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® September 21-27 | 2026 | Volume 47 | Number 38

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Members of the Krewe of Dolly will stop by Rouses Mid City before their Dolly Day second line from Armstrong Park to the New Orleans Jazz Museum. The Krewe parades with a purpose, supporting Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which Rouses is proud to support in partnership with the Krewe. DOLLY COSTUME CONTEST Dress as Dolly, Kenny Rogers, or your favorite country icon for a chance to win Rouses gift cards and prizes. Our very special guest judge will be serving Dolly glamour from head to toe! Our Rouses team members will be breaking out the wigs, rhinestones and their best Dolly inspired looks, too.

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CONTENTS

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SEPT. 21 — SEPT. 27, 2026 VOLUME 47 || NUMBER 38

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This Machine Kills Fascism

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Indian Ocean Red ‘Flamboyants!’ connects Creole culture from Reunion Island to New Orleans

Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ by Will Coviello

A SHOW THAT OPENS WITH BIG CHIEF JUAN PARDO SINGING “Indian Red,” a

man who has woken up after having barely survived a huge storm, and his rescuers talking about preserving Creole identity sounds like it could only come from New Orleans. But in “Flamboyants!” the storm is a not a hurricane but a cyclone, and the Creole identity at stake in the opening scene is the culture of Reunion Island, a small island in the Indian Ocean a few hundred miles east of Madagascar. Writer, director and actor Florient Jousse, who plays the cyclone survivor, is from Reunion Island. He started working on the theatrical production three years ago, after he met Pardo in New Orleans while on tour with another show. Pardo went to Reunion Island to be in the original production of “Flamboyants!” and now it’s on a 23-show tour of the U.S., from New York to Puerto Rico. The company is in Louisiana this week, and there’s a full performance on Friday, Sept. 25, at Tulane University’s Dixon Hall, and an afternoon concert with music from the show at the New Orleans Jazz Museum on Tuesday, Sept. 22. “Flamboyants!” bridges the Creole identities of Reunion, New Orleans and Puerto Rico, all places that were colonized by Europeans, who imported enslaved people. It features music and characters from each place, and they explore what Creole means to them. “Creoleness is pride in Reunion,” says Jousse, who is a native French and Creole speaker. “Creole, our language, is everywhere. It’s in the streets, before French (the official language). In reality, we speak Creole everywhere.” Reunion was an uninhabited island known to the Portuguese and Arabic travelers before the French colonized it in the 17th century. They brought enslaved Africans there to produce sugar. Over time, other people, especially laborers, arrived from southern India, China, Vietnam and the Malay Peninsula. While French remains the official language, Creole has incorporated words from numerous languages. Reunion also has many influences, and its rich culture includes Maloya music, rooted in the island’s enslaved communities. Over time, many have embraced the Creole identity, and some have been leery. In the show, Madia and Zelito find the storm survivor, unsure if he is foreign

Big Chief Juan Pardo, front row center, is in the international cast of ‘Flamboyants!’ PROVIDED PHOTO BY KIM WELSH

or a native of the island, and they help him recover and orient himself. “Creole means together,” Madia says. “A tree cannot stand without its roots.” Zelito is more skeptical of what it has come to mean as the tropical island has become better known and attractive to tourists and newer, more affluent types of European immigrants. “Forgive me, Madia,” he says. “Creole doesn’t mean anything anymore. It’s just a spice, a postcard, a woman with curly hair and a flowery dress.” The two men have obviously had this debate before, and they get wrapped up in it again as they talk to the man, who they dub Kors Blan. They also share music, with Zelito playing various drums and Madia playing the ngoni, a West African stringed instrument with a round body and a long neck. Music becomes the bridge to other places, like New Orleans. Pardo sings some traditional Indian songs and joins in other shared songs as well. He’s not the only character from Louisiana. Lawson, who also goes by the Nigerian Igbo language name Arisa, is a teacher in New Orleans. Part of his description of his Creole identity includes, “I am several continents in one body.” The show features two singers from Puerto Rico. Marien Torres Lopez and Ivelisse Diaz talk about their heritage and the mixing of indigenous culture and Spanish colonizers. They also introduce bomba music, and Diaz describes the two women as bomberas.

As they share their music and personal stories, Kors Blan asks, “Why, in radically different places, do identical sensibilities begin to grow, without knowing each other?” Doing shows exploring the roots of culture is what led Jousse to found the Tilawcis theater company in SaintPaul, a coastal city on Reunion Island, in 2019. The company takes an interdisciplinary approach, like its combination of theater and music here, and it often explores larger social issues through individual people’s predicaments. Jousse was born in France but grew up and has lived much of his life in Reunion. He studied and began his acting career in France, before moving home. The first show Jousse and Tilawcis took on tour was “Frenesies” or “Frenzies.” It also combined music and poetic storytelling in a travel story in which a man searches for his roots and ancestors to better understand his life. It came to New Orleans in 2023, and that’s when Jousse met Pardo. He loved the Indians’ feathers and suits, but he was interested in the culture and roots of Indian traditions, Jousse says. That was the seed for “Flamboyants!” and his interest in finding the common aspects of Creole identity and looking for them elsewhere. Most of the characters retain the performer’s real name. Both from Reunion, Frederic Madia and Zelito Deliron started their performing careers primarily as musicians. The company’s hybrid approach means there are five languages in the show, including Reunion Creole, English and Spanish. There will be English supertitles at the performance. And the music includes Maloya, bomba, Indian songs and more, including a brass band. There’s more music after the theatrical show concludes. Some tour events, like the concert at the New Orleans Jazz Museum are dubbed “Connexions” and feature music from the show. Tickets are available via linktr.ee/ flamboyantstour. Information about the company is at tilawcis.com.

Bluesman Keb’ Mo’ and roots music master Taj Mahal began performing together in 2017, and they won a Grammy for the debut album “TajMo.” They’ve continued mixing blues, folk and Americana and in 2023 they released “Room on the Porch,” which drew a Best Traditional Blues Grammy nomination. They perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, at Mahalia Jackson Theater. Tickets $19.75-$219.60 via mahaliajacksontheater.com.

PROVIDED PHOTO BY DAVID MCCLISTER

International Arts Festival

The music and arts festival is designed to highlight the cultural ties of the African Diaspora, and there’s a companion conference event. The music lineup features Donald Harrison Jr., Britain’s Peter White and saxophonist Vincent Ingala on Friday, Sept. 25. Saturday, Sept. 26, is highlighted by Nigerian artist Seun Kuti, son of Fela Kuti, along with Regina Belle, Paul Taylor and Michael Lington. Jamaica’s Bushman, Alexey Marti, Corey Henry & the Treme Funktet and more perform Sunday, Sept. 27. At The Public Market at South Shore Harbor. Single-day tickets are $55.70, and VIP tickets are available via internationalartsfoundation.com.

Big Chief Monk Boudreaux tribute

A host of New Orleans musicians pay tribute to Big Chief Monk Boudreaux of the Golden Eagles. The lineup includes Boudreaux’s family members Joseph Boudreaux Jr., Jwan Boudreaux and Marwan Boudreaux, as well as Bo Dollis Jr., the Dirty Dozen Horns, Johnny Sansone, Brian Stoltz, Papa Mali and more. At 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at Tipitina’s. Tickets $27.98 via tipitinas.com. PAGE 33

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A R T S + E N T E R TA I N M E N T

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NEW ORLEANS NEWS + VIEWS

Won’t you help to sing, these songs of freedom?

# TC OH EU N T

T H U M B S U P/ THUMBS DOWN

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended the deadline for New Orleans to use $38 million in federal funding to repair Municipal Auditorium. FEMA awarded the funding to the city in 2018, but New Orleans had until the end of 2025 to use it. Citing the pandemic and other obstacles, city officials asked for an extension. They now have until February 2028 to use the funds — or lose it for good.

THE NUMBER OF SCHEDULED VOTING DAYS U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON, RLOUISIANA, HAS SUSPENDED IN CONGRESS THIS SESSION. On Sept. 16 Johnson ordered lawmakers to go home once again, dodging a vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and amid pressure from Democrats to pass legislation to rein in artificial intelligence. Representatives are slated to return to DC after the midterm elections; however Johnson told reporters he would call them back to session sooner if the Senate moves “important pieces of legislation” regarding college sports.

Howlin’ Wolf owner Howie Kaplan PHOTO BY JAKE CLAPP / GAMBIT

Federal changes to SNAP could mean more New Orleans kids will lose free meals at schools, The Lens recently reported. About one in five New Orleans residents receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, and usually children of families enrolled are eligible for free meals at school. But changes to SNAP qualifications have already caused a drop in program enrollment, meaning fewer kids will be able to eat for free.

Louisiana schools are still seeing a lot of chronically absent students. More than 1 in 5 public school students were chronically absent (missing at least 10% of school days) during the 2025-26 academic year, The Times-Picayune reported. That number has been declining since a peak during the pandemic, but experts say absenteeism isn’t falling fast enough.

New Orleans music venue Howlin’ Wolf sues StubHub over deceptive business practices NEW ORLEANS MUSIC VENUE THE HOWLIN’ WOLF Sept. 10 filed suit in

federal court against ticket resale giant StubHub, accusing the company of a host of unfair business practices. Howlin’ Wolf alleges StubHub is selling tickets that don’t exist, falsely claiming ticket shortages to shows where no tickets have been sold, and using manipulative language to unfairly coerce consumers into paying above face value prices, among other allegations. In the suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the venue also asks the court to force StubHub to end these practices and award Howlin’ Wolf compensation for lost revenue and other damages. In a statement to Gambit, a StubHub spokesperson said, “We believe these claims are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend this case.” Over the last several years, StubHub and other ticket resellers have dominated the online ticketing market. Up to 80% of the tickets sold

C’EST W H AT

on these sites are from bulk ticket resellers, not individual consumers who are looking to offload extra tickets. StubHub’s CEO Eric Baker also is a major ticket scalper himself through the hedge fund Andro Capital he partially owns. The industry has increasingly relied on so-called “speculative ticketing” as part of its business model. Rather than purchasing bulk tickets upfront, these speculative sellers “resell” tickets they haven’t yet bought, haven’t been issued yet or even may never exist at all. They then advertise them on StubHub and other platforms as if they are legitimate, existing tickets. While they may then buy the tickets to give to purchasers, that’s not always the case. For instance, during the World Cup numerous fans bought “tickets” on StubHub only to never receive them. A separate class action suit has been filed over that situation in New York. For instance, StubHub for months has advertised “tickets” for the PAGE 10

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A not real Big Chief pass for the 2027 Jazz Fest on StubHub SCREEN SHOT FROM STUBHUB

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2027 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The festival is not selling tickets yet nor have organizers have not even announced what the prices actually will be. StubHub’s site will also use language on its site indicating that only a few tickets remain for a show, even in cases when no tickets have actually been sold. For instance, in its court filing Howlin’ Wolf notes that on Sept. 7 the site was advertising tickets for the Hot 8 Brass Band’s Sept. 16. The “all-in” or face value of the ticket purchased from the venue is $24.94, and no tickets had been sold. But StubHub was advertising $76 tickets, claiming that “only 1% of tickets left” and “only 4 left.” Ticket resellers passing off tickets to shows that are either not real or are significantly higher than tickets available from the venue can, understandably, upset consumers. Howlin’ Wolf and other venues across the country have reported having to deal with angry costumers who bought resale tickets under the impression a show was sold out at the venue only to find they could have come to the door and paid significantly less on the spot. And in instances in which a show is canceled or postponed, venues have no way of contacting purchasers of resale tickets, who often will show up at the venue as a result. According to a new study by Vanderbilt University, the resale market has had an enormous impact on the live entertainment costs, inflating it by as much as $11 billion a year. “Platforms that were originally created to allow people to sell tickets they didn’t want have morphed into

massive operations that do little but encourage corporate middlemen to snap up as many tickets as possible for the sole purpose of reselling at a higher price,” said study author Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator. Meanwhile, venues and performers also bare significant losses as a result of resellers. Tickets that are purchased but not resold mean fewer attendees who may purchase merchandise, food or drinks. Venues often end up refunding tickets for non-existent or canceled shows to maintain their relationship with customers and venues. Plus, performers alike can have their brand harmed when consumers feel cheated as a result of overly inflated secondary ticket costs, fake tickets or other issues with the resale system. As part of the suit, Howlin’ Wolf is asking the court to: “clearly and conspicuously disclose” the availability of tickets on its platforms; “clearly and conspicuously disclose” that tickets advertised on advertised on StubHub, including any scarcity of such tickets, represent tickets available on StubHub’s platform only and not the total number of tickets that may be available; include so-called “all-in” prices for tickets available directly from the venue in search results, landing pages and other parts of its platform where tickets are being advertised; and “clearly and conspicuously disclose” that tickets may still be available from venues themselves. The suit also asks for up to three times the venue’s “actual damages” be awarded to Howlin’ Wolf. — John Stanton

