 pm
MAYFIELD’S 208 — Irvin May eld ft. Kermit Ru ns, 6 pm
SANTOS BAR — Chambre Noir with Paco, 10 pm
SATURN BAR Civil Serpents + Amorance + Bite Back + Embroiled, 9 pm
SNUG HARBOR Sullivan Dabney & the Muzik Jazz Band, 5 pm; The Uptown Jazz Orchestra, 7:30 pm; 9:30 pm
VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE Nat & Kat Cajun String Band, 8:30 pm
THURSDAY 9
30/90 The Dapper Dandies, 6 pm; Funk Nola, 9 pm
4141 NOLA Ross Hoppe, 6:30 pm
ALLWAYS LOUNGE Van Ella Bordella, 7 pm
AVENUE PUB Third Moon, 9 pm
BACCHANAL — David Sigler, 6 pm
BAYOU BAR Cryptic, 8 pm; 10 pm
BJ’S LOUNGE —Spoon Fed Jr., 9 pm
BLUE NILE — Irvin May eld’s Music Church, 10 pm; DJ T-Roy, 11 pm
BMC — Dapper Dandies, 6 pm; J.A.M. Brass Band, 9 pm
BUFFA’S — Tom McDermott & Aurora Nealand, 7 pm
CAFÉ NEGRIL — Blues at Work with Phil Breen, 6:30 pm; Armani Smith & Soul Ties, 10 pm
DBA — Palmetto Bug Stompers, 6 pm; Vegas Cola, 9:30 pm
DOS JEFES — Tangiers Combo, 8:30 pm
DOUBLE DEALER Saskia Says, 8:30 pm
THE DRAGON’S DEN $5 Zydeco Fridays with line dancing and Yung Dex Brass Band, 6 pm
FRITZEL’S JAZZ CLUB — Joplin Parnell, 12 pm; Doyle Cooper Band, 2 pm; John Saavedra Band, 5 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band with Caleb Nelson, 8 pm
GASA GASA —Sparta with War on Women, 8 pm
GOOD MEASURE Justin Donovan & Shawan Rice, 8 pm
HOLY DIVER — Ratchet Dolls, The Raymonds & Nasty Habits, 9 pm
LE BON TEMPS ROULE The Soul Rebels, 11 pm LIVIN SWELL 4211 RECORDING STUDIOS — Thursday Night House Party featuring Stooges Brass Band, 8 pm
THE MAISON — The Champagniacs, 4:30 pm; St. Julien X, 8:30 pm
MAPLE LEAF BAR Booker & Beyond Piano Series with Shea Pierre, 6 pm; Johnny Vidacovich Trio, 8 pm
OKAY BAR — Mere Of Light + Danelioness + Nicki Needham + Beach Angel, 7 pm
PEACOCK ROOM Da Lovebirds: Robin Barnes & Pat Casey, 8 pm
RABBIT HOLE — Free Thursdays with DJ Zack Weiss, 9 pm
ROCK 'N' BOWL Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, 8 pm
SAINT JOHN — Live Music Thursdays at Saint John with Sean Riley & The Water, 4 pm
SIBERIA Death Valley Girls + BS Machine, 9 pm
TIPITINA’S — Hatebreed + Devourment + Snu$ed on Sight + Balmora + Face Yourself, 6 pm
VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet, 10 pm
Tori Amos plays the Saegner Sunday, July 12 at 7:30 pm
PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE
MUSIC
FRIDAY 10
30/90 — Lil Red & The Big Bad, 5 pm; The New Orleans Johnnys, 8 pm; Street Lyfe, 11 pmAllways Lounge — Bayou Blues Burlesque, 8 pm
ANNA’S — The Upstairs Tee Na Na Nay with DJs Lady Li, Karo & Rey Roge, 9 pm
APPLE BARREL — Bubbles Brown, 6 pm; Joey Houck, 10:30 pm
BACCHANAL — Willie Green III, 7 pm
BAMBOULA’S — Mark Appleford, 7 pm
BLUE NILE Kermit Ru ns & The BBQ Swingers, 10 pm; DJ Jess (Upstairs), 10 pm
BMC — Ado Soul & The Tribe, 6 pm; Kat Kiley Experience, 9 pm
BUFFA’S — Jamie Bernstein, Lynn Drury & Ben Bell, 8 pm
CAFÉ NEGRIL Dana Abbott Band, 6 pm; Higher Heights, 10 pm
CARROLLTON STATION The Dirty Rain Revelers + Carolyn Broussard, 8 pm
DOS JEFES Jay Dufour & the Strange Gang, 9 pm
DOUBLE DEALER — The Satin Strings, 9:30 pm
FAVELA CHIC — Jass Hysteria, 4 pm
