Leo Nocentelli has returned to New Orleans and he wants you to celebrate the occasion with him. The pioneering guitarist, who is best known for his work with The Meters, will host a Return Home Party at Tiptina’s on Thursday, December 17 with plenty of special guests.

Nocentelli, who just moved back to New Orleans after calling California home for 33 years, will be joined by a number of talented friends for the show, including Irma Thomas, Big Chief Donald Harrison, The Soul Rebels, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Deacon John and more. Channel 4 TV’s Eric Paulsen will also be on hand as the night’s MC.

“I’m ecstatic to be back in New Orleans after 33 years in Burbank and Los Angeles,” Nocentelli tells OffBeat. “The euphoria of being back home is overwhelming. A person would need to have been gone as long as I have and coming back home–especially to a home like New Orleans–in order to feel what I feel. It’s a wonderful feeling. I wish I could live another 33 years just so I could feel this again.”

“I would like to bring whatever I can to this city, because I know that a lot of musicians that left because of Katrina or other reasons have not come back,” adds the guitarist. “Besides just being homesick, I wanted to come back so I could contribute to my city. As a prominent artist that has a foothold here, through my work with The Meters and my own personal career, I want to contribute to New Orleans right now. Leo Nocentelli has returned to the city, and hopefully my name can help turn some more people from the music world this way. Whatever I can add–if it’s an inch or half an inch–I’m happy to contribute it to this city.”

Tickets for Nocentelli’s Return Home Party will go on sale this Friday, November 20 at 10am.