We are proud and happy to honor Irma Thomas as our “Forever Soul Queen” on this year’s Jazz Fest Bible™ cover. I thought long and hard about who would grace it, and I couldn’t think of a better subject than our musical queen and icon, Irma Thomas Jackson. Irma is the epitome of talent, grace, intelligence and standing up for herself as a musician. She’s now in her mid-eighties and is still performing. I admire all of our living legacy musicians who are continuing to thrill audiences locally, and worldwide. They are all ageless to me, and I cannot imagine what my life would have been like, had I not become involved in music activism and media some 40-plus years ago. I’ve been privileged to meet, befriend, work and learn from so many musicians, writers, artists and photographers, and creative professionals and business owners over the years via OffBeat—to say nothing of our staff through the years. It has been very humbling and truly an honor to work with them and to serve the music communities’ interests for almost 40 years.
Jan Ramsey
Over the years, OffBeat has grown and changed despite many setbacks. We got through Katrina. We got through COVID (barely). We produced several CDs (that ancient format!) of Louisiana musicians that were used by the Louisiana Office of Tourism to promote Louisiana music. It was a pleasure to be able to honor musicians and music businesses with OffBeat’s “Best of The Beat Awards.” Over the past 25 years. OffBeat created the first-ever comprehensive “Louisiana Music Directory” of musicians, bands and music businesses throughout the state of Louisiana, which was an invaluable tool for the music industry cohort to communicate with each other and to let the “outside world” know how to get in touch with virtually everyone in music and the music business (it hasn’t yet been replicated). Currently New Orleans & Co. hosts a smaller database of musicians and bands. There’s a real need for better communication, not just within the members of the music community, but for everyone. Social media—while supposedly connecting people better—has not done what it initially promised. In fact, it’s created concrete silos of like-minded people who are stuck there and who aren’t interested in experiencing anything but what they feel comfortable with in their own little towers. How can you discover new music and culture if you’re not willing to leave your comfort zone? I also fear for live music, with the profound changes in demographics, the impacts of tourism on music, and again, inferior communication within and to potential music audiences.
All good things must come to an end. Over the past couple of years, I’ve tried to find the entity to take over OffBeat and to further its legacy as media that was created purely as a support and marketing mechanism for our local and regional musicians.
No one has stepped up: print media is in serious trouble—social media is killing it, and the cost to print these days is outrageous and may get a lot worse with tariffs on items you need (like paper). The future of OffBeat’s archives dating from Summer 1988 through January 2025 is also in jeopardy—as we close the business, we will no longer be able to host the website or the archives. It’s a heartbreaking “C’est la vie” situation. My dear husband and partner Joseph, and I are 75 years old and it’s time for us to retire.
So, this will my last Mojo Mouth—at least in the Jazz Fest Bible™. I am eternally grateful that I sort of “fell” into this business and was able to help our music community over the past 37 years. Music is life, and don’t ever stop listening.
Thank you for reading and participating in OffBeat over these 40 years. We love and appreciate you.