11 G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 - 27 > 2026

OPENING GAMBIT

the skinny on chocolate Struggling French Quarter businesses threatened with fines over unpermitted chairs, signs

THE NEW ORLEANS OFFICE OF SAFETY AND PERMITS RECENTLY WARNED A NUMBER of small businesses and bars in

the French Quarter they must remove unpermitted chairs and A-frame signs from sidewalks and could face significant fines. The visits from the city comes as the continue to businesses struggle to remain open amidst city construction projects that have dragged on for much of the last year. On the afternoon of Sept. 11, a Safety and Permits enforcement officer visited a number of businesses around the intersection of Chartres and Dumaine, including Harry’s Corner, Antoinette’s Cafe and others, owners and workers in the area told Gambit. It is also unclear why the city decided to conduct inspections in the neighborhood. After several Lower Decatur businesses shut down as a result of a nearly yearlong road construction project, Mayor Helena Moreno this summer vowed to help businesses in the area affected by the ongoing construction. A spokesperson for Moreno said that “while we are not currently proactively enforcing [sidewalk signage and table rules], we do investigate if anyone reports to us.” Quarter business owners and employees said the officer told them they must remove any unpermitted A-frame signs, chairs and tables from sidewalks until they secure permits for them. In at least one case the business had obtained a permit for an A-frame sign but was told by the officer there was no record that they had one and must take it down, according to a source. It is unclear if any of the businesses will also be fined. Several sources said that in the past they’ve received fines in the mail weeks after a permit officer visited the neighborhood, and that during those visits they weren’t necessarily informed they would be fined. Under city rules, permits are needed to put out A-frame advertisements if they meet certain size restrictions. Permits cost $200 per A-frame. Bars and cafes can also obtain permits to place tables and chairs on the sidewalk in front of their businesses under certain conditions. Those permits cost $350 per table, or $100 per chair for tables seating more than four people. Table permits also require businesses to demonstrate

tank tee ribbed cardi pintuck pant crop pant by bobi

A trench at the construction site on St. Peter Street PHOTO BY ENAN CHEDIAK / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

they have an insurance policy which carries at a minimum “$500,000 per occurrence/$1,000,000 aggregate” in coverage and names the city as also being insured. During the height of the pandemic, former Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration suspended permitting fees for outdoor seating. While permitting has long been back in effect, at least some businesses either did not realize that or allowed their permits to lapse. The section of the Quarter where the Sept. 11 inspections took place has been hit hard over the last year and a half. While small businesses, bars and restaurants were promised the Super Bowl would be an economic boon, it turned into a loss for many. For instance, Harry’s Corner, a popular neighborhood bar for locals and tourists alike, was largely deserted for stretches of the week-long Super Bowl celebration, and several businesses in the area told Gambit at a time they ended up operating at a loss, even on Super Bowl Sunday. Multiple shop owners, bartenders and others in the area have also complained that Gov. Jeff Landry’s year-and-a-half-long occupation of the Quarter with National Guard troops also had a negative impact on their businesses. Then last year, the Sewerage & Water Board began a massive repair project in the neighborhood, digging up much of lower Decatur Street, parts of Royal Street and several cross streets. That project has suffered repeated delays and deadline pushbacks, costing businesses in the normally busy shopping, drinking and dining destination millions in revenue. — John Stanton

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I came across a newspaper ad for a 1950s TV detective series called “Bourbon Street Beat.” What can you tell me about it? Was it filmed in New Orleans?

Dear reader,

“BOURBON STREET BEAT” WAS A SHORT-LIVED WARNER BROTHERS

television series set on the city’s most famous street, but it was filmed mostly in Hollywood. The hour-long series premiered Oct. 5, 1959, on ABC (locally on WVUE, then an ABC affiliate). Warner Brothers described it as a “new series of sleuthing set in colorful, old New Orleans.” The two lead characters were detectives Rex Randolph and Cal Calhoun, played by Richard Long and Andrew Duggan. Louisiana native and former Miss Louisiana Arlene Howell starred as their secretary, Melody Lee Mercer. IMDb.com describes the series: “a former New Orleans cop partners with an Ivy League lawyer to open up a private detective agency with offices on the city’s famed Bourbon Street.” That office was located above the Old Absinthe House bar in the 200 block of Bourbon. The producers licensed the name by purchasing an interest in the business, which at the time was owned by the Brennan family.

Bourbon Street Beat was a short-lived ABC show in the 1950s. SCREENSHOT FROM YOUTUBE

IMDb lists some of the series’ guest stars, including Mary Tyler Moore, Rita Moreno, Richard Chamberlain and Ted Knight. You can find several episodes on YouTube, along with the soundtrack album. The series was canceled after one season. “The show had all the ingredients of a hit. Two good actors, Andy Duggan and Richard Long, in a setting that is full of romance and adventure and unlimited possibilities,” wrote syndicated columnist Jill Jackson in a June 1960 Times-Picayune column. “No one seems to know why it didn’t click, but it seems to me that if the powers that be had taken the trouble to spend some time in ‘America’s Most Interesting City,’ to saturate themselves and their writers with the true feeling of the place, they might have had a winner.”

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will draw thousands of fried chicken lovers to the New Orleans lakefront. In honor of that, we remember James Adrian “Buck” Fulford, the entrepreneur who in 1935 made it into a Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” column for his chicken frying skills. He later opened a string of chicken restaurants across the Gulf Coast, including in New Orleans. Fulford was in Port Arthur, Texas, when he set a world record by killing, plucking, cleaning, cooking and eating an entire chicken in one minute and 50 seconds. “Since that time, I have broken my own record by killing, cooking and eating a chicken in one minute and 40 seconds on Galveston Beach,” he said in a 1942 New Orleans States article. “I will challenge anybody in the world on speedy chicken-picking, but I won’t challenge any more on fast eating because I’ve lost a couple of important teeth since that time.” Fulford would capitalize on his fame by opening fried chicken stands and restaurants in his native Gulf Shores, Alabama, as well as in Port Arthur and New Orleans. His first local outlet opened on Galvez Street in 1940. Other local stands were in public markets where he also sold raw poultry, including the French Market and Dryades, Magazine, Keller and St. Roch markets. Other locations were on Decatur Street, in Lakeview, Gentilly and Algiers. Fulford sold his New Orleans restaurants and retired to Gulf Shores in the 1960s. He died in 1974.

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A No Kings rally attendee plays the horn at the Lafitte Greenway in 2025. PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

From Crys Matthews to Kneecap, musicians are using their art to fight injustice BY JAKE CLAPP

FOLK SINGER WOODY GUTHRIE in the mid-1940s began to stick a message to his guitars: “This Machine Kills Fascists.” The phrase originally could be seen on stickers in American factories, attached to drill presses and other machinery during the home front war effort of World War II, and for Guthrie, his guitar was his machine and his music a tool to fight fascism. “In 1944, [Guthrie] wrote in his notebook something like, ‘My big Gibson guitar has a sign on it that says, ‘This Machine Kills Fascists,’ and it means it, too,’ ” says Guthrie biographer Will Kaufman. Guthrie had come of age in Oklahoma during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, and he understood the unifying power of simple songs with a human message. Across his career, he wrote hundreds of songs focused on human rights, economic equality and democracy from a socialist’s perspective — including “Old Man Trump,” a 1954 tune about the racist housing practices of his landlord, Fred Trump. More than 70 years later, Trump’s son, Donald, is the far-right president of the United States, and fascism is on the rise across the globe. Republicans are stripping away the political representation and voting power of Black Americans, civil rights protections for racial minorities, trans people and other vulnerable communities have been rolled back, reproductive rights are under attack and people are being disappeared off the streets as part of an anti-immigrant crackdown. And although you may not hear it on the radio or Spotify’s recommended playlists, musicians are once again using their machines to fight fascism. Protest music isn’t just alive today; it’s robust and expansive. Artists working in virtually every genre, from folk and country to hip-hop, electronica, funk and jazz, are using their craft to speak out, rally communities and inspire the hope needed in the long fight against oppression. Nashville-based Americana musician Crys Matthews says every day she sees a social media post asking, “Where’s the protest music of today?” “I’m always scratching my head,” she says. “I don’t understand the question. I literally have an entire playlist of artists making social justice music who are not Pete Seeger or Woody Guthrie. [It’s] all contemporary artists — and it does not include Jesse Welles. There are so many artists who are doing this work, who have been doing this work, and who are doing it with a little bit more breadth and depth.”

Crys Matthews PROVIDED PHOTO BY EMILY APRIL ALLEN

IN THE 80 YEARS SINCE Guthrie slapped “This Machine Kills Fascists” onto his guitar, musicians have adopted and adapted the phrase countless times. Pete Seeger, who was Guthrie’s friend, wrote on his banjo “This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces It to Surrender.” Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello has stuck slogans like “Arm the Homeless” and “Nobody For President” to his guitars. And indie rock musician Julien Baker once had a “This Machine Kills Sadness” sticker on her guitar. Kaufman says one of his favorite examples is a friend’s melodeon that read “This Machine Annoyed a Fascist Once.” “I think they’re certainly trying to capture Woody’s spirit,” he says. Earlier this year, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who’s no stranger to activism and weaving social justice into his music, took home a Grammy for his album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” the first album entirely in Spanish to win the Album of the Year award. He then, just a few days later, used

the Super Bowl halftime show to highlight Latino people and culture, challenging narrow ideas of what it means to be American. Bruce Springsteen, reacting to the ICE executions of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, released the protest song “Streets of Minneapolis” in January. The frank heartland rock track climbed the Billboard charts, but it’s just one of a swelling chorus of songs and compilation albums musicians have released in the last two years in support of immigrant communities and protesting draconian federal policies. Many of the pro-democracy No Kings rallies across the country have featured performances and speeches from musicians, including here in New Orleans, where trumpeter Kermit Ruffins last October kicked off the event with the Star-Spangled Banner. At a Lafayette rally in March, Cajun musician Horace Trahan performed and spoke, saying it was his first time at a protest, the Louisiana Illuminator reported. p.14

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This Machine KIlls Fascism p.13

Dusky Waters performs ‘We Shall Overcome’ during the No Kings Day of Action protest in Washington Square Park in June 2025. PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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This summer a host of New Orleans singer-songwriters came together for a compilation of protest music and a benefit show on July 4. And this week, the third annual BlackAmericana Fest will take place at the Broadside with a theme focused on Black protest traditions in Americana music. At the Folk Alliance International conference held in New Orleans in January, panels discussed using music to promote justice and equity and how communities can resist the rise of fascism. Several singer-songwriters known for their protest music received awards, including Matthews, Carsie Blanton (who did not attend), Yasmin Williams and Kyshona. “These women,” NPR’s Ann Powers wrote, “received their awards from other artists including Leyla McCalla, whose music casts a wide net encompassing global rhythms and diasporic histories, and Ani DiFranco, who revitalized political folk for a new generation in the 1990s and has continually found new ways to expand its definition.” Arkansas-born folk singer Jesse Welles has gone viral several times in recent years for his Guthrie-like protest songs, usually performed with an acoustic guitar in a field, and this year received several Grammy nominations. Hip-hop groups like Kneecap, which raps in Irish, and San Diego’s The Neighborhood Kids have gained notoriety for their revolutionary stances. In New Orleans, Flagboy Giz of the Wild Tchoupitoulas pointedly calls out gentrification in his song “Gentri Fire in the City,” while breakout rapper La Reezy’s “Melanate It” celebrates Black identity. And the Hanoun Brass Band build a bridge from New Orleans to Palestine in their music.