GASA GASA Blue Widow//Dana Ives// Beach Face, 8 pm
GOOD MEASURE — CLOUDSAVE, 9 pm
HOLY DIVER DarkLounge Ministries, 8 pm
LE BON TEMPS ROULÉ The Team Players, 11 pm
THE MAISON — Shotgun Jazz Band, 5 pm; Feral House Cats, 9 pm
MAPLE LEAF BAR — Pocket Chocolate, 9 pm
NO DICE — Shape Shifter ft. Sel 6, Brother Dan & Tristan Dufrene, 10 pm
RABBIT HOLE — Cloud 9 with DJs Hollograham & 87, 10 pm
ROCK 'N' BOWL Paperchase, 8:30 pm
SANTOS BAR The Summoning of the Heauxs ft. Mijita, 10 pm
SATURN BAR Crystal Voyager + Shane Love, 9 pm
SNUG HARBOR — Victor Goines Quartet, 7:30 pm; 9:30 pm
TIPITINA’S — Free Fridays Concert Series ft. Honey Island Swamp Band + Deltaphonic, 9 pm
SATURDAY 11
30/90 St. Julien X, 5 pm; Deltaphonic, 8 pm; The Kazzettes, 11 pm
BACCHANAL Raphael Bas, 7 pm
BLUE NILE The Caesar Brothers’ FunkBox, 7:30 pm; Afrobeat NOLA, 10 pm
BLUE NILE BALCONY ROOM The Next Level Band, 10 pm
BUFFA’S — Uriel, 8 pm
CAFÉ NEGRIL Decaturadio, 1:30 pm; Sunny Side Jazz Band, 6 pm; Higher Heights, 10 pm
CHICKIE WAH WAH — Paul Sanchez Plays Johnny Cash, 8 pm
DOUBLE DEALER Justin Donovan, 9:30 pm
GOOD MEASURE Pocket Chocolate, 9 pm
LE BON TEMPS ROULÉ — CLOUDSAVE, 11 pm
MAPLE LEAF BAR Eric Johanson, 8 pm
NO DICE — Assembly + Hey Thanks. + Hostage Pit + Hard Fun, 9 pm
OKAY BAR Fine Mess + CS Cleaners + Urq + Walmart2, 8 pm
ROCK 'N' BOWL 29th Anniversary of the Chee Weez, 8:30 pm
SANTOS BAR — DJ Derraj Birthday Bash with Special Guest DJs, 10 pm
SATURN BAR Disco Line Dancing with Giddy Up Two Step, 6 pm; Mod Dance Party, 10 pm
SUNDAY 12
30/90 — Funhouse, 3 pm; Anne Elise & The Swamp Circus, 6 pm; Single Malt Please, 9 pm
ALLWAYS LOUNGE — Sunday Swing, 9 pm
BACCHANAL Pete Olynciw, 7 pm
BJ'S LOUNGE BYWATER — James McClaskey & the Rhythm Band, 9 pm
BLUE NILE Street Legends Brass Band, 9:30 pm
BUFFA’S — Charlie Wooton, 7 pm
CAFÉ NEGRIL — John Lisi & Delta Funk, 4 pm; Ado Soul & The Tribe, 9 pm
DBA Paradise Jazz Band, 6 pm; The Jump Hounds, 9:30 pm
DOS JEFES — Raphael Bas, 8 pm
GASA GASA Zoomst + Don’t Make Trouble, 8 pm
HOWLIN’ WOLF — Hot 8 Brass Band, 10:30 pm
MAPLE LEAF BAR Joe Krown Trio with Papa Mali, 9 pm
OLD ARABI LIGHTHOUSE RECORDS
AND BOOKS Open Mic Night with guest host Miro Mae, 6 pm
SAENGER THEATRE — Tori Amos with Bartees Strange,7:30 pm
ST. ROCH TAVERN Old Country Night, 9 pm
NEWSVIEWS MUSICPOLITICS
Meet the parents
by Will Coviello
WORKING WHAT’S NOT
the g
WHAT’S
CULTURE CUISINE CARNIVAL
WHILE “LA CAGE AUX FOLLES” IS A MUSICAL FARCE full of drag numbers, at its core it is about a young man who asks his gay father and his partner to hide their sexuality and relationship during a first meeting with his fiancee’s conservative parents.
It’s set in St. Tropez, France, where his father Georges owns a nightclub that features his partner Albin as the drag star Zaza.
“La Cage” was first a French play, then a movie and then an award-winning musical on Broadway in 1983, breaking ground as the first Broadway musical hit centered on a gay couple. There were plans for a version set in New Orleans instead of France and named “The Queen of Basin Street,” but that production never happened.
