This Saturday, catch the first-ever NOLA Ameripolitan Fest at Siberia. Music runs from 4pm til 2am, and the lineup is stacked with ten of the outstanding local and national acts in the genre. From New Orleans, there’s Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue, Ron Hotstream & the Mid-City Drifters, and Johnny Dilks. Coming into town from further afield we’ll see Darci Carlson, Adam Lopez, Cash O’Riley, Dusty Rust, Sophia Johnson, Cheryl Deserée, and Julie Nolen.
As “Ameripolitan” as a genre designation is still fairly new, some folks might ask, “What is it?” or “What’s the difference between Ameripolitan and Americana music?”
The man behind the festival, 2017 Ameripolitan DJ-of-the-Year nominee Jimi Palacios says: “The most important thing to distinguish Ameripolitan music from Americana music—which certainly Ameripolitan music fits under—is that Ameripolitan music is more specific. It’s brand new music in rockabilly, western swing, honky tonk, and outlaw. New music—not cover songs—with roots in those styles. Roots is a big theme within Ameripolitan music. And with those four particular pieces of what’s now considered “Country Music”… they just weren’t getting their share of attention because of the way most people think of contemporary country music now.”
The idea of celebrating contemporary, roots-derived American music with a New Orleans festival came about at the Ameripolitan Awards Ceremony in Austin last February, where Palacios discussed the idea with Dale Watson and Sylvia and Brett Neal, the folks behind the Ameripolitan movement. Afterwards, he put out a Facebook post to glean New Orleans’ musicians’ interest, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
“Once I had a core group of people—Gal Holiday, Ron Hotstream, and Johnny Dilks—on board, I knew I could make it viable,” he said. “so I went and talked to Luke Allen at Siberia, and then started putting out the word to artists outside New Orleans… Once again, the response was just so positive. I think that it’s gonna be a fun event regardless, but my big thing is, I want to make sure that all the artists not only have a good time but that it’s worth their while. I want to do this again next year.”
Next year? If Palacios’ track record is any indicator, we’ll likely have another beloved local institution on our hands. He’s one of the community’s great movers/shakers/music-lovers, and everything that he’s been involved in over the years (community radio station WHIV, Spaghetti Western Wednesdays at Banks Street Bar, Tuco Taco Tuesdays at the Hi Ho, to name just a few) has benefited from his enthusiasm, positive energy, and love of great music.
Tickets cost for the NOLA Ameripolitan Fest are currently on sale for $15 and will be $20 at the door. The music starts at 4pm.