THERE’S A MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. QUOTE from his book “Why We Can’t Wait” that Matthews recites: “Freedom songs are the soul of the movement. They are more than just incantations and clever phrases designed to invigorate a campaign. They are the sorrow songs, the shouts for joy, the battle hymns and the anthems of our movement.” “I keep that quote with me all the time,” Matthews says. “Because if a changemaker like Dr. King understood the necessity and the importance of music as kind of a companion to a march for justice or a movement for freedom, I think he was on to something.” Matthews adds another quote from vocalist and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, “When the movement is strong, the music is strong.” Matthews tries to keep those words at the forefront of her mind when she’s writing. As a queer Black woman who was raised in the African Methodist Episcopal church and believes in a better South, her 2025 album, “Reclamation,” is about reclaiming space in the U.S. for Black artists and the LGBTQ community. Matthews’ church upbringing shines through in her song “Forged in Fire,” released earlier this year. The track sounds like a modern spiritual and calls for the discouraged listener to “keep that steel in your spine.” “It’s very easy to get lulled into the mythology of what America is, but when you know America’s history for the rest of us who call this country home, we have been seeing and experiencing [oppression],” she says. “So I feel a lot of responsibility to remind those folks who are just coming to the table at this time — not to shame or punish them, but

This Machine KIlls Fascism

PHOTO BY MATT ROSE / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Dali Colorado, left, and Uli Bella

Author Will Kaufman

PROVIDED PHOTO

PROVIDED PHOTO BY NINA LAM

to remind them, it’s not a sprint, it’s not a marathon, it’s a relay race. We’ve got work to do. Take a break if you need but come back and keep marching.” Hope is a baseline necessity for movements, says Ani DiFranco. The New Orleans-based, Grammy-winning rock artist and celebrated activist has lent her voice to and marched for a number of issues, from gender equality and reproductive rights to racial justice and environmental causes. It’s hard, she says, to go day-to-day without being connected to hope and a belief in humanity. “To have music to uplift you and make you feel connected with other people like you … and an expanded sense of possibility is crucial to get us through the darkest of times,” she says. “I can really sense that when I’m out there these days on tour.” DiFranco started writing songs as a teenager growing up in Buffalo, New York, and made a cassette tape of only 100 copies with songs that were “all very political,” she says. In 2024, she released her 23rd studio album, “Unprecedented Shit.” Good music connects people, and for DiFranco, an easy songwriter’s tactic to relate with others is to start with the personal, individual experience. Many people will find they have something in common. “For me, it started just by writing from the inside out,” she says. “I was writing about being a young woman alone in the world and trying to make my way and deal with the power dynamics of patriarchy … If anyone tells their story from an outsider point of view, it’s a political act.”

Hope can’t be the end, though, DiFranco says. It’s fuel to power action. “A feeling of possibility is sort of a prerequisite to activating yourself and getting out there and participating and being a part of the solution,” she says. If there is a silver-lining to the current chaotic climate, Matthews says, it is that more people are becoming politically aware and involved, whether running for office or volunteering for organizations and causes. People are “speaking out, standing up, doing what they can to be vocal advocates and not just be quiet passive folks in the face of all this fascism and authoritarianism,” she says. “It seems so hopeless so often, but you cannot do the oppressors’ work for them. You have to keep going.” ROLLING STONE LAST YEAR released its “100 Best Protest Songs of All Time” list, rounding up songs by Public Enemy, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, N.W.A., Guthrie, Seeger and more. Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” topped the list — a Top 40 hit that Cooke wrote after being denied a hotel room in Louisiana because he was Black. DiFranco’s 1998 idiosyncratic “Fuel” is included in the rankings, and her catalog is full of impassioned socially focused songs, like “Untouchable Face” and “My IQ.” But she isn’t a particular fan of the term “protest music.” It seems reductive, she says. The term “puts you in the position of being reactive. The thing is the thing, and you are protesting it, so you’re already in this disempowered position,” DiFranco

Singer Ani DiFranco, right, leads dozens of protesters in song as they gather on the steps of Orleans Parish Criminal Court in 2017. PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

says. “You’re caught in a reactive place, according to that term.” “A large component of what I do when I’m making songs is creating worlds,” she adds. “Not just fighting the messed up world that is around us, but also envisioning newer and better worlds.” Kaufman, the Guthrie biographer and an emeritus professor at the University of Lancashire, agrees the term “protest music” can be inadequate. He uses the broader term “struggle music.” Struggle music as an umbrella does include protest music, Kaufman adds, but the ways people have used music to explain their lives is much bigger. Kaufman began to trace the history of struggle music in what’s today the U.S. in his 2022 book “American Song and Struggle from Columbus to World War 2: A Culture History.” The book details the ways communities have long used music to convey their struggles and advocate for justice, beginning with Indigenous communities and enslaved peoples. Kaufman follows the history through Jim Crow and up to the folk era of Guthrie and Pete Seeger.

He now brings it into the present with the next edition, “American Song and Struggle from World War II to MAGA,” which is out Oct. 31 from Cambridge University Press. It’s an expansive view of struggle music as genres explode in the 20th century, with developments in swing, bebop and free jazz, avant-garde compositions, rock, punk, soul, disco, hip-hop and more recent influences from immigrant communities. In the volume, Kaufman also explores the ways musical techniques evolved to capture social and political changes. The emergence of bebop was a “struggle to get beyond the restrictive inherited structures of jazz music,” Kaufman says. “Struggle music can be protest music. It can be agitational and consciousness raising. But it can be expressions of frustration. It can be philosophical struggle or the struggle of being a human being,” Kaufman says. “It was just much more fertile than that narrow [definition] of protest music.” Writer CJ Baker uses the term protest music, but he has a wide view of what could count for his website The Ongoing

G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 - 27 > 2026

French Quarter street musicians, including the Trombone Shorty Brass Band, parade down Royal Street on their way to the New Orleans City Hall to protest recent police enforcement of a city noise ordinance.

This Machine KIlls Fascism

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New Orleans singersongwriters held a protest album release show at Chickie Wah Wah on July 4. PROVIDED PHOTO BY RESCALLA

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History of Protest Music. Baker started the project in 2017 and writes about a song on his site nearly every day. He also records video blogs for his YouTube channel. Similar to Matthews, Baker often heard people complain there weren’t any new protest songs. He launched his project as a way to show there are plenty out there. “Protest music is just as prevalent as ever, but it’s a bit more underground,” Baker says. “The artists aren’t necessarily getting the same amount of attention, so it’s not like, for example, in the ’60s, where you could have a No. 1 hit for the protest song.” There are more avenues today for musicians to record and release their work, but it’s also a double-edged sword. It’s easier than ever for much of that music to get drowned out and not enter the wider zeitgeist in the same way as Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” or Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” In that way, it’s similar to the late 1970s and early ’80s punk and hardcore eras during which politically minded bands like Minor Threat and Sonic Youth cranked out rallying cries against Ronald Reagan, sexism, racism and a culture in the grips of greed and commercialism. Still, breakthroughs occasionally happen: Kendrick Lamar’s song “Alright” has become a modern protest staple in the Black Lives Matter movement. And in 2018, Childish Gambino’s “This is America” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Kneecap’s recent record “Fenian” — which is a reference to Irish revolutionaries but was also an anti-Irish slur used by the English — rose to the No. 2 spot on the UK album charts. That despite the British government actively working to censor the band.

Protest music is “not necessarily one thing,” Baker says. Some people may have a view of it as a folk singer with an acoustic guitar, but that’s a limited scope. There’s protest history in jazz. Punk should be, by definition, antiestablishment. And hip-hop has long had a social consciousness. But a song also doesn’t necessarily need a political message. Even the climate in which the song is made can make it a protest song. In 2018, for example, cellist Naseem Alatrash and vocalist Nano Raies recorded a version of The Beatles’ “Drive My Car” in Arabic to commemorate the day Saudi women received the right to drive. The context of the recording, Baker says, reframes the song into a statement. “There does have to be some element of social awareness to it,” he says. But “sometimes the act of making music can be a protest ... If it’s an artist, for example, in a country where it’s considered almost sacrilege to play rock music, and you start a rock band, it doesn’t matter what the song is about — it’s an act of protest.” FRENCH ARTIST DJ SNAKE and singer Justin Bieber released the song “Let Me Love You” in 2016. The song treads familiar pop grounds as Bieber tries to convince a woman that their relationship shouldn’t come to an end. On the upcoming album, “Contra-ICE, Vol. 1,” though, the song takes on a whole new meaning in the hands of Bikini Kill co-founder Kathleen Hanna and the Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock. The married musicians were joined on the track by Money Mark, Beastie Boys’ touring drummer Fredo Ortiz and bassist Frank Figueroa, and flip the song into a message of support for immigrant communities. p.18

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This Machine KIlls Fascism p.16

“Everybody’s heart is so heavy right now with everything,” says Dali Colorado, the founder of the ContraICE project. “The song gives me a big love blanket, and it changes whatever [Bieber] is talking about with the girl. Now, this is like, ‘You can keep going. We got this. Let me love you, and we’ll do the damn thing.’ ” Out on Oct. 2 via SoundsGood Records, “Contra-ICE, Vol. 1” is a hefty, 41-track album featuring music by artists like Tom Morello, Fred Armisen, Ozomatli, Fishbone and more along with comedy and spoken word. Proceeds from the album will benefit the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the pro-immigrant organization Union del Barrio. An album release concert will be held in Los Angeles Oct. 3. Colorado, a DJ and the founder of the project Build Art Make Change, is a woman of Mexican heritage from Los Angeles. After Trump’s 2025 election, she was talking about her fears and anxieties with her friend, Uli Bella of the band Ozomatli. “We were talking about how when we were growing up during the Reagan and Bush eras, how much incredible music and art with social justice combined really made an impact,” Colorado says. With ICE threatening Los Angeles’ immigrant communities, they couldn’t remain silent, Colorado says. With the help of collaborators like Bella, artist Lalo Alcaraz, musicians Jim Coleman and Jake Trussell and more, Colorado created Contra-ICE as an ongoing music project raising funds for immigrant justice organizations. They began reaching out to musicians to see who would want to be a part of their first compilation — and received a major response. “So many artists and musicians were looking for something to do. They were looking for some way to be involved with their art and their creativity, because everybody was festering and didn’t know what to do,” Colorado says. There’s a range of genres on the album, including rock, hip-hop, electronic dance music and meditative spoken word — playing through like a DJ mix and connected by tracks by Coleman, an electronic musician. On the track “Al and Chris vs. ICE,” comedians Al Madrigal and Chris Estrada trade songs but take widely different emotional approaches. It exemplifies the range of feelings musicians have had at this moment, from anger and sadness to a desire to inspire hope and spread beauty, Colorado says. “Because so much of the material was created [for the project], there is something really beautiful and authentic and vulnerable,” she says. New Orleans singer-songwriter Paul Faith was met with similar enthusiasm from local musicians when he began working on the NOLA Protest Song