The stage musical “La Cage Aux Folles” is back this week as Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane University presents the show July 9-12 at Dixon Hall. Summer Lyric last presented “La Cage” in 2013, and Diane Lala choreographed the show. This time she’s directing and choreographing it. She’s also been in the show as one of the Cagelles.
In the story, Georges owns a nightclub called La Cafe Aux Folles. Albin is its star drag performer Zaza. In the bigger numbers, Zaza is supported by a troupe of dancers all in drag, the Cagelles.
politician and leader of an anti-gay party that threatens to close down drag clubs.
The Dindons want to meet JeanMichel’s parents, and Jean-Michel asks his father to hide his relationship with Albin. They also invite his mother to return. That’s a lot to ask of Albin — by Jean-Michel and Georges.
Hosted by John Stanton WATCH
In the original Broadway show, the costumes sparkled and there was a lot of glitz and showiness in the numbers with a dozen Cagelles. The show can be a whirlwind of costume and wig changes just for the dancers, Lala says.
At Summer Lyric, she has dialed down the glitz a notch, and the production is using the script from the 2011 revival. The script is unchanged, but the music has been updated and the troupe of Cagelles reduced. Some of her drag numbers also feel more contemporary, she says. The setting is still St. Tropez, but in current times, instead of the ’80s. The updates don’t affect the core story, Lala says.
Georges and Albin have been parents to George’s son Jean-Michel, whose mother lives elsewhere. Jean-Michel has just gotten engaged to Anne, whose father Eduoard Dindon is a conservative
“Parents will do anything to help their children,” Lala says. “When JeanMichel makes his case for it, audiences will see a selfish young man, but as parents, you’ll do anything for your kids.”
In the farce, the subterfuge quickly falls apart, and the tables turn when the politician finds himself at a drag venue.
The show is known for its score and songs like “I Am What I Am.”
“The music really supports the storyline so beautifully,” Lala says. “You get taken away in the melodies and the lyrics.”
The cast includes Michael Paternostro as Georges, Scott Sauber as Albin, Luke Boucvalt as Jean-Michel and Robert Pavlovich as Edouard Dindon.
“It’s fun, it’s comedic, but it’s also this heartwarming story of the love this family has for each other,” Lala says. “The score is great and people will go away singing ‘The Best of Times.’ ”
Tickets for “La Cage Aux Folles” are $32-$57 at liberalarts.tulane.edu/ summer-lyric-theatre.
PROVIDED PHOTO BY MICHAEL PALUMBO
GOING OUT
All fantasy everything
by Will Coviello
WITH HEADLINING GUESTS INCLUDING WILLIAM SHATNER, DANNY GLOVER, Kevin Smith and more, GalaxyCon has a big lineup of celebrities. The convention welcomes a wide array of fandoms, from comic and cosplay artists to voice actors, tattoo artists and gamers. There are also late-night events like burlesque and more. The fantasy extravaganza returns to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center July 10-12.
GalaxyCon has organized a few reunion events with numerous cast members from franchises like Kevin Smith’s “Clerks” and The Twilight Saga. In his shoestring budget premiere of “Clerks,” Smith and Jason Mewes debuted as the characters Silent Bob and Jay, respectively, and appeared in numerous films through “Clerks III” in 2022. At GalaxyCon, they’re joined by Jeff Anderson and Brian O’Halloran. Anderson is known for playing video rental store clerk Randal Graves in many of the movies. O’Halloran plays convenience store clerk Dante Hicks. Besides photo sessions, Smith does a Q&A at 7 p.m. Saturday (extra ticket required), and Mewes does a Q&A session at 12:15 p.m. Saturday. Anderson and O’Halloran do a joint Q&A at 1 p.m. Sunday.
There’s a reunion of four cast members of the vampire romance series The Twilight Saga, including Kellan Lutz, Peter Facinelli, Ashley Greene and Jackson Rathbone. They’ll do a group Q&A at 5:45 p.m. Friday. There’s also a photo opportunity session with just the men.
Visiting stars come from across the spectrum of popular films, superhero franchises and cult classics, and many will do events all three days. Early in his career, Barry Bostwick played Brad in the cult favorite “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” but he’s had plenty of success on stage and in a long list of film and TV credits. Pam Grier became famous in Blaxploitation films and later starred in Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown.” Former body builder Lou Ferrigno was best known for playing the Incredible Hulk on TV, and he also starred in other superhero movies and on the sitcom “King of Queens.” Comedian and actor Brian Posehn has appeared on numerous comedy shows and movies and is known for roles on “Mr. Show with Bob and David” and “The Sarah Silverman Program.” Also appearing are Sam Raimi, Bitsie Tulloch, Lou Diamond Phillips and more.
