Afro-Descendant Communities’ Southern Roots Music Road Trip: Connecting the Louisiana Easter Rock and Sea Island Ring Shout Sacred Traditions
The National Park Service is excited to announce a series of cultural events celebrating the rich heritage of African American spiritual traditions in Southeast Louisiana this June. For the first time, elders and young culture-keepers representing Louisiana’s Easter Rock and Georgia’s Gullah Geechee Ring Shout traditions will unite on one stage, offering the public a unique opportunity to experience Black spiritual practices dating back to the antebellum era.
The Winnsboro (La.) Easter Rock Ensemble , honored as a 2021 NEA National Heritage Fellow, will showcase Northern Louisiana’s Easter Rock tradition. This sacred ritual, held on Easter Eve, involves the community forming a circle and moving counterclockwise while singing, blending West African and Christian elements.
Echoing this tradition, the Gullah Geechee Ring Shouters from Darien, Georgia, will perform their historic ring shout. This practice involves shuffling movements in a counterclockwise circle, accompanied by call-and-response singing. The Gullah Geechee people have proudly preserved this cultural heritage, performing it internationally.
The public is invited to attend these free demonstrations and performances, made possible through the cooperation of the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, the National Council for the Traditional Arts, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor and The Historic New Orleans Collection.
All performances are free and open to the public.
Event Details:
- Monday, June 24, 2024, | 12:30 p.m.
- Whitney Plantation, 5099 LA-18, Edgard, Louisiana
- Capacity is limited to 80 people.
- Tuesday, June 25, 2024, | 2 p.m.
- Taping of American Routes Live with host Nick Spitzer
- New Orleans Jazz Museum, 400 Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans
- Wednesday, June 26, 2024, | 2 p.m.
- New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, 916 N. Peters Street, New Orleans
- Free and open to the public
- Thursday, June 27, 2024, | 7 p.m.
- Central St. Matthew United Church of Christ, 1333 Carrollton Avenue, Uptown New Orleans
- Located in the Fellowship Hall on the 2nd floor, stairs and elevator available.
Southern Roots Music Road Trip