Project. Faith for the last three years has run a songwriters’ night at Skeeta Hawk Brewing, and many of the musicians who would pass through the shows, like Dusky Waters, Kelcy Mae of Ever More Nest and Lyla DiPaul, left him feeling inspired. He would give himself songwriting prompts, and because of the daily chaos of 2025 and 2026, he found he was working through those anxieties with protest songs. Faith decided to reach out to the songwriters he knew with the challenge to write new songs. “I got way more responses than I thought I would,” Faith says. Released in June, “A New Orleans Songwriter Protest Song Compilation” features 21 tracks by local musicians and bands, including Burris, DiPaul, Waters, Ever More Nest, Hex Windham, Josephine Alphonso and Ted Hefko and The Thousandaires. “I think protest music is maybe having a moment right now, and that’s for obvious reasons. It’s an expected response when you have an authoritarian, fascist government that’s taking violent actions against its people,” Faith says. “People are feeling maybe the same way I was. I was truly feeling powerless. Maybe they’re overwhelmed. I wanted to do something that mattered.” The compilation also runs a range of genres and emotions, from Burris’ rocking opener “Love is the Greatest Force in the Universe” and Pat Smith’s soulful “Good Lord” to Gerard’s vintage-sounding folk tune “How’d You Let It Get Like This?” On her song, “Break the Cycle,” Jessica “J.Mix” Mixon builds a powerful song using vocal loops. Many of the musicians featured on the compilation played an album release show on July 4 at Chickie Wah Wah. For Faith, the album was only part of the job, he says. He wanted to put action behind the music, and they turned the show into a fundraiser for Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy. “That was important to me from the beginning. I didn’t want to just write a bunch of protest songs, put it out there and pat myself on the back,” Faith says. Americana musician Dusky Waters closes the compilation with the song “250 Years,” a gripping song exploring the dissonance around the country’s 250th anniversary. She briefly incorporates Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday,” which the R&B icon wrote to campaign for Martin Luther King Jr. Day’s recognition as a federal holiday. “I kept coming across all this ‘rah-rahhooray’ for America’s 250th, and this just feels dissonant right now,” Waters says. “There’s a lot going on. People are really struggling … I wanted to do a play on these sort of American tropes, like ‘Land of the Free’ and ‘Home of the Brave,’ but we never live up to that.” Waters is the co-founder of the BlackAmericana Fest, along with musician

Damian CH performs in Spanish during the No Kings rally at the Lafitte Greenway. PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Teena May and educator Mark T. Williams II. The festival, which celebrates Black artists working in Americana, holds its third edition Friday, Sept. 25, and Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Broadside. Tray Wellington, Seratones, Joy Clark, The Kentucky Gentlemen, The Lilli Lewis Project and more will perform, and there will be presentations on the Black traditions at the roots of folk and country music. This year, the festival will focus on Black protest traditions in Americana. “I was bopping around online last year and seeing a lot of young songwriters who were making music in this theme,” Waters says. “It made me think about the roots of using music for social change and how we understand that.” The roots of Black Americana music are deeply entwined with protest and using music as a way to change your circumstances, Waters says. The lineage “really is in our ancestors creating escape songs and freedom songs and work songs — ways of expressing discontent with the status quo,” she adds. Waters releases her next full-length album, “Mother Magnolia,” on Nov. 6, and she recently worked with zydeco music Jeffery Broussard and his horn-fueled band The Nighttime Syndicate on a cover of Donny Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free.” Released in 1973, the song’s lyrics were written by Edward Howard about Hathaway’s mental health struggles. But the song took on another life over the years as an uplifting civil rights anthem. “The song has a lot of meaning,” Broussard says. “I noticed every time we’ve performed it, people were singing along with us.” Broussard and The Nighttime Syndicate often incorporate covers of

socially conscious songs into their sets. And they put a zydeco spin on “A Change is Gonna Come” for their 2025 album, “Bayou Moonlight.” NEW ORLEANS, A PLACE WHERE music is deeply intertwined with life and cultural traditions, has its own unique, long history with art used as resistance. The city’s music — and arguably the country’s music — is rooted in Congo Square, where enslaved Black people could gather on Sundays for religious rituals and to sing, drum and dance. Art forms like jazz and blues sprang from the region’s Black communities, followed by R&B and funk. And many of the city’s cultural traditions — social aid and pleasure clubs, second lines and Black Masking Indians — came in part as a response to oppression. Most of the ways New Orleanians express themselves today are joyful statements of freedom through art, parades, costuming and dancing. The city celebrates its neighborhoods, and community is essential here. Ani DiFranco, an East Coast native, has lived in New Orleans for more than 20 years and “looking from the outside,” notes the way locals come together through joy and connection. That’s “a super essential thing for human beings, especially in the darkest of times,” DiFranco says. “That’s what it takes to survive and live to fight another day. You have to have moments of release, and you have to work all that pain and trauma through and out of your body.” “The protest of New Orleans,” she adds, “is you’re not gonna take my joy."

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Democratic Senate hopeful Jamie Davis isn’t letting the odds bother him

B Y K AY L E E P O C H E

LOUISIANA DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE JAMIE DAVIS has learned if you want something done, sometimes you have to do it yourself — or at least try, anyhow. That’s how the 56-year-old farmer from the tiny rural town of Waterproof, Louisiana — population under 600 — got into politics in the first place. Unsatisfied with what he saw as complacency by longtime Tensas Parish police juror Woodrow W. Wiley Jr., Davis in 2015 challenged the more than 40-year incumbent and won. He appeared as Jamie “Lil Stump” Davis on the ballot. During his one term on the police jury, Davis says he and his colleagues got canals dug to fix drainage issues, brought a landfill into compliance, kept a health clinic open and gave raises to parish workers. And when lead was discovered in the local school’s pipes, he worked with both state and federal officials to upgrade the water system. He was less successful when he ran for reelection in 2019, losing by 28 votes. Then in 2022, Davis watched as state Rep. C. Travis Johnson, a Black Democrat representing his district, voted for a Republican redistricting plan that kept Louisiana with only one majority-Black congressional district of six, despite Black people making up roughly a third of the state’s population. The following year Davis ran against Johnson, who also was first vice chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party. Johnson won reelection in a fairly close race. Davis decided to run for U.S. Senate for similar reasons. As a member of the Democratic State Central Committee, the body that governs the state party, he was helping recruit Democratic candidates for races down the ballot last year. When former Gov. John Bel Edwards announced he wasn’t running for Senate, Davis was ready to step up to the plate. He’d been planning a campaign centered on affordability and the working class and thought it would meet the moment. “Knowing that people were upset about the cost of living, farmers were upset with the tariffs and commodity prices, just the atmosphere in which Louisiana was in at the time, it was just set and it was ripe for a common man — not a politician — a common guy with the same values of everyday people,” he says.

Jamie Davis stands near the Davis Farms sign in Lake St. John. PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON / THE ADVOCATE

THE UNDERDOG

NOT EVERYONE WAS IMMEDIATELY SOLD. At a Louisiana Democratic Party “No More Silence” Teach and Vote Tour stop in New Orleans in August, Davis told the crowd many Democrats tried to discourage him from running for Senate. Davis said people told him he didn’t have “a snowball’s chance in hell” of winning. At the same event, Party Executive Director Dadrius Lanus said his initial reaction was “What in the world is wrong with Jamie? Why would he want to run for U.S. Senate of all things?” “I didn’t believe because I didn’t see the vision, and often times we don’t see the vision because we’re so downtrodden and we feel like we’ve been so low for so long, we lose faith,” Lanus said. There’s reason for skepticism. Forecasters have marked the seat as solidly Republican, and Davis’ opponent Julia Letlow is a sitting U.S. representative who has the backing of President Donald Trump and Gov. Jeff Landry. The state voted 60% for Trump in 2024, with turnout hovering around 66%.

If elected, Davis would be the first Democratic senator from Louisiana since Mary Landrieu, who lost to Sen. Bill Cassidy in 2014, and the first Black senator from Louisiana since Reconstruction. However, Davis had a surprising showing in a July 21-22 poll by Public Policy Polling that had him at 37%, just four points behind Letlow at 41%. That comes with a big asterisk, though: In the survey of 518 registered voters, 22% of respondents said they were undecided. Davis also has exceeded fundraising expectations, mostly through hiring digital fundraising companies to send mass texts to Democratic donors across the nation. By drawing in a lot of small donations, these text campaigns bring in significant dollars, but the companies running them usually take a significant cut. His campaign had brought in just under $2 million by the end of June, and he had $479,000 in cash on hand. But Letlow had brought in $6.2 million with associated PACs, with $1.4 million on hand. Still, Davis says he believes he has a shot if voter turnout is high. “I don’t look at it as Louisiana being a state that’s Republican or red,” he says. “I look at Louisiana being

G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 - 27 > 2026

SENATOR UNDERDOG?

G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 - 27 > 2026

22 a state that has not done a great job in representing democratic values, making sure that people turn out to vote.” Davis is also hoping to capitalize on the president and governor’s declining popularity in the state. Trump’s war with Iran has raised prices on everyday necessities. Meanwhile, Landry is facing backlash over his use of non-disclosure agreements and role in securing deals with huge tech and space companies, such as Meta’s $50 billion data center in Richland Parish and the $100 billion SpaceX campus on Pecan Island. “The people are mad,” Davis says. “They feel like they’ve been lied to.”

“JUST GO BE JAMIE”

DAVIS IS THE GRANDSON OF A SHARECROPPER and grew up on his family’s farm in Tensas Parish. He has helped expand the farm from around 75 acres to now a 3,200-acre operation growing cotton, corn and soybeans in Tensas, Franklin, Catahoula and Concordia parishes. He is a father, grandfather of 13 and great-grandfather and also moonlights as a competitive fisherman. When asked about his strategy for appealing to rural voters, Davis brings up authenticity rather than polling numbers or logistics. “There’s no strategy. Just go be Jamie,” he says, grinning. “If I’m me all the time, there’s nobody can be me better than me. And so I don’t have to put on a facade

or front or none of that. Just a country boy from Tensas Parish that wants better for the people of Louisiana.” State Sen. Royce Duplessis, a New Orleans Democrat, told Gambit in August that he wasn’t familiar with Davis before his Senate campaign but that he’s “become more and more impressed with who he is as a person.” “I love the story of him being a farmer. I love that he shows up in his ball cap everywhere he goes, and I think people ... really like it,” he said. “I’ve seen him out in public, and I just see the way people are reacting to him. People are interested in his story, and I’m pleasantly surprised at what I’m seeing so far.” Indeed, at the New Orleans Teach and Tour stop in August, a room of around 100 people gave Davis a standing ovation before and after he spoke. And at the Louisiana Democratic Party’s gala the next night, his was the only speech other than former Vice President Kamala Harris’ that attendees really stopped and listened to. “I spent my life learning one thing: You don’t get a harvest unless you’re willing to do the work,” Davis told the crowd. Davis tells Gambit that in his work recruiting Democratic candidates, he’s noticed some people have trouble picturing themselves as politicians, but he doesn’t believe candidates need to fit a certain mold. “I think people put a higher standard on it than what it truly is,” he says. “Because if you’re able to service your community, if you’re able to just be a voice, you can serve people.”