Puppeteer Steve Whitmire spent his career with the Muppets and handled Kermit the Frog and Ernie after Jim
died. He also created characters including Rizzo the Rat. Whitmire will offer live commentary during a screening of “Muppet Treasure Island” at 8 p.m. Saturday. Also at GalaxyCon is Kevin Clash, who handled “Sesame Street” star Elmo for more than 25 years.
There are several well-known cosplayers coming to GalaxyCon, and there also are many cosplay events, including costumed meetups for fans of “Star Wars,” “KPop Demon Hunters” and characters from Disney, Nintendo, Marvel and more. There also are specific events for drag cosplay and adult-themed cosplay, as well as workshops on social media strategies and costuming on a budget. GalaxyCon has a costume contest at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Participatory events include karaoke, game playing (Pokemon, Magic the Gathering, Pathfinder and more), crafting workshops, origami, a twerking showdown and dance parties.
Stand-up comedy about nerdy things is among the entertainment events. Each night, there are “After Dark” showcases of nerdlesque, comedy and singing not for young audiences.
GalaxyCon’s After Dark programming also includes a Deep Space Boutique, or market for adult-themed comics, art, toys, collectibles and more. There are photo ops, panel discussions and performances for audiences 18 and over.
For a full schedule and list of appearing celebrities and artists, visit galaxycon. com/pages/galaxycon-new-orleans. Single day admission is $40-$60, and there are multiday and VIP packages. Some events require additional tickets. Up to three kids under 10 get in free with a paid adult.
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Henson
William Shatner PROVIDED PHOTO
PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE
NO HAIR HERE
By Frank A. Longo
Cut off sheep wool extremely quickly?
Johnson of “Laugh-In”
“Goodness!” 29 Forces along 30 Things taught in Brewing 101?
Nobleman who invented a barber’s tool?
Ritzy
63 Actress Getty or Parsons
64 Actor Tommy -- Jones 65 Pots for arroz con pollo 67 The “S” of TBS: Abbr.
Sweetheart who owns two pooches?
Lions’ locale
Comic actress Anne
Missy
Vexatious 79 Spoken with ease 82 Guide a vehicle heavenward?
86 Actress Skye 87 Left-wingers, in brief 88 Apiary insect 89 Laid up, say
36 Bone of the middle ear
Dissenting dogma
83 “In truth ...,” in texting
Suffix with Canton
Pride Month initialism
Fire lighter, e.g.
Brazil’s -- de Janeiro
“That -- lie!”
Most nimble
Nile snakes
Bring forth
Actress Dunne
Dug for ore
PC-to-PC letter
Drummer Neil of Rush
“Blah” feeling
“... there’s -- in my soup!”
London gallery
War deity
a roast, e.g.
Outpouring
Best Actor winner Colin
Take care of
Disclosed
“All seats sold” abbr.
Shoplift from, e.g.
State with the cap. Boise
U.S. “Uncle”
Channel for Jake Tapper
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Featuringpropertyf romthe Estate of JoeJaegerJr.,Louisiana;the EstateofMurphyA .Bourke, NewOrleans,L A andother notablelocal andregionalestates
Lot501:PairofCar vedMarbleRecumbent Lions, late 20 th c.,Estimates:$4,00 0- $6 ,0 00
Lot 499: Pair of UnusualLarge BlackForestFigural Carved Walnut Jewelr yCaskets,late19thc., Estimates: $2 ,0 00 -$4,00 0
XV IStyle Marble Top
mid20thc., Estimates: $1,200 -$1,80 0
SelectionofFineJewelry,including Diamonds,Yellowand WhiteGold, Watches, TortoiseshellItems,Sapphires,etc
of
Lot541:Pair of Diminutive Cr ystaland Iron Basket Chandeliers, Estimates: $8 00 -$1, 20 0
Lot484:Ale xander John Dr ysdale (American/Louisiana, 1870 -1934),“Live Oaks Refected on Bayou,”oil wash on board, Estimates: $2 ,500 -$4,50 0
Lot489:Maria Laredo (American/NewOrleans,b 1948), "New OrleansJaz z& Heritage Festival Poster (with Fats Houston)," 1976 ,ofset colorlithographonpaper, Estimates: $2 ,0 00 -$4,00 0
Lot361:FrenchLouis XV I St yleGiltwoodand Gesso Over mantel Mirror,mid 19th c., Estimates: $1,0 00 -$2,00 0
Lot381:Lady’sTwo Tone Role xDatejust, in stainlesssteel and18k yellow gold , Estimates: $3,0 00 -$5,00 0
Lot380:British/Continental School (19thCentury), Two Scenes from "TeDuchess of Malf"(1612-1613) by John Webster, Estimates: $2 ,500 -$4,50 0
Lot350:FrenchLouis
Enflade,
Selection
Decorative ArtItems