Issue Articles — Cover Story
Friction, Baby
The scene is positively Dickensian, albeit Dickens by way of Irvine Welsh or Aaron Cometbus. A dozen blank-faced street kids—crusties or, in these parts, gutter punks—are chilling in the shade […]
Keb’ Mo’: Movin’ the Blues
It’s dusk on an early June evening in San Francisco, but the City by the Bay is feeling like the Crescent City. Just off Market St., two city blocks are […]
Bamboula 2000: Cultural Warriors
The Magic Hour light descended into the oaks surrounding the Audubon Zoo. Honey-colored, soft and diffuse, the golden light filtered down through the Spanish moss and brooding branches. Illuminated in […]
Zydekidz
The kids are definitely in the hall! Generation Z, the new breed of zydeco artists, is beginning to make its sound heard. With new venues to play and demand for […]
Dash Rip Rock: Still Smokin’
The scene: a hotel room in St. Louis the night before Thanksgiving. Dash Rip Rock’s new, fresh-faced young drummer, Kyle Melancon, is kicking back on a rare night off. He […]
The Treme Brass Band
With the brass band revival in full swing, Treme vets James Andrews, Kirk Joseph, Benny Jones and Lionel Batiste come together with their protégés to keep traditional street music marching […]
Davell Crawford Comes of Age
The piano whiz kid, who just turned 20, says “Let Them Talk’: as his first album demonstrates, he’s too busy living up to the legacy of Sugarboy Crawford, his fabled […]
Mem Shannon: Blues on Wheels
Mem Shannon is the blues personified, and he has been going places for 25 years. He is one of the most well-traveled men you’ll ever meet—yet he’s never ventured north […]
Mark Whitfield Finds His Way Home
After starting his career in New York and experimenting with the dreaded “instrumental pop,” the guitarist settled in Baton Rouge and took a 7th Avenue stroll back to clean, straight-ahead jazz. […]
Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys: Creating Within The Tradition
BANNED FROM COMPETITION He had sung French songs at three, and played his first accordion riff at seven. Everything was peachy for the child prodigy until he won a […]