Jamie Davis inspects cotton bolls. PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON / THE ADVOCATE

PRESENTS

PHOTOS

Y TAYLOR BY HILLAR

K E N L U D W IG ’S

, k c a J r a e D DEAR LOUISE OCTOBER 2–4 | OCTOBER 9–11

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WHEN TWO STRANGERS MEET BY LETTER DURING WORLD WAR II,

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23 G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 - 27 > 2026

A CAMPAIGN CENTERED ON AFFORDABILITY

DAVIS SAYS IN TRAVELING THE STATE AND TALKING TO RESIDENTS, the cost of living is the main issue on people’s minds, whether that’s groceries, gas, health care, homeowner’s insurance or all of the above. As a farm owner, he’s been affected by Trump’s war in Iran increasing fuel and fertilizer costs, as well as Republican cuts to the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which he says raised his insurance from around $680 a month to just under $1,500. Davis says the people he’s spoken with appreciate “the candidate that they’re talking to or listening at has experienced what they’re going though, and it’s not basically someone that’s rich and don’t have a clue of what it’s like to struggle.” “I’m not a rich guy, but I’m not a poor guy either. But I’m still struggling,” he adds. “I cannot afford not to go to work, and I believe that if you cannot afford not to go to work, you definitely need to be involved in what’s happening in this election cycle because the people that are in power right now is making it harder for us to live.” Davis says if elected, he would vote to end the war in Iran “immediately,” while pointing out that Letlow voted to continue the conflict. He also gets passionate when he talks about other votes he wants her to defend, such as cuts to the ACA subsidies, Medicaid and Medicare when so many people in her district rely on those programs for health care. “That tells you right there you don’t give a damn about the people you’re representing,” Davis says. In August, Gulf States Newsroom reporter Drew Hawkins broke the news that Letlow signed an NDA with Meta about its plans to bring a data center to Richland Parish in 2024 and then bought stock in Meta and Nvidia, the company who makes chips for data centers. She then didn’t report the trades for more than a year, though the STOCK Act requires members to report them within 45 days. Her spokesperson Matt Smith told Hawkins Letlow “had no role in directing any of her trades, including the Meta transactions.” “Where I come from, if you place a bet and you already know the outcome of the bet that you placed, you cheated,” Davis says. “And that’s a crime ... no different than Martha Stewart. No different than Pete Rose.” Davis says he’s “totally against” elected officials signing NDAs and members of Congress trading stocks. “You don’t take a [$174,000] job and in a few years, you’re a millionaire,” he says, referring to members of Congress. “Bottom line.” Davis also has said he believes residents should have a choice in whether they want giant developments in their community. “When it comes to projects like carbon capture and massive data centers, the people should have the final say,” he said in a video in April.

THE FINAL STRETCH

TWO MONTHS OUT FROM THE ELECTION, Davis’ New Orleans campaign headquarters on N. Broad Street is pretty bare bones. Four staffers are set up at folding tables. One of them is Nick Albares, a former staffer to Gov. John Bel Edwards who also ran for the Senate seat but lost in the primary.

Jamie Davis stands in front of a harvester on one of the farm’s fields. PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON / THE ADVOCATE

Davis was in town Sept. 9 for the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee candidate forum. The next day he was headed to Shreveport. During the interview, his eyes lit up as staffers carried in a giant banner with his face on it. “That’s pretty cool,” he says. Though there’s no incumbent in the race, as a sitting member of Congress, Letlow has the advantage of more name recognition. In the final stretch leading up to the election, Davis says he knows he and his team have to get his name out to voters. Davis says his campaign doesn’t have the money for a ton of TV ads — he says they’re aiming for one in the last 30 days. But what he lacks in advertising he’s hoping to make up in his ground game. His campaign says they have 14 paid organizers and more than 4,000 people signed up to volunteer. “I want to plague the state of Louisiana with our volunteers,” Davis says, holding up his hands and scrunching his fingers as if imitating a monster. “We just be like the plague over everybody, just cover the state with Jamie Davis volunteers and organizers to everybody’s doors knocking.” He says the campaign will reach out to voters through phone banking, texting, emails, mail and social media. “The plan is to have a ground game and grassroots campaign that has never been seen in Louisiana before,” he says.

Jamie Davis and Louisiana Democratic Party Executive Director Dadrius Lanus PHOTO BY KAYLEE POCHE / GAMBIT

G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 - 27 > 2026

FO R T H E LOV E O F CO F F E E C R AWL

Love Coffee For the

SOUTHERN PECAN COLD BREW

Crawl

August 29–September 26

Explore New Orleans coffee shops, try something new and enter to win prizes!

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ROOTS PLANTS & COFFEE 2510 DESOTO ST, NEW ORLEANS ROOTSPLANTSANDCOFFEESHOP.COM Made with hints of smooth vanilla and caramelized sugar, finished with a velvety vanilla crème.

1. VISIT participating Coffee Crawl stops. 2. SNAP a photo of your visit. 3. SUBMIT by September 26 at bestofneworleans.com/CoffeeCrawl, vip@gambitweekly.com or tag @gambitneworleans on Instagram.

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MOXIE COFFEE & ESPRESSO 3101 METAIRIE RD, METAIRIE MOXIEESPRESSO.COM Good coffee, good people, no pretension. Our Chantilly Cake Latte brings a little Louisiana nostalgia to your coffee run with Wedding Cake syrup from the local favorite Sal’s Sno-Balls, your choice of espresso or matcha, milk, finished with our house-made Nectar Cold Foam. Local flavor, thoughtfully made, very Moxie.

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2024 BAYOU RD, NEW ORLEANS OLDROADCOFFEE.COM Locally owned Old Road Coffee is a multiroaster café featuring some of New Orleans’ finest small-batch roasters. During the Coffee Crawl, try drip coffee from Pretty Coffee, Congregation Coffee and Alinea Coffee Roasters. Find your favorite, then take home a featured retail bag for just $17.

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DUNK DAT DUO

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NIGHT FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 6–9 PM Get your tickets today for an evening of music, art, and more celebrating the opening of Second Nature: Japanese Rinpa Paintings from the Gitter-Yelen Collection.

Fresh start

FORK + CENTER

Izzat serves French-inspired fare in the French Quarter | by Beth D’Addono A FRENCH-STYLE BISTRO TUCKED JUST OFF a couple of the French Quarter’s

main thoroughfares, Izzat might seem like it was designed for tourists. But locals shouldn’t overlook this affordable, casual restaurant at 407 Iberville St.Izzat is a word that carries deep cultural resonance in Hindi, Arabic and Urdu, representing honor and reputation, a social concept central to Northern India, where family and personal honor are greatly valued. It’s also a nod to the experience the owners, Korean American filmmaker Ji Un Choi and Indian chefs Omkar Patil and Abhijeet Patil (who share the same last name but are not related), had working together at a large, fast-casual restaurant in the CBD. Choi was an owner, and Om and Abhi were general managers. Things didn’t work out well with a business partner there. They wanted to do things differently this time around, so when the trio opened Izzat, they set the intention of acting honorably — with each other and their guests. They opened their place a year ago, and the chefs leaned into the French culinary training they received in school in India. “There wasn’t an affordable French bistro in the French Quarter,” Choi says. “Just fine dining. We wanted to change that.” They found the Iberville location, a former pizza shop with a tiny open kitchen, high ceilings, big windows and about 50 seats, including outside. “Om and Abhi helped me see the potential of the space,” Choi says. “It was in pretty bad shape when we took it over. They poured their hearts into it. Every weekend for two months, after the contractors would leave, they’d come in and clean up, then do it all again the next weekend.” The partners painted, sourced gently used marble tables and wooden bistro chairs and hung art. The result is a lovely, simple-yet-elegant setting. Izzat is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the chefs designed a straightforward breakfast, priced

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

Hot Stuff moves to back burner FANS OF HOT STUFF (7507 MAPLE ST.),

Omkar Patil, Ji Un Choi and Abhijeet Patil opened Izzat. PHOTO BY MADDIE SPINNER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

between $10-20, and an all-day menu with plenty of nods to classic French fare. Breakfast is available until 2 p.m., and dishes range from beautiful, folded omelets oozing ham, cheese and/or vegetables, with Lyonnaise potatoes instead of hashbrowns on the side. There are poached eggs Sardou on a bed of spinach and artichokes, and pain perdu is served with whipped cream and fruit. The avocado toast is topped with bits of radish and onion. The rest of the day, there are salads, sweet and savory crepes and sandwiches built on thick slices of Ayu Bakehouse sourdough bread. There is a version of the classic Monte Cristo sandwich, with grilled French toast stuffed with ham and cheese. There is a wonderful grilled Croque Monsieur, with ham, cheese and bechamel, served with salad on the side. Add a fried egg, and you get the Madame. Their version of steak frites is slowroasted rib-eye with jus and housemade shoestring fries. The French dip has been the most popular sandwich

recently, with beef jus for dunking. French onion soup is rich with caramelized onions, served under a cap of melted Gruyere cheese. For dinner, portions are generous, with entrees falling in the $24 to $36 range. The menu includes grilled salmon with lemon caper sauce and vegetables. Moules frites are mussels in a garlicky wine sauce, served with more of those addictive shoestring fries. “We want to offer the basics,” Choi says. “Recognizable food that is approachable, that showcases the chefs’ technique. Food people love to eat.” For those that also like to drink, there’s a happy hour from 2 to 6 p.m. daily, with $4 beers, $5 house wine and two mimosas for $16. So far, Izzat is thriving, with plenty of good karma in the bank. Tourists have praised the scratch kitchen and chance to find something that’s affordable and not fried in the French Quarter. But why let them have all the fun?

? WHAT

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WHEN

HOW

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Izzat

407 Iberville St., (504) 513-4128; izzatnola.com

Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily

Dine-in

French bistro fare tucked away in the French Quarter

the meat-and-three restaurant with exceptionally flavorful Southern cooking, have just a few more weeks to get their fix of stewed chicken, red beans and rice, fried pork chops and bananas Foster pudding. The restaurant near the Uptown universities will close around the start of October, confirms co-owner Mason Hereford. The restaurant, which he opened with chef Nate Barfield in May 2024, wasn’t doing enough business to continue. However, plans are developing that could put some of Hot Stuff’s way with comfort food back in rotation elsewhere. Hereford says he isn’t ready to get into more details about those plans yet, but he suggested in a social media post that there’s work underway “to bring new life and a new home to Nate’s recipes.”

Chefs Nate Barfield, left, and Mason Hereford at Hot Stuff PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

“We’re looking at this as an opportunity rather than just a transition or shutter,” Hereford wrote. “Nate and I have decided that we have a lot more fun and a lot less stress working together rather than separately, and this is what we both want. It’s all gonna be great.” The staff from Hot Stuff will have positions at other restaurants in its family of concepts, which locally includes sandwich and cocktail spot Turkey and the Wolf, breakfast cafe Molly’s Rise and Shine and martini and “fancy drinking food” den Hungry Eyes. PAGE 28

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E AT + D R I N K

G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 - 27 > 2026

FORK & CENTER

PAGE 27

KATIE’S FOR

STEAK NIGHT!

Home Game. Home Crowd. Let’s Rally!

STEAK + SALAD + SIDE + DESSERT + DRINK

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Like Hot Stuff, all of these expansions have come by partnering with talent from within the organization. Barfield had previously cooked with Hereford at Turkey & the Wolf, and High Hat Cafe before that. The partners based Hot Stuff on the meat-and-three format, which Barfield knows well from his upbringing in rural southern Alabama. Similar to the plate lunch joints of south Louisiana, the approach is all about home-style flavors served fast. At Hot Stuff, the center of the restaurant is a long steam table stocked with a daily rotation of dishes, which diners can peruse before loading up trays with main dishes and sides. As with its sibling restaurants, the decor is an anthropology lesson in pop culture told through plastic toys, neon signs, old commercial brands and inside jokes, running across the dining room to a covered patio. The cooking though, has always felt more old school than throwback. Fried chicken is a mainstay, from a recipe Barfield and Hereford and their cohorts developed with a marinade of buttermilk and hot sauce, as well as smoked wings. Hot Stuff took over the spot that for years was Favori Deli, and it sits on a Maple Street restaurant row that’s seen a lot of change in recent years. — Ian McNulty / The Times-Picayune

Corked

A FEW STEPS OFF ONE OF THE MORE BOISTEROUS BLOCKS of Bourbon

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Street, there’s a small wine bar that has always offered a more debonair den for a nice drink in the French Quarter. This was Patrick’s Bar Vin, part of the Hotel Mazarin (730 Bienville St.). It was the place to find proprietor and namesake Patrick Van Hoorebeek, a well-known French Quarter raconteur. The bar also has been the clubhouse for Krewe of Cork, the Carnival walking krewe over which Van Hoorebeek presides as perennial king. Now, however, Van Hoorebeek is out at his former wine bar, and he is in search of a new home to set up shop again. It’s the end of a 15-year affiliation with the French Quarter hotel. “It’s been 15 wonderful years, but management prefers a new direction,” Van Hoorebeek says of the change. “So it’s time to go, we need a new place.” Van Hoorebeek hopes to open a new version of Patrick’s Bar Vin, ideally in the French Quarter and attached to another hotel that can accommodate krewe events.

