October 2024
Cover Story
- An Attitude For Altitude: The Return of the Headhunters
For over 50 years, The Headhunters have been breaking ground — first with Herbie Hancock — as the baddest, most innovative…
BackTalk
- Bobby Rush Talks Back
Bobby Rush, the blues man who put funk in the blues, turns 91 years old on November 10. A singer, harmonica…
Fresh
- Celebrating & Elevating: New Orleans Music Month Returns
As we come out of summer hibernation, New Orleans Music Month kicks the Crescent City into overdrive. It’s quickly become an… - NOLA Funk Fest is Back, Baby
After last year’s successful debut launched NOLA Funk Fest to the elite tier of the fall festival circuit, it’s returning even… - The Blues Tells a Story: NOLA Funk Fest amplifies Louisiana blues—past, present, and future
The second annual NOLA Funk Fest returns to the New Orleans Jazz Museum while also heralding support and awareness for the… - Nickel A Dance: A Million Dollars’ Worth of Music
The free, popular Nickel A Dance series, which started in 1994, is an annual fall event. The series, now presented by… - White Noise & Lightning: Author Sean Kelly’s tribute to The Continental Drifters
In 2005, Susan Cowsill met 13-year-old Sean Kelly at a Hootie and the Blowfish concert in Buffalo, New York. As an… - Vintage vinyl treasures (Episode 43)
This month’s installment of vintage vinyl treasures (Episode 43) features five debut albums of 1969 that — you guessed it —… - The OnBeat Sessions Return
Fall has arrived and that means The OnBeat Sessions are back on the menu. OffBeat Magazine's premiere music series returns for its sixth…
Features
- Bringing Baton Rouge Blues to the Crescent City: Kenny Neal at the Blues & BBQ Festival
Those who missed the killer Jazz Fest performance by Kenny Neal this year get another chance to catch the multi-talented, Grammy-winning bluesman at… - Rollicking and Playful: Marcia Ball featured at Blues and Barbecue and Funk Fests
As Hurricane Francine approached Louisiana in September 2024, Marcia Ball was at home on a sunny day in Austin, Texas. A… - Big Easy Boogie: Singer-pianist Mitch Woods Rendezvous in New Orleans
Mitch Woods fell in love with New Orleans music during his first visit to the city in 1981. A native of… - Whose House? Shagg’s House!: Expect the Unexpected with Ryan "Shaggadelic” Batiste
Ryan “Shaggadelic” Batiste has been in the lab, and the fruits of his labor are coming to light. He has a… - Living Up To Its Moniker: The TBC Brass Band
The TBC Brass Band, which closes out this year's Tremé Fall Festival on Saturday, October 26, 2024, has truly lived up… - Jonathon “Boogie” Long: Missing mentor Luther Kent, but moving forward
Jonathon “Boogie” Long has been making music for 30 of his 36 years on Earth. From a family of singers, he… - Boo! Ghosts Are Watching: Stoo Odom on His Spooky New Album
In 2013, after nearly two decades in San Francisco, the nimble-fingered bass man and composer Stoo Odom moved back to his… - 50 Years and Tomorrow: Festivals Acadiens et Créoles Celebrates 50
If you haven’t heard by now, brace yourself for a shock: Festivals Acadiens et Créoles (FAeC) celebrates its 50th anniversary this…
Obituaries
- Frankie Beverly (1946-2024)
R&B singer Frankie Beverly has died at the age of 77. “He lived his life with pure soul as one would…
OffBeat Eats
- Dining Out: Gabrielle Restaurant
Since 1992, Gabrielle Restaurant has served Cajun cuisine meticulously crafted by Chef Greg Sonnier. Chef Sonnier, along with his wife, Chef…
Reviews
- Tab Benoit: I Hear Thunder (Whiskey Bayou Records)
The last thing you’d expect Tab Benoit to require is another guitar player, especially one with an equally high profile as… - Matt Booth: Sun Prints (Ears & Eyes Records)
Matt Booth is perhaps best known in New Orleans as a member of the exceptional ensemble simply called Extended. Leading his… - Rainy Eyes: Lonesome Highway (Royal Potato Family)
Rainy Eyes, whose civilian name is Irena Eide, made the long trek from her native Norway to Denmark to the Bay… - Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band: Dirt on My Diamonds Volume 2 (Provogue Records)
There’s no denying the FAME Studios / Muscle Shoals connection in Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s pair of separately released Dirt on My… - The Junior League: Our Broadcast Day (Greenleaves Sound)
There’s a select group of pop songwriters (Tommy Keene and Jeff Tweedy come to mind) who can make you feel glad… - Eden Brent: Getaway Blues (Yellow Dog Records)
When it comes to musical instruments in blues, it’s the guitar that rules. It’s more prevalent than the piano, it’s portable,… - Various Artists: We Are All Drifters: A Tribute to the Continental Drifters (Cool Dog Sound)
Looks like the Continental Drifters are officially legendary now. Though the band itself is currently on hiatus, they’re being honored with the… - Nation Beat: Archaic Humans (Ropeadope Records)
Nation Beat is the vibrantly realized musical vision of its leader and founder, Scott Kettner. A drummer, percussionist, composer and educator… - Piper and the Hard Times: Revelation (Hard Times Records)
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Piper and the Hard Times play a brawny array of blues, rock, soul, rhythm-and-blues and funk. Individual… - Jim Stephens: Pick Your Potion: A Blues Journey (Independent)
Guitarist and songwriter Jim Stephens designs his albums as a curator or tour guide. By any standard you can name—musical style,… - Joe Boyd: And the Rhythm Remains: A Journey Through Global Music (ZE Books)
For musically oriented readers, Ned Sublette’s book, The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square is arguably…
