Issue Articles
Pops and Bing: Gary Giddins reminisces about New Orleans and Louis Armstrong
Gary Giddins, the jazz critic whose award-winning writing includes 31 years of Village Voice columns and books about Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and Charlie Parker, is the 2016 Satchmo Symposium’s […]
Frampton Comes Alive: Peter Frampton thanks The Advocate’s John Georges at Champions Square
Peter Frampton evolved from British teen idol to guitar hero to international pop star. During his 50-year-and-counting career, he also played sideman for George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, Jerry […]
Soundcheck: Five Questions with John Broven, author of Rhythm & Blues in New Orleans
John Broven has loved American music since he was a student at Bexhill Grammar School in Sussex, England. Broven’s distinguished writing career began in 1963 with the debut of Blues […]
Leyla McCalla talks back
Leyla McCalla, a singing, songwriting cellist and former member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, once aspired to being a classical musician laboring in the rarified world of chamber music. She […]
Prime Royalty: Lena Prima follows in her dad’s footsteps
Lena Prima, the singing daughter of New Orleans and Las Vegas music star Louis Prima, is so obviously his musical child. You hear it in her warm and playful alto […]
A Southern Trinity: Rising Appalachia is captivating audiences
Leah Song and Chloe Smith, the effortlessly harmonizing sisters in the folk-jazz-world music group Rising Appalachia, learned how to hold an audience’s attention on the streets of New Orleans. After […]
Let It Go: Baton Rouge’s Minos the Saint’s Musical Democracy
Minos the Saint pairs Peter Simon’s rule-breaking songwriting with upbeat, pop-orchestral arrangements. French horn, two trombones, violin, mandolin, accordion, keyboards and percussion beautifully complement the frontman’s poignant baritone. For certain […]
Huey “Piano” Smith, Don’t You Just Know It: The Very Best of 1956-1962—Singles As & Bs (Jasmine Records)
In a city blessed with beloved songwriter-pianists, Huey “Piano” Smith more than earned his place. During the late 1950s, Smith wrote and recorded a trio of rock ’n’ roll classics: […]
Soundcheck: Five Questions with Lily Keber, Producer-Director of Bayou Maharajah
On April 26, three years after Bayou Maharajah began making the film festival rounds, Lily Keber’s documentary about New Orleans piano genius James Booker will make its DVD and online […]
Sonny Landreth
Every spring, Sonny Landreth, master of the slide guitar and co-composer of the classic “Congo Square,” plays his annual marathon of South Louisiana festival and club gigs. Landreth’s evocative hybrid […]