King Patrick Van Hoorebeek leads the Krewe of Cork. PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

“I’m looking for a new beginning, and hopefully it will be my last hoorah,” he says. “So it has to be the right fit.” Meanwhile, the bar at the Hotel Mazarin remains open, and will soon have a new name. Patrick’s Bar Vin opened in 2011 in what was then called the St. Louis Hotel. With plush sofas and armchairs and lockers where regulars could keep bottles from their own collection, it was drawn up as a wine lover’s lounge. Through the years, it’s been a popular destination for drinks after dinner or late lunches at other French Quarter restaurants. Van Hoorebeek, a native of Belgium, has been a familiar presence in New Orleans dining and wine circles since the 1980s. For 18 years, he was maître d’ at the now long-gone Bistro at the Maison de Ville, and later moved on to Peristyle, the Rib Room, Restaurant August and other local stops. The Krewe of Cork was founded in 2000 after a wine-soaked lunch at the Bistro at the Maison de Ville turned into an impromptu street procession. It now has 450 members, including many from the local hospitality business. Its parade, held two Fridays before Mardi Gras, wends around the French Quarter, and the group holds luncheons and other wine events through the year. Big names from the international wine business are honored as grand marshal each year. For 2027, that will be Jean Trimbach, part of the 12th generation of his family’s Alsace-based Trimbach winery. — Ian McNulty / The Times-Piayune

3 COURSE INTERVIEW

Chef

by WIll Coviello

PRESENTS

A MONSTER

DANICA IVY COLLO STARTED HER POP-UP, IVY’S KUSINA, because

her friends and family loved her cooking and encouraged her to share it. She grew up in the Philippines and moved to Marrero as a teenager. Now she takes classic Filipino dishes and makes them more accessible to wider audiences. She’s brought the pop-up around New Orleans and Baton Rouge and will be one of the vendors at the Siam Night Market on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Westwego Farmers Market space. For more on Ivy’s Kusina, go to @ivykusina on Instagram. For information on the market, see @nolathaifoodfest.

How did you learn to cook?

DANICA IVY COLLO: I learned from my dad and family members. Actually, my uncle is a chef from Holland America Line, a big cruise ship. Since I was little in the Philippines, we always watched him cook. I came here when I was 17 with my brothers. This is where my dad lived, and I started watching him cook. The first food that I cooked was sinigang. It’s very easy. A lot of people sauté ingredients with onions, garlic and tomatoes, but where I am from — the province of Laguna – we boil them. You boil your meat until it is tender and you put your tomatoes in. You season it with salt, pepper, sauce and then you add whatever vegetables you want to add. And naturally you add tamarind seasoning. You can get it from a lot of Asian markets, but they also sell it now in Walmart. When we first got here, it was hard to find. Now it’s easy to find.

How did you start your pop-up?

C: I started doing pop-ups two years ago. I love to cook and I’ve always been cooking for friends. When we have a get-together, I am always making lumpia, which are egg rolls, and pancit, which is like lo-mein. A lot of friends started telling me I should try selling them. So two years ago, I finally started doing pop-ups. My very first one was at Westwego Farmers Market. I didn’t do great

AND

A MEAL 4-HOUR WORKSHOP ON HOW TO CREATE A CUSTOM DOLL

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18TH PHOTO PROVIDED BY DANICA IVY COLLO

4:30 PM - 8:30 PM

because a lot of people weren’t really familiar with Filipino food, but that didn’t discourage me. I started doing all of the big events around the area, and it grew. This is home cooking. I base a lot of my food on traditional Filipino cooking, but I kind of fusion it a little with something a little different so Americans will try it. One of my best sellers is the Buncino. It’s marinated pork that we usually eat at breakfast in the Philippines. You eat it with rice and egg. It is called tocino. Instead of eating it with rice — a lot of people are familiar with (Vietnamese) bun bao — so instead of doing it with rice, I do it with bao. I put pickled carrots and my own sauce on top. The sauce is similar to yum-yum sauce. Mine is not so thin, it’s not super sweet, it’s not super sour.

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What will you serve at the Night Market? C: I will have bang bang shrimp tacos. I will have the Buncino. I will have lumpia with ground pork. I am going to do barbecue on a stick and shumai dumplings. You have to have some variety for everyone. I also will have the Filipino spaghetti. I tried it at one of my regular popups at Tsaocaa on South Carrollton. Everybody loved it. It’s more on the sweet side than regular American spaghetti, and it’s more cheesy. Instead of meatballs, we serve it with hot dogs. It may sound weird, but it’s very good. I have a drink. It’s tapioca pearls with a jelly. It’s got a syrup and banana flavor. It’s like a go-to street food drink in the Philippines. It’s both in one, a drink and a dessert.

HONEY’S

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G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 - 27 > 2026

Danica Ivy Collo

G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 - 27 > 2026

You voted, New Orleans, and we’re counting the ballots now! More than 110,000 votes have been cast, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you for being part of this incredible community and for making your voice heard. The winners and runners-up will be revealed in our BIGGEST issue of the year, publishing on September 28. Stay tuned!

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CONTACT SALES & MARKETING MANAGER ABIGAIL BORDELON | 504-636-7427 OR ABIGAIL.BORDELON@GAMBITWEEKLY.COM Approximate reach: 352,853* *Scarborough / Nielson: RELEASE 1 (MAR-SEP 2024/OCT 2024-APR 2025)

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 menu and prepared foods to go. A smoked

$ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11-$20 $$$ — $20-up 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. $$$ PAGE 32

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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) 4434040; 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. $

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PAGE 7

Bobby Rush

Now in his 90s, bluesman Bobby Rush isn’t slowing down. He was 83 when he won his first Grammy award and collected his most recent trophy two years ago. He released “Young Fashioned Ways” with Kenny Wayne Shepherd in 2025 and provided harmonica parts for the movie “Sinners.” At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at Jazz & Blues Market. Tickets $31.45 and up via ticketmaster.com.

Hot Fix Sideshow

New York City’s Coney Island was an early mecca of amusement rides, carnival sideshow entertainments and escape. Hot Fix Sideshow is based there today, and shares members with Coney Island Circus Sideshow, and it’s got a darker edge to its show. The touring troupe features Alaska Lostboy, Cyclone Jack Sullivan, Kita St. Cyr, Maggie McMuffin and others doing aerial work, fire tricks, escape acts, sword swallowing, glass walking and more. At 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, at Cafe Istanbul. Tickeyts $25.50 via hotfixsideshow.com.

Siam Night Market

The event highlights Thai and Southeast Asian dishes from more than 20 local vendors including Nori Guys, Taste of Kultures, Thai D-Jing, Sogbu and more. There’s also entertainment and a market. From noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Westwego Fisheries and Farmers Market. For information, go to @nolathaifoodfest on Instagram.

‘Jersey Boys’

Vocalist Frankie Valli became the biggest star among the Four Seasons, a group formed in New Jersey in the 1960s. One of pop music’s best-selling bands, their catalog of hits includes “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Oh, What a Night,” “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man” and more. This jukebox musical recounts the beginnings and career of the band, told in four parts from each member’s account. The touring Broadway production comes to Saenger Theatre Sept. 22-27. Tickets $39-$169.94 via saengernola.com.

‘I Wrote a Song’

In the original musical, a gay Baptist minister starts his journey to come out of the closet. The show stars Laveau Contraire, Kieva Banks, Patrick Smith, Nicholas Anthony Smith, Peachy King and Justin Betweener. At 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28 and Monday, Oct. 5 at AllWays Lounge & Cabaret. Tickets $37.24 on eventbrite.com.

The Walrus

New York comedian Salma Zaky jokes about the unexpected benefits of getting on and off anti-depressants and recreational drugs. She has recorded short specials for “Don’t Tell Comedy,” OnlyFans and Cracked. At 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at Sports Drink. Tickets $28.99 via sportsdrink.org.

Busy New Orleans musicians David Pomerleau, Jonathan Pretus, Felix Wohlleben and Andre Bohren started The Walrus in 2009 to pay tribute to The Beatles, and live, they tend to be faithful to the classics. On their first full-length album, though, The Walrus re-interprets The Beatles through a wide-ranging lens, putting a power-pop spin on “With a Little Help From My Friends” or conjuring The Meters in their version of “I’ve Got a Feeling.” Some songs sound like classic New Orleans rhythm and blues, while others lean into punk, country or trad jazz. The Walrus releases “Elysian Fields Forever” on Friday, Sept. 25, and they play a show Sunday, Sept. 27, at NOLA Brewing. The show is free and all ages. Find more info on Instagram: @walrusnola.

John Coltrane Day

Nasser Al-Rayess

Salma Zaky

Influential, celebrated saxophonist John Coltrane was born Sept. 23, 1926, and there have been several books and albums released this year and events around the country celebrating his centennial. The Congo Square Jazz Orchestra pays tribute to Coltrane with a free show at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. Find more info at nolajazzmuseum.org.

Nasser Al-Rayess jokes that he looks like Arab Jonah Hill, a perfectly unnoticeable white-passing Arab, until he gets to airport security. The SyrianAmerican comic jokes about all sorts of pop culture but leans into talking about Arabic culture and earned the nickname Shawarma King. He performs at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, at The Howlin’ Wolf. Tickets $24.50 via laughlife.standuptix.com.

