The first annual Louisiana Original Music Festival will be held on October 24 at the Plantation Inn (10330 Airline Highway). Festival promoters are now soliciting submissions from songwriters, bands, singer/solo artists, poets/spoken word performers, comedians and dancers. Only original music and materials will be accepted but all styles are welcome. This year’s festival will feature two full stages. Outdoor entertainment begins at 11 a.m. and will feature Gospel acts and children’s entertainment. Indoor entertainment begins at 12 noon and will feature music, dance and food. For more information on the festival, call (504) 925-0288. Deadline for entries is Sept. 24.
The Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival, the state’s oldest chartered harvest festival, is scheduled to celebrate its 63rd anniversary over the Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3-7) deep in the heart of Cajun Country at Morgan City. Most of the festivities are held within the Downtown Historic District are free to the public. In addition to great food, the festival will also feature musical performances by Wayne Toups, Bruce Daigrepont, Waylon Thibodeaux, Al “Lil Fats” Jackson, Johnny Allan and many more. For more info, call (504) 385-0703 or visit their web site at www.shrimp-petrofest.org.
The 1999 Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival will take place March 24-28 in the French Quarter. Call (504) 581-1144 to learn more.
WCKW-FM has named radio veteran Ted Edwards as program director. No format change is expected at the radio station.
On Sept. 15, Monkey Hill Records will release the debut solo disc from ex-Continental Drifters drummer Carlo Nuccio, Loose Strings, which was co-produced by Nuccio and Buzzy Langford of The Topcats. The label will also reissue two out-of-print titles from Shiva Burlesque, an early incarnation of the Los Angles-based alt-rock band Grant Lee Buffalo. In addition, the label reports that Michael Ray & the Cosmic Krewe should have their latest CD out later this month with a formal CD release party scheduled for sometime in October. Jazz Funk of the Future (the working title) will feature special guests Trey Anastasio (Phish), John Medeski (Medeski, Martin & Wood), Delfeayo Marsalis and Ricky Castrillo.
The 2nd Annual Carrier Family Festival has been set for Sept. 4 when the venerable musical family gathers on the green at Richard’s Club in Lawtell.
Last month, the South Louisiana Music Association presented its first annual Salsbury Pioneer award to Van, Grace and Henry Broussard and the Bayou Boogie Band.
Philip Anthony Zito, the founder of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, died at his home last month. Zito, a jazz drummer and bandleader, played at receptions for Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson and at clubs around New Orleans. He was 84.
Shreveport native Kenny Wayne Shepherd is riding high these days. Not only has he been opening for Van Halen during most of the summer but he’s also starring in his own Gap commercial. The spot, Shepherd’s first national TV commercial, was directed by Mark Seliger and depicts the trademark spare set and minimalist performance of The Gap theme.
Zydeco legend Boozoo Chavis announced that he will hold his 13th Annual Labor Day festival on Monday, Sept. 7 at Boozoo’s ranch, Dog Hill, located at 115 Petah Street in Lake Charles, La. Gates open at 10 a.m. with the dancing to start at noon, Featured artists include: Leo Thomas, Buford Goulet & the Jolly Good Fellows, Chris Ardoin and Boozoo himself. Leona (Boozoo’s wife) will be cooking boudin, red beans and rice, crawfish etouffee and more. Admission is $10/$2 for children under 12. For more information, call 318-478-5855.
Midnite Sun Records announced that Darryl Jenkins, Ashley Smith and Sydney Beaumont were the winners during the semi-finals of its weekly talent competition which began in late July. Since 1990, Jenkins has been working on a solo performing career as well as singing in the R&B quartet, Faces in the Crowd. Smith, a resident of Poydras, Louisiana, is a sophomore at Mt. Carmel Academy. Beaumont, who performed in the New Orleans-based band Rainstreet in the early 1980s, hopes to reestablish herself as a regular local performer. The finals of the competition will be held on Oct. 13. Call (504) 831-4030 (Ext. 117) for more information about the In the Spotlight talent competition.
Nine Mile Music, Inc., which bills itself as a “musical voyage compound” (9800 Westbank Expressway), will host its second annual music festival Oct. 23-25. Thirty local unsigned bands will perform at LocalFest’98 and there is on-site camping on the two-acre festival grounds. On Aug. 30, Nine Mile will host seven local bands beginning at 2 p.m. with Kirby and continuing to Face at 8 p.m. Rise, Dulac Suede, Brown Sox, Blanket and Vessel will also perform. Call (504) 436-0224 or contact them at www.angelfire.com/la/ninemilemusic/
Former Louisiana Governor and Country Music Hall of Fame member Jimmie Davis will be honored on his 99th birthday on Saturday, Sept. 19 at Rebel State Commemorative Area near Marthaville, La. The birthday party will feature gospel singing and special presentations to Gov. Davis. Davis is known for writing the timeless ballad, “You Are My Sunshine.” The event is free to the public. Rebel Park is located just off state highway #1221, about three miles north of Marthaville.
A weekly series of jazz showcases, Jazz at the Sandbar, will resume at the Cove on the University of New Orleans main campus during the fall. The scheduled concerts will run from Sept. 9 through Nov. 18. All performances begin at 8 p.m. and are open to the public. Admission is $5, UNO staff and students free with proper identification. Call 280-6039 for more information.
The Local Musicians United will hold their 1998 Funk-A-Thon at Tipitina’s Big Room on Sept. 27 from noon ’til. Proceeds from the event will go to support organizations that service children with the HIV/AIDS virus. Ticket prices are $10 before 8 p.m. and $20 after. Call 944-8505.
Words & Music: A Literary Feast in New Orleans will open with a new opera by CAC director Jay Weigel on Sept. 23 and continue through Sept. 27. The festival will celebrate writing and music and will offer developing writers an opportunity to get advice from well-established authors. To learn more, call them at 586-1609.
On Friday, Sept. 11, Cafe Brasil will hold a dance party honoring the Independence of Mexico and Honduras. The party will feature Kika Bonilla Latin Jazz and a dance contest featuring $200 in cash prizes.
Scott Keeton & the Deviants bring their hard-rocking blues show to Vic’s Kangaroo Cafe on Saturday, Sept. 12. The Deviants have just released their new, self-titled CD last month. In addition, Amy Adams of Amy & the Hank Sinatras will celebrate her birthday at Vic’s on Sept. 24. The Thursday party is one of the group’s regular shows. Every week, Adams brings in alternating members of the group to perform with her. The music starts at 9:30 p.m. and there is no cover.
106.7, home of Howard Stern and alternative rock, will sponsor Endfest ’98 at Marconi Meadows in City Park on Sept. 26. Bands confirmed for the show include Urge, Cowboy Mouth, Marcy Playground, Days of the New, Better Than Ezra, Third Eye Blind and Lenny Kravitz. Call The End for more info or pick up your tickets through Ticketmaster.
The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra will hold a free concert in Joe Brown Park in New Orleans East from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on September 12.
Arcade Publishing has just released Michael Tisserand’s long-awaited book The Kingdom of Zydeco, an in-depth look at one of Louisiana’s prized indigenous musical traditions. A number of book signings are planned to help celebrate its publication: September 2 at Maple St. Books from 5-7 p.m. with music from Thomas “Big Hat” Fields; Thursday Sep. 3 at 9 p.m. at Rock n’ Bowl with music from Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Cha’s; Saturday Sep. 5 in Plaisance at the Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Festival; and Sunday Sep. 6 at Barnes and Noble in Lafayette, a Kingdom of Zydeco jam session will feature Roy Carrier, Sid Williams, Nathan Williams Jr., and Hiram Sampy.
