“Due South: Roots, Songlines, Musical Geographies”
New Orleans music is once again the central focus of a national music conference this month as Seattle’s Experience Music Project (EMP) has chosen to hold its annual Pop Conference here in the Birthplace of American music at Tulane University from April 19 – 21. Certainly a perfect choice nestled neatly right between French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest weeks! Who knows, maybe our EMP guests might just stay all the way through Jazz Fest, ya think?
Co-hosted by Tulane University’s New Orleans Center for the Gulf South, the theme of the 2013 EMP Pop Con is “Due South: Roots, Songlines, Musical Geographies.” There will be panel discussions on genres such as hip-hop and bounce, Cajun and zydeco, country music and the blues. The event will focus on the sound of specific Southern sites: the music of Muscle Shoals, the rap scene in Memphis, the blues of the Chitlin Circuit, the “creolization” of Cajun and zydeco, and for good measure, the politics of Washington D.C go-go music.
"Finding Professor Longhair" author, Hudson Marquez speaks at EMP Pop Con 2013 in NOLA
Live interviews with renowned journalists will be featured, including Nick Spitzer (celebrating the 15th anniversary of NPR’s American Routes) and Hudson Marquez (Finding Professor Longhair). Highlighted musical performances will feature Jason Isbell (400 Unit, Drive-By Truckers) with a special interview by (OffBeat former Editor) Alex Rawls; as well as a Sunday brunch event, “The Banjo in the African Diaspora,” featuring Don Vappie and Carl LeBlanc of New Orleans with Demma Dia, a group of Senegalese musicians who play the ngoni, a predecessor of the banjo. The event will be moderated by historian Laurent Dubois (Duke University), who is currently at work on a cultural history of the banjo. Visual highlights include a rare screening of the bounce documentary, “Ya Heard Me?,” followed by a panel discussion with the director, Matt Miller, and a visual tour of Louisiana dancehalls (historic and contemporary) by John Sharp.
"Ya Heard Me?" NOLA bounce documentary film screening + panel discussion with director, Matt Miller at EMP Pop Con 2013in NOLA
Friday morning’s 9am session will feature a special panel discussion on D.C. go-go music and culture with guests from our country’s capital including photographer, musician and poet Thomas Sayers-Ellis, author Natalie Hopkinson, D.C. DJ Stylus and moderated by New Orleans’ own DJ Soul Sister.
The conference will be held on the second floor of the Lavin-Bernick Center (LBC) on Tulane University’s uptown campus on Friday (4/19) and Saturday (4/20) from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday (4/21) from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
An opening night welcome party will take place on Thursday, April 18 beginning at 7:30pm upstairs at Mimi’s in the Marigny with performances from Los Po-Boy-Citos (also performing on the Ford World Music Stage at FQF this Saturday, April13 at 12:45pm) at 10pm, and other live music features.
Admission is free and open to the public. However, space is limited and pre-registration is strongly encouraged. For more information about the conference, contact Karen Celestan or Joel Dinerstein at the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South – [email protected].
Full Schedule + More Info: www.EMPmuseum.org/popconference
ABOUT THE EMP:
The EMP Pop (Music) Conference, launched in 2002, joins academics, critics, journalists, performers, and dedicated fans in a rare collective discussion examining the integral role that music plays in the human experience. Seattle’s Experience Music Project (EMP) Museum, now in its 12th year, is pleased to partner with five prestigious organizations located in music meccas across the country to offer sessions in New York City (New York University), Los Angeles (University of Southern California), Cleveland (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum), Seattle (EMP), and New Orleans (Tulane).