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MUSIC FO R CO M P L E T E M U S I C L I ST I N G S A N D M O R E E V E N T S TA K I N G P L A C E IN THE NEW ORLEANS AREA, VISIT C A L E N D A R . G A M B I T W E E K LY. C O M

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

MONDAY 21 30/90 — Margie Perez, 6 pm; Piano Man ‘G’, 10 pm ALLWAYS LOUNGE — Betsey Propane’s Smoke Show, 7 pm APPLE BARREL — Decaturadio, 6 pm; Bread for Sale, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Byron Asher Duo, 7 pm BAMBOULA’S — The New Orleans Rug Cutters, 12 pm; Jon Roniger & The Good For Nothin’ Band, 4:30 pm; Ted Hefko & the Thousandaires, 9 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Red Beans & Blues with The Rump Shakers, 9 pm BROADSIDE — Hot Summer Salsa Nights with DJ Lady B, 7 pm BUFFA’S — David Doucet, 7 pm CAFÉ ISTANBUL — Gio’s Giazz Giam, 8 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — Keep It Rolling Brass Band, 9 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 THE FILLMORE — Chief Keef, 7 pm HOWLIN’ WOLF — Subterranean Songwriter Night, 7 pm MAHOGANY JAZZ HALL — Victor Campbell, 6 pm; The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, 8 pm THE MAISON — Brett Gardner, 5 pm; Gene’s Music Machine, 8 pm MAPLE LEAF BAR — George Porter Jr. Trio ft. Chris Adkins, 7 pm; 10 pm SANTOS BAR — Black Mass Karaoke, 8 pm SATURN BAR — BC Coogan, 8 pm SIBERIA — Jim E. Brown with Andy Burns, 9 pm SPOTTED CAT — Jenavieve Cooke & the Winding Boys, 2 pm; Dominick Grillo & the Frenchmen Street All-Stars, 6 pm ST. ROCH TAVERN — Clare Doyle + Jonathan Henley, 9 pm

TUESDAY 22 30/90 — Sugar & the Daddies, 6 pm; Higher Heights, 9 pm APPLE BARREL — Bubbles Brown, 6 pm; Jackson’s Flying Circus, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Tangiers Combo, 6 pm BAMBOULA’S — F K-rrera Group, 12 pm; Giselle Anguizola, 4:30 pm; Caitie B. & The Hand Me Downs, 9 pm

BAR REDUX — Stumps & Co., 9 pm BAYOU BAR — The Season ft. Peter Harris, Ashlin Parker, David Torkanowsky and more, 8 pm; 10 pm BROADSIDE — Greenleaf, 7 pm BUFFA’S — Alex McMurray, 7 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — The Super-MostFantastic-Blues-N-Such Jam, 7 pm DOS JEFES —Javier Gutierrez, 8:30 pm GASA GASA — Steel Beans is a Psyop Tour with Mira Lazuli, 8 pm MAHOGANY JAZZ HALL — Big Joe Kennedy, 6 pm; Joe Lastie’s New Orleans Sound, 8 pm THE MAISON — Jacky Blaire & the Hot Biscuits, 5 pm; Paradise Jazz Band, 8 pm MAPLE LEAF BAR — Very Good Tuesday, 8 pm OKAY BAR — Big Easy Stompers Line Dancing & Lessons, 8 pm THE RABBIT HOLE — Rebirth Brass Band, 10 pm SAENGER THEATRE — Jersey Boys: The Musical, 7:30 pm SALON SALON — Silver Lining Serenaders, 7 pm SATURN BAR — Baile Ritmo: ¡CUMBIA! with Los Guiros & DJ C’est Funk, 9 pm SIBERIA — Dopethrone with Fister and Mars, 9 pm SPOTTED CAT — Chris Christy Band, 2 pm; Sweetie Pies of New Orleans, 6 pm; Smoking Time Jazz Club, 9:30 pm VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE — Cuttin’ Up with Lil Prince & the Youngbloods, 10 pm

WEDNESDAY 23 30/90 — Josh Benitez, 6 pm; The Budz, 9 pm APPLE BARREL — Hobo Gadget, 6 pm; Dale Robertson Blues Band, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Jesse Morrow, 6 pm BAMBOULA’S — Jacky Blaire & the Hot Biscuits, 12 pm; Swinging with John Saavedra, 4:30 pm; Jelly Roll Stompers, 9 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Karaoke with Sam Cahill, 9 pm BUFFA’S — Sari Jordan, 7 pm CAFÉ ISTANBUL — Poets on Poets, 8 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — Jam-ilton, 7:30 pm DBA — The Next Level Band, 8 pm DOS JEFES — Joe Krown, 8:30 pm FAVELA CHIC — Better Late Than Jake, 8 pm GASA GASA — Remo Drive x sports. + Computer, 9 pm HOLY DIVER — The Amazing Henrietta, 8 pm MAHOGANY JAZZ HALL — Paul Longstreth, 6 pm; Mahogany Hall All Stars ft. Tom Fischer, 8 pm

THE MAISON — Gene’s Music Machine, 6 pm MAPLE LEAF BAR — Happy Organ Hour, 7 pm PAULIE’S — PUPS Jam, 8 pm SANTOS BAR — Bob Log III + Stud Ford + STMBLR, 10 pm SATURN BAR — Creekbed Carter Hogan & His Hot Dog Choir + Emmylou Kezia Rose, 9 pm SIBERIA — Dirty Sound Magnet with Gran Moreno + Gatsu, 9 pm SNUG HARBOR — BrasiNola, 5 pm; Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, 7:30 pm; 9:30 pm SPOTTED CAT — Chris Christy Band, 2 pm; Shotgun Jazz Band, 6 pm; Marty Peters & The Party Meters, 9:30 pm TRUE SOUTH — Ugly Rumors, 7:30 pm VENUE VAPAILLE — Arkose, 7 pm

THURSDAY 24 30/90 — Dapper Dandies, 6 pm; Kim in the Wind, 9 pm ALLWAYS LOUNGE — Harlot’s Hush, 10:30 pm APPLE BARREL — Bubbles Brown, 6 pm; Johnny B, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Raphael Bas, 6 pm BAMBOULA’S — JJ & the A-OKs, 12 pm; Cristina Kaminis & The Mix, 4:30 pm; Caitie B. & The Hand Me Downs, 9 pm BEANLANDIA — Swing Night with The New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings, 7 pm BAYOU BAR — Cryptic, 8 pm; 10 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — The Itchy Stitches, 9 pm BLUE NILE — Irvin Mayfield’s Music Church, 9 pm; DJ T-Roy (upstairs), 10 pm BMC — Maurice Cade & E.S.S, 6 pm; Kat Kiley Experience, 9 pm BUFFA’S — Tom McDermott & Aurora Nealand, 7 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — The Blues at Work with Phil Breen, 6:30 pm; 8 pm CAROUSEL BAR — Leslie Martin, 5:30 pm; Lena Prima & Her Band, 9 pm CHICKIE WAH WAH — HR of Bad Brains, 9 pm DBA — Vegas Cola Band, 8 pm DOS JEFES — Miss Anna Quinn, 8:30 pm DOUBLE DEALER — Tiffany Pollack, 9 pm FAVELA CHIC — Daryl Johnson & FunkFix, 8 pm THE FILLMORE — Zack Fox, 10 pm GASA GASA — Cordovas + Electric Ramble, 9 pm GOOD MEASURE — Mahmoud Chouki, 8 pm HOLY DIVER — DJ Otto, 11 pm HOWLIN’ WOLF — NOLA K-Pop Night with DJ Save Train, 6 pm LE BON TEMPS ROULE — The Soul Rebels, 11 pm

MAHOGANY JAZZ HALL — The New Orleans Catahoulas, 6 pm; Jamil Sharif New Orleans Extravaganza, 8 pm THE MAISON — The Champagniacs, 4:30 pm; SingleMaltPlease, 8:30 pm MAPLE LEAF BAR — Booker & Beyond Piano Series with Kyle Cripps, 6 pm; Johnny Vidacovich Trio Ft. Brad Walker & Pat Casey, 8 pm PAULIE’S — Beach Angel, 6 pm PEACOCK ROOM — Da Lovebirds: Robin Barnes & Pat Casey, 8 pm SALON SALON — Eliza Sonnenschein, 7 pm SATURN BAR — Wit’s End Brass Band & Bvlbancha Liberation Radio, 9 pm SIBERIA — Corpse Dust with Divtech, Natasha Delores, & Shining Fields, 9 pm SNUG HARBOR — Yusa & World of Rhythms, 7:30 pm; 9:30 pm SPOTTED CAT — Chris Christy Band, 2 pm; Miss Sophie Lee, 6 pm; Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Band, 10 pm THREE MUSES — Audrey LeCrone Trio, 7:30 pm TIPITINA’S — NOLAxNOLA Kickoff Show, 8 pm TRUE SOUTH — Patrick Cooper & Mark Carroll, 6 pm URBAN SOUTH — The Ash Trays + Sam Harris, 7 pm VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE — Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet, 10 pm

FRIDAY 25 30/90 — Scotty Yost & The Most, 5 pm; Half Shell Boogie, 8 pm; The Soulcial Club, 11 pm THE ALLWAYS LOUNGE — Miss Angie Z presents The New Orleans High Society, 8 pm; Variété DeVille : New Orleans Cabaret & Variety, 11 pm ANNA’S — Brookesita’s Tender Bender, 9 pm APPLE BARREL — Bubbles Brown, 6 pm; Joey Houck, 10 pm BACCHANAL — David Sigler, 1 pm; Willie Green, 7 pm BAMBOULA’S — The New Orleans Rug Cutters, 12 pm; Felipe Antonio Quarteto, 2:15 pm; Les Getrex & Creole Cookin,’ 6:30 pm; Bettis & the Third Degree Brass Band, 10 pm BANKS STREET BAR — Honest Man Happy Hour with Domenic Fusca, 4 pm; Conor Donohue + Double Dutch, 9 pm BAR REDUX — Bomb Pulse + Bored Shortz, 8 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Da Voodoo Kingz, 9 pm THE BLUE CRAWFISH — Free Agents Brass Band, 6:30 pm BLUE NILE — Dolly’s Celebration of Life Parade After Party, 6:30 pm; Kermit Ruffins & the BBQ Swingers, 10 pm; DJ Westbank Red (upstairs), 10 pm BMC — Mother Ruckus, 6 pm; Big Mike & the R&B Kings, 9 pm

MUSIC SIBERIA — Troy Bennett’s Graveyard Lips and Adam Faucett + Them Ol’ Ghosts, 9 pm SNUG HARBOR — Chris Thomas King, 7:30 & 9:30 pm SPOTTED CAT — Paradise Jazz Band, 2 pm; New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings, 6 pm TIPITINA’S — Honey Island Swamp Band’s 20th Anniversary Show, 9 pm

SATURDAY 26 30/90 — Organami, 5 pm; Dana Abbott, 8 pm; T. Cherrelle & Lou’s Bayou, 11 pm ALLWAYS LOUNGE — Bayou Blues Burlesque ft. The Delta Revues, 8 pm ARMSTRONG PARK — L.O.C.A.L.S’ Festival, 11 am APPLE BARREL — Hobo Gadget, 6 pm; Smokey Greenwell, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Miles Berry, 1 pm; Bayou Manouche, 7 pm BANKS STREET BAR — Megafauna + Midriff, 9 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Scully & Sarah Wedding Celebration ft. Louis Michot & Swamp Magic, 10 pm BLUE NILE — The Caesar Brothers’ Funk-Box, 7:30 pm; Afrobeat NOLA (upstairs), 10 pm; The Next Level Band, 10 pm BROADSIDE — Black Americana Festival, 2 pm BROTHERS THREE LOUNGE — Valerie Sassyfras, 9 pm BUFFA’S — Richard Daigle, 8 pm BYWATER BAKERY — Charlie & the Tropicales, 11 am CAFÉ NEGRIL — The Rumpshakers, 1:30 pm; Sunny Side, 6 pm; Zena Moses & Rue Fiya, 10 pm CARROLLTON STATION — The Band Melrose + Salmon Shorts + Sunscape, 9 pm CHICKIE WAH WAH — The Meditations, 9 pm DBA — Tuba Skinny, 6 pm; Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers, 10 pm

SUDOKU

DOS JEFES — Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots, 9 pm THE FILLMORE — The Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular, 7 pm GASA GASA — Drunks with Guns, Slowhole, Crush Diamond, 9 pm GOOD MEASURE — New Orleans Fashion Week After Party ft. Ten Spencer, 9 pm HOLY DIVER — Video Age 10 Years of “Living Alone” with Rui Gabriel, 9 pm KERMIT’S TREMÉ MOTHER-IN-LAW LOUNGE — Kermit Ruffins & The BBQ Swingers, 6 pm LE BON TEMPS ROULÉ — Aaron Walker & the Over-the-Hill Allstars, 11 pm MAPLE LEAF BAR — Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes, 8 pm OKAY BAR — “Heatwave!” Soul + R&B Dance Party with DJ Ann, 9 pm POOR BOYS — SET DE FLO, 11 pm THE SAINT — Jake Ryan, 11 pm SANTOS BAR — Community + Brucey + The Self Help Tape, 9:30 pm TIPITINA’S — All Hail The Chief! A Tribute to Big Chief Monk Boudreaux , 8 pm TRUMPET & DRUM COFFEE — Opera Night with Krewe of Callas, 5:30 pm

