The problem of hunger is “closer than you think,” says Linzy Cotaya of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana. To help raise awareness towards the issue, Second Harvest is bringing back its annual Harvest The Music concert series to Lafayette Square this month.
Rebirth Brass Band plays Harvest the Music in 2010. Photo by Kim Welsh.
Starting this Wednesday, September 14, and running through November 2, the free concerts will take place every Wednesday from 5 to 7:30 p.m., with performers that include Trombone Shorty, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and others. On top of all the performances, there will be food from Squeal BBQ, Martin Wine Cellar, Lil’ Dizzy’s Café, Ms. Linda’s Soul Food, and others. All Food and beverage sales will benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank in their efforts to combat hunger.
The concert series is not just a locally-inspired cause. “The month of September is Hunger Action month,” Cotaya explains, a national movement involving two hundred other food banks nationwide. Employing social media to kick up the cause, there will be various high-profile, local Twitter users and bloggers (including OffBeat editor Alex Rawls) that will be tweeting and spreading facts about hunger throughout the whole month of September. “At the concerts, Twitter users will be wearing orange shirts with facts on the back to encourage others to tweet and share information about the cause,” Cotaya adds.
Along with the t-shirts, every Wednesday throughout the duration of the Harvest the Music series Gallier Hall will be illuminated in orange, the representative color of hunger, in order to cast a visual reminder.
Here’s the full Harvest the Music Schedule:
September 14: Big Sam’s Funky Nation + Mia Borders
September 21: Paul Sanchez and the Rolling Road Show
September 28: Bonerama with Dave Malone of the Radiators + Alvin Youngblood Hart’s Muscle Theory
October 5: Irma Thomas and The Professionals + Soul Project
October 12: Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue + Stooges Brass Band
October 19: Dirty Dozen Brass Band + Jon Cleary’s Philthy Phew
October 26: Blind Boys of Alabama + Krown, Washington and Batiste Trio
November 2: Buckwheat Zydeco + Tommy Malone of the Subdudes with Ray Ganucheau
