Billy Iuso’s Crawfish Boil

It’s Jazz Fest and there’s music and crawfish everywhere! Wednesday, we passed on the terrific and free concert of Eric McFadden, Jerry Joseph, Norwood Fisher, Eric Bolivar & Special Guests with Gravy at Wednesday at the Square. Instead we joined Billy Iuso and the Restless Natives (BIRN) behind The Sandpiper Lounge for the “1st Annual BIRNout Boil.”  It was an intimate group (50 or so) partying on a lawn in front of some of our city’s finest musicians literally playing as a garage band.

French Quarter Fest Sunday

The final day of this year’s French Quarter Fest began with a huge rain storm that blew in after midnight. For the lucky people who found themselves still out at music venues after the power went out that night, bars were lit with candles and bands went unplugged. The rain soaked the ground and messed up food booth and stage equipment so the day started around noon. The rain also scared off a lot of people who drive in from Baton Rouge or Mississippi, etc. so the crowds were much thinner. Despite the day’s wet beginning, it was gloriously beautiful – 70’s and sunny with breezes. And after 2 solid days of festing, we were happy for a shorter more low-key afternoon.

Wednesday at the Square with Anders Osborne

YLC Wednesday at the Square is back!!! Colin Lake got the season off to a great start with his funk-rock flavored show. It’s still odd to see a guy play a seated guitar but the rest of his band keeps the stage hopping. Lake came from Oregon to New Orleans in 2009 – the same year I arrived.

The event continues to make improvements. My favorite new thing is that, thanks to “The Square” and iPads, they accept credit cards for ticket sales. The event is free but food and beverages are purchased with tickets and the ticket proceeds go to the Young Leadership Council, the group responsible for the lights on the Crescent City Connection bridge among other things. They’ve raised more than $25 million for community projects in the New Orleans area since 1986.

Saints Lose and Treme’s Season Ends – Dang

It’s such a joy to head to the Superdome to watch a Saints game. The city is cloaked in black and gold optimism. All the other teams that had to lose Sunday to keep our playoff hopes alive lost. All we had to do was beat the 49’ers and things were looking pretty darn good. Alas, it was not meant to be. Warren Easton‘s marching band opened the game and got me in the mood for Mardi Gras as they are always one of the favorite parade bands. Favorite person of the game this time was definitely our usher who didn’t even try to hide her enthusiasm for our team.

Jazz Fest from the Beer Booth

Did you know you can attend Jazz Fest for free while helping your community? Turns out there are many ways to volunteer at Jazz Fest. When I found out that Raintree Children and Family Services would be working the Fireman’s beer booth 2 days this Fest, I was in! Raintree (founded in 1926) offers services for foster care children, children with disabilities and at-risk children. They also have a home for teenaged girls who were unable to find placement in the foster care system. The booth faced the Acura Stage, the largest stage at the Fest and host to the more popular bands, so though I couldn’t hop around, I was treated to fairly non-stop wonderful music.

French Quarter Fest – Day 1

French Quarter Fest, my favorite music festival of the year and the largest free festival in the South, opened its 28th year with a special treat – Locals Lagniappe Day (though some called it “Hooky Day” as many bosses snuck out after lunch and unattended employees were gone by 3). An entirely local festival featuring over 70 local, non-chain restaurants and more than 800 local musicians and international musicians playing local music on 18 stages throughout the Quarter, the normally 3-day festival was opened a day early to provide a less crowded experience for locals.

L.A. to N.O.LA’s Favorite Things (in NOLA) 2010

I can’t get you all of this stuff, Oprah-style, but every item has links to their site. If you’d like to know more about why each is my favorite, use the search window on the lower right to find photos, videos and stories.

I continue to accumulate favorite things about New Orleans, but here’s my first year favorites in a nutshell.

Harvest the Music (lots of photos)

Before I moved here, my favorite places here would have been restaurants and bars in the French Quarter that my cousins and I frequented over the years. Another would have to be Jackson Square, including Cafe du Monde and the stairs down to the river. I’ve added many more reasons to love Jackson Square but I’d have to say my new favorite place in New Orleans is Lafayette Square. I fell in love last Spring during the Wednesday at the Square concert series benefitting the Young Leadership council. The Square is a beautiful town center surrounded by regal buildings with a streetcar line rolling past.

Anders Osborne commemorates Katrina

5 years ago today, Katrina made landfall. Around here, they refer to it as, “the storm,” as if there had never been another. Commemorations began all over the city yesterday, despite the most rain we’ve had in months. I chose to attend a free concert by Anders Osborne at my favorite venue, Lafayette Square.