SUNDAY 27 30/90 — Jeff Chaz, 3 pm; Andre Lovett, 6 pm; Manic Mixtape, 9 pm THE ALLWAYS LOUNGE — Swing Night with Silver Lining Serenaders, 8 pm APPLE BARREL — Shwag, 6 pm; Steve Mignano, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Pete Olynciw, 1 pm BAR REDUX — Take Your Folkin’ Clothes Off ft. Live Music by The Hummingbirds, 9 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — James McClaskey & the Rhythm Band, 9 pm BLUE NILE — Juice presents Sypher Sundays, 7 pm BMC — Deej Flava & Mother Ruckus, 3 pm; JAM Brass Band, 6 pm; Funky Soles, 9 pm

BREEZY’S — Nigel Hall & Alex Wasily B2B (DJ Sets), 5 pm BROADSIDE — Mike Dillon & New Orleans Percussion Consortium Album Release, 8 pm BYWATER BAKERY — John Boutté, 11 am; Leyla McCalla Supper Club Show, 7 pm CAFÉ ISTANBUL — The Gavin Eckler Trio, 8 pm CHICKIE WAH WAH — Six Foot Blonde + Paul Faith & the Barstool Prophets, 8 pm COLUMNS HOTEL — Excelsior Trio ft. Charlie Halloran, Seva Venet & Julius McKee, 12 pm DBA — Paradise Jazz Band, 6 pm; The Jump Hounds, 9:30 pm DOS JEFES — Raphael Bas, 8 pm FAVELA CHIC — Delvin & The Shades, 8 pm HOLY DIVER — Gremlin + Badzy + Gacked + Jay Skaggs, 9 pm HOTEL HENRIETTA — Seth Finch, 4 pm HOWLIN’ WOLF — Hot 8 Brass Band, 10:30 pm MAPLE LEAF BAR — Joe Krown Trio +1, 9 pm OKAY BAR — Irish Folk Jam hosted by “Buds Rip,” 4 pm PARADIGM GARDENS — Third Annual Yacht Rock and Dinner in the Gardens ft. DJ Raj Smoove, 6 pm POOR BOYS — Gnarled, 9 pm SATURN BAR — Brazilian Night with Lapis, 9 pm SIBERIA — Swords2 with xxffcyuvcui, feral cat, Reserv & More!, 9 pm TIPITINA’S — Built To Spill + Paul Schalda, 8 pm VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE — Domino Sound DJs, 8 pm SCAN FOR THE COMPLETE GAMBIT CALENDAR

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G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 ! 27 > 2026

THE BRASS MONKEY — Adam Pearce, 8 pm BROADSIDE — Black Americana Fest, 2 pm BRUTTO AMERICANO — Jazz to Table ft. Anna Laura Quinn, 6 pm BUFFA’S — Tuba Skinny, 8 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — Dana Abbott, 6:30 pm; Higher Heights, 10 pm CARROLLTON STATION — The Desert Nudes + Gal Holiday & The Honky Tonk Revue, 8 pm CHAPEL CLUB — DJ Brother Dan, 9 pm CHICKIE WAH WAH — Zeko Perdido, 9 pm CLUB SWITCH — All Black Party, 9 pm DBA — Michael Watson & The Alchemy, 6 pm; Zena Moses & Rue Fiya, 10 pm DOS JEFES — The Afrodiziac’s Jazz, 9 pm FAVELA CHIC — Jass Hysteria, 4 pm; J.A.M. Brass Band, 7 pm; Hypno Nun, 10 pm GASA GASA — NOLAxNOLA: Ja Fearce & Azure Skyz with Flagboy Giz +DJ Tymonie, 9 pm GOOD MEASURE — Zehrin Sims, 9 pm HOLY DIVER — DarkLounge Ministries, 8 pm; Filth Abyss with DJs Mange & Scythe, 10 pm HOWLIN’ WOLF — Emmaline, 8 pm THE JOY THEATER — Cyril Neville Plays The Dead with Omari Neville & The Fuel, 8 pm LE BON TEMPS ROULÉ — The Team Players, 11 pm MAHALIA JACKSON THEATER — TajMo (Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’), 8 pm THE MAISON — Shotgun Jazz Band, 5 pm; Feral House Cats, 8 pm; The Sponges, 12 am MAPLE LEAF BAR — Naughty Professor, 8 pm OKAY BAR — The Rolofs + Big Leather + Kinky Vanilla, 8 pm THE RABBIT HOLE — Lost Bayou Ramblers, 9 pm; Krewe of Space Vikings Where You Are, 11 pm THE SAINT — Lord Chilla, 11 pm SANTOS BAR — Spickle + Hostile Apostle, 10 pm SATURN BAR — Burnt Sugar, 9 pm

G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 - 27 > 2026

MUSIC

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Park views by Jake Clapp

LAST YEAR, NEW ORLEANS MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL

L.O.C.A.L.S’ Fest added a second stage of music for its sixth edition in Louis Armstrong Park. At the time, festival organizer Ryan Batiste told Gambit he had a few dreams for a festival with four stages when he looked around the Treme park. He didn’t wait long to take another step toward that goal. L.O.C.A.L.S’ Fest will feature three stages when it returns to Armstrong Park on Saturday, Sept. 26. The free festival also will have food and drink vendors, artists and crafts people and other small businesses with booths. This year’s fest will feature performances by Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Bo Dollis Jr. and the Wild Magnolias, Batiste’s band Raw Revolution, Sporty’s Brass Band, DJ RQ Away, Krewe Debauchery and more. “I always had the vision to pack the park. I’m a taller guy, so I feel like it’s just natural for me to have big visions,” Batiste says with a laugh. The new Block Party Stage will be set up close to St. Philip Street and focuses on DJs and dance music. The lineup includes Kid Kamillion, Mikey Offline, RQ Away and DJ G. The stage is sponsored by and programmed with the Metairie sneaker and streetwear shop Foster and a result of “divine timing,” Batiste says. Foster for the last year has been hosting in-store DJ sets, which are recorded for YouTube, and the shop’s owner, Patrick Bowden, was hoping to expand the series into new settings, Batiste says. DJ Spin Griffey will open the NOTCF (New Orleans Tourism & Culture Fund) Stage at Congo Square. The stage hosts the newer funk-rock band Krewe Debauchery, Mardi Gras Indian funk band Bo Dollis Jr. and the Wild Magnolias and Big Sam’s Funky Nation. Batiste, who raps and produces under the name Shaggadelic, and his dynamic band Raw Revolution headline the stage.

Raw Revolution performed at LOCALS’ Fest 2024. PHOTO BY JACQUES DALE / PROVIDED BY LOCALS’ FEST

The Revolution Stage, on the east side of Municipal Auditorium, has a brass band lineup with Knockaz, Keep It Rolling, Tidal Wave and Sporty’s. DJ 504 Millz also will perform. Sporty’s has performed before at L.O.C.A.L.S.’ Fest, but the other brass bands are new to the festival. The mission of L.O.C.A.L.S’ Fest — short for “Loving Our Community As Louisiana” — is to highlight homegrown New Orleans talent and businesses. Batiste started L.O.C.A.L.S’ Fest to add another opportunity in the city’s festival calendar where newer musicians and bands can get experience and audience exposure. He and his team take submissions from bands and try to balance the lineup with newer acts, like Krewe Debauchery, and “bigwigs,” like “Big Sam” Williams, Batiste says. “While we have the resources we have, we want to make sure the circumference of the light we’re shining is as wide as possible and that we can expand it every year,” he says. L.O.C.A.L.S.’ Fest starts at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. General admission is free, and there are VIP passes for $50, which include air-conditioned bathrooms, drink tickets and an elevated viewing area. There also is free parking at the park. Find more info at linktr.ee/localsfestnola.

GOING OUT

1 OC20T261

G AMBIT > BESTOFNE WORLE ANS.COM > SEPTEMBER 21 - 27 > 2026

AI-pocalypse now

AY SUND

by Will Coviello

ANYONE WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT RAPIDLY developing and

potentially uncontrollable AI may not want to revisit “2001: A Space Odyssey.” In Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke’s landmark 1968 film, a few astronauts fight for their lives against HAL, the spaceship supercomputer with a mind of its own. The sinister computer was just one part of what made the movie so memorable, and it was a new vision of the PROVIDED PHOTO BY JAVIER HERNANDEZ battle of man-versus-machine. There also were questions about higher intelligence Now,” says Aqua Mob founder in the universe and exploring beyond Alayne Gobeille. human boundaries. The show starts where the original That’s all ripe source material for “2001” does. It opens with rival early Aqua Mob’s water ballet-based theathuman clans battling over access to a rical version, “2001: An Odyssey into water hole. For Aqua Mob, that’s an the Deep.” The deep-end, deep-space extravaganza with multiple musical swimming numbers and more than a mission runs Sept. 24 to Oct. 10 in the dozen members as primitive humans. pool of The Midtown Hotel at 3900 “Some years we go super goofy, like Tulane Ave. with ‘Evil Dead,’ and then last year we “2001” followed an epic story of tackled some real themes about gender man evolving from early hominids to and feminism,” Gobeille says. “This conquering and exploring the universe. year is more operatic and movement Mysterious monoliths are discovered based and we deal with AI.” throughout the solar system, and it About 20 members participate in is during a journey to investigate one synchronized swimming numbers in found on Jupiter that astronauts David the show. Bowman and Frank Poole realize the Aqua Mob shows also use live rock computer HAL 9000 is actively and bands, and this year The Kissing Disease secretly interfering with their mission. performs the score. Despite all the thought that went into Because most of the action takes the film’s new approach to depicting place in the pool of the hotel courtyard, higher intelligence in the universe, it’s theater-in-the-round. Audiences many viewers went to theaters just to can watch from chairs, bleachers or enjoy its psychedelic cinematography hotel balconies. There’s also a hotel bar and music. While Clarke published a open during shows. novel that explored all the story’s ideas, Aqua Mob has presented a variety Kubrick stripped out dialogue, created of parodies and adaptations of classic a visual spectacle and didn’t try to books and movies, from George explain anything. Orwell’s “Animal Farm” to fantasy stoAqua Mob is using the movie as a ries like “The Last Unicorn” and more starting point, but “Odyssey into the recently, horror classics including “The Deep” is its own story, leaning heavily Shining,” “Carrie” and “Aliens.” into the threat of AI. In the film, HAL Cody Evans Gan wrote the script for was identified by the lights that seemed “2001.” He has been in several shows to follow and monitor the astronauts, and written scripts and introduced and by his sedate, measured voice. In stunts, including pyrotechnics. “Odyssey into the Deep,” HAL is a bit In the current battle against AI, more conspicuous, and he has a fleet of Gobeille notes one other imperative. All bots to do his dirty work — and at times the art and sets are handmade. No AI they perform water ballet numbers. was used. Aqua Mob also looked to another landmark film for inspiration. HAL Tickets $25.50 via eventbrite.com, or takes some cues from another mission $22 or sliding scale at the door. Visit aquamobnola.com for information. buster, Colonel Kurtz from “Apocalypse

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2026

School

OPEN HOUSE Calendar RUNNING IN THE SEPTEMBER 28TH, OCTOBER 5TH, AND OCTOBER 12TH ISSUES OF GAMBIT SEPTEMBER 28TH ISSUE (Best of New Orleans)

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PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE DOING I.T. WORK By Frank A. Longo

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ANSWERS FOR LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE: P2 ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE ON P35

PUZZLES

ACROSS 1 Trumpet’s cousin 7 Many a golf instructor, for short 14 Certain soup legume 20 Beethoven’s Third, familiarly 21 Ibuprofen alternative 22 Of horses 23 Reveal secrets in the same way that Martin or McQueen does? 25 Most darling 26 Actress Marisa 27 Mass. hours 28 Extreme aversion to carnivals? 30 Falafel bread

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