Irma Thomas at Wednesday at the Square

This is my 10th year enjoying the  Young Leadership Council‘s  Wednesday at the Square music series in Lafayette Square. We’re so spoiled for music here that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Grammy-winner  Irma Thomas perform dozens of times. We got a bunch of yummy food from the booths and hung out with friends while the “The Soul Queen of New Orleans” took the stage with her band, The Professionals .

Bonerama & Bucktown All-Stars at Wednesday at the Square

After being cancelled for weather last week, YLC’s Wednesday at the Square was back with Bonerama and Bucktown All-Stars. Organized by the Young Leadership Council (YLC), proceeds from food and beverage sales go back into the non-profit to benefit the community. Bucktown All-Stars is a party band specializing in covers of 60’s R&B, 70’s funk and New Orleans’ standards. Formed in 1992, the band includes honorary member, Joyce La Nasa, an 85 year old woman who began playing percussion in 2005. Her daughters were fans and brought her to a show. She kept coming – playing tambourine beside the stage at the bands’ gigs until they finally invited her onstage. 

Bonerama plays Wednesday at the Square

Wednesday at the Square is back and I was thrilled to get there this week for Bonerama, founded in 1998 by trombonists Mark Mullins and Craig Klein (former members of Harry Connick Jr.’s band 1990-2006). Guitarist Bert Cotton, a cool-dude type who can break out a major solo, has been with the band since the start. Sousaphonist/bass player Matt Perrine and A.J. Hall are newer additions but Greg Hicks is the trombonist who really completes the band musically and conceptually. Bonerama plays great New Orleans standards and originals but they are beloved for their trombone-trio versions of 70’s rock.

Gravity A Closes Wednesdays at the Square

YLC’s Wednesday at the Square concert series came to a close with the eclectic sounds of Gravity A. I first heard Gravity A play in 2010. They were just finding their (bare) footing with a regular gig at Mid-City’s Banks Street Bar and a set at Bayou Boogaloo and I interviewed them for the Nola Defender. They were the first band I met here, the first band I ever interviewed, and some of the first people I got to know here through my cousin’s-stepson’s-best friend’s-exwife, the only person I knew in New Orleans when I moved here in 2009. But, she left the city and I haven’t heard Gravity A since. 

Dirty Dozen Plays the Square

It was unseasonably cold for YLC’s Wednesday at the Square featuring the legendary Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Even in my knit cap and many layers, I envied the people who thought to wear gloves. Louisiana Spice was onstage playing fun covers of popular radio tunes when I arrived but the first thing I noticed was the new jumbo-screen broadcasting images to the furthest corners of Lafayette Square.

Trombone Shorty Plays Wednesday at the Square

YLC’s Wednesday at the Square really outdid themselves with the one-two punch of Westbank Mike and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. Lafayette Square was already packed when we arrived and Irene Sage was playing tambourine with the Westbank Mike boys. Even trumpeter Ian Smith joined in for the bluesy funky songs. For those not in the know, the “Westbank” is the part of New Orleans on the other side of the Mississippi, lead singer and guitarist Mike Doussan’s home.

Billy Iuso and N’awlins Johnnys at Wednesday at the Square

I haven’t been to the YLC’s Wednesday at the Square in awhile. With events like Chaz Fest, Jazz Fest and French Quarter Fest, I’ve been spoiled silly for live music lately.  But I made the effort to catch my pick for Favorite Musical Auteur 2012 Billy Iuso. “NOLABilly” band N’awlins Johnnys were onstage when I arrived. Lead singer Harry Barton, in a yellow tie and button down shirt, looked like he had come straight from one of the nearby law offices to the stage. Like many bands here, their sound was a fusion of genres including jazz, rock, swing, zydeco and funk. Most fun was when they covered a Professor Longhair song mimicking his complicated Calypso piano chords with a guitar. (“Fess” is the father of all modern NOLA jazz and the soundtrack to Mardi Gras). 

Wednesday with Col. Bruce Hampton and Andrew Duhon

One of my favorite things about spring in New Orleans is all the festivals. Every “hump day” is Wednesday at the Square with free music as well as restaurant booths providing wonderful fest food with proceeds benefitting the Young Leadership Council (YLC).  Oh – and plenty of Abita beer and cocktails. The YLC seeks to build leadership while taking on projects that strive to improve the quality of life in NOLA. This week’s show opened with Andrew Duhon.

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.

Spring in New Orleans

The annual Spring Fiesta parade marks the coming of Spring and brings a whole new meaning to having flowers delivered. The Treme Brass Band led the horse-drawn carriages carrying women in hoop skirts and men in suits. Rather than beads, the paraders tossed fresh roses, carnations and daisies which I gathered into a bouquet. It may have been  colder than it’s been all year, but the flowers and the bouquet of women in pastel-colored flounces brought sunshine to my day.