Kicking Off Mardi-Gras Day With The Jefferson City Buzzards and TBC Brass Band
It was my first Mardi Gras morning in New Orleans ever, but it was hardly the stuff of dreams. It was grey, dreary and overcast, …
musicology
Krewe of Orpheus: The Rains Came
Because rain was predicted, the city of New Orleans had moved up the starting times of both Lundi Gras parades by an hour. That had …
Majorettes and Drummers at Manassas High School
I knew there was to be a massive majorette jamboree at the Manassas High School gym on Saturday afternoon (February 7), so I rode over …
The Ghost Town Blues Band Celebrating the Release of “Hard Road To Hoe” at the Rum Boogie Cafe
The Ghost Town Blues Band is a group of young Memphians that first garnered a lot of attention during the International Blues Challenge a couple …
Memphis Majorettes and Drummers at the Sophisticated Divas Jamboree
Although there are fall jamborees, the cold winter months are the high point of majorette jamboree season in Memphis. Majorette jamborees exist in other cities, …
“The Whole Wild Creation”: Mardi Gras Indian Practice at Handa Wanda
The Black Indians of New Orleans have always fascinated me. I read about them long before I had ever seen one. Their culture is ancient …
Parading Uptown with the Lady Buckjumpers and the Stooges and Rebirth Brass Bands
In New Orleans, “buckjumping” is another name for second-lining (in Memphis, it refers to “gangsta walking”), but the term “buckjump” seems to have masculine connotations, …
Wo-day in the Faubourg Marigny
Another thing I love about New Orleans is the fact that you often run into humorous signs, graffiti or slogans in many neighborhoods of the …
America's Golden Age Revived with the Side Street Steppers @SideStSteppers
The Side Street Steppers are a Memphis-based band whose repertoire consists mainly of music from the 1920’s and 1930’s, an era that has largely been …
Midsummer Mardi-Gras with the Krewe of OAK and the All For One Brass Band
The event calendars for New Orleans showed something called the Midsummer Mardi-Gras that was supposed to take place at the Maple Leaf Bar on Oak …