Notice anything different?

Do I look my age?

Got tired of the flaming red and decided to go platinum, which is closer to what my hair really looks like.

But lucky for OffBeat, while one redhead has faded to white, we’ve managed to add another.

Sam D’Arcangelo, our Web Editor for the past two years, has gone on to write for the Marijuana Policy Project, based in Washington, D.C. If you’re not that familiar with MPP, check them out. They are the group that’s going to make a real difference in this country’s attitude towards marijuana legalization, a subject that I would venture to guess is important to the majority of OffBeat readers. While we surely hate to lose Sam and his excellent writing chops (he wrote our cover story this month), we’ve found a great new talent—and a ginger, to boot—to introduce to our readers.

OffBeat’s newest addition as Digital Content Editor/Manager is Amanda Mester.

Amanda is a New York–born, Los Angeles–raised journalist who has been writing about music and culture for 15 years. She earned her Master’s degree in media studies from Fordham University, has taught a media criticism course at Adelphi University for three years and has had writing published with OffBeat, DJ Booth, AXS, Ambrosia For Heads, Hip-Hop Golden Age, UGHH, and more. She’s interviewed an amazing number of hip-hop artists and has partnered with rapper Cormega on a forthcoming book, the subject of which is the role of white journalists in the hip-hop media landscape.

Ms. Amanda brings a fresh perspective and great enthusiasm to OffBeat, with her upbringing steeped in music: Her father is renowned classical conductor Jorge Mester.

The things I like best about Amanda are that she’s smart as hell, open to every kind of music you can throw her way, a great writer and a digital savant. There’s a great piece online that was published by ABC News showing Amanda’s response to a rejection letter she received after a job interview. So she’s got a great sense of humor and a big mane of flame-red locks. What’s not to love?
There’s an important mayoral election in New Orleans coming up. As many in our music community know, OffBeat sponsored two forums to determine prospective candidates’ comprehension of the importance of music to the city’s economy and cultural health. These forums were in 2001 (when Marc Morial’s two terms expired) and in 2010 (ditto Ray Nagin). Mayor Mitch Landrieu is leaving office after his two terms in office, and we have an entirely new slate of candidates to choose from. In conjunction with the ELLA Project and the Recording Academy, we’ve organized a third Mayoral Forum to find out how much the current candidates know about our needs as a music community, and we will give the public the opportunity to attend this event on September 11, 2017 at the Carver Theater. Be there to determine which candidate will best serve the music community’s interests. It’s free and open to the public.