It’s another exciting week of live music and cultural events in New Orleans with no shortage of events to keep you entertained. Check out this week’s OffBeat Weekly Picks (11/23 – 11/29):
Start your holiday weekend off on Thursday, November 23, at the 4th Annual Human Horse Races from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m at Easton Park, 3141 Toulouse St. in Mid City. This family-friendly day will feature live music from The Dapper Dandies, a costume contest, raffles, food, art and entertainment from over 100 local artists. The Human Horse Races raise money and awareness for local animal sanctuaries and shelters and promote cruelty-free experiences, all while celebrating in a classic, New Orleans style. This year’s beneficiary will be Greeno Equine Sanctuary in Leblanc, LA. You can race as a horse and jockey team the day of, just be sure to get there early to sign up. Kids races take place from 11 a.m. – noon. Each winner gets a handmade medal from a local artist. Learn more at humanhorseraces.com.
Looking for a little comic relief? Don’t miss Nurse Blake performing at the Saenger Theatre on Friday, November 24 for The Shock Advised Comedy Tour. Hailed as a “genuine phenomenon” by The New York Times, Blake Lynch worked in trauma centers around the country before his career in comedy. As a way to cope with stress with his nursing job, Blake started posting original comedy videos aimed at his profession. His lighthearted videos connected with nurses, nursing students, healthcare workers and general audiances around the world gaining Nurse Blake 3.5 million followers on social media and over 300 million views. After earning viral video status via his light takes on his experience as a nurse, he decided to take his comedy to stages around the world bringing nurses together through humor and inspiration. Learn more or purchase tickets here.
Also on Friday, November 24, at Snug Harbor, New Orleans-bred saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and educator Victor Goines returns to New Orleans with The Victor Goines Quartet for two performances at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Goines performed in the Ellis Marsalis Quartet for a number of years beginning in the 1980s and was later hired by Ellis as a faculty member when he created the University of New Orleans Jazz Studies Department in 1989. Goines has been a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in NYC as well as the Wynton Marsalis Septet since 1993. He has recorded and/or performed with many notable jazz and popular artists including Ahmad Jamal, Ruth Brown, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Dizzy Gillespie, Lenny Kravitz, Ellis Marsalis Jr, Branford Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Willie Nelson, Marcus Roberts, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, more. Victor is currently the Executive Artistic Director at Jazz St. Louis. His discography boasts over 20 albums as a bandleader, and recordings on over 70 other releases, including Wynton Marsalis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning recording, “Blood on the Fields” and Ted Nash’s Grammy Award-winning “Presidential Suite.” A gifted composer, Goines has more than 100 original works to his credit, including his 1992 debut album “Genesis” on the late Harold Battiste Jr’s seminal AFO Records. In 2000, he was commissioned by Juilliard’s Dance Division to compose a musical work in celebration of their 50th Anniversary. Learn more or purchase tickets at the Snug Harbor website. Weekly Picks (11/23 – 11/29)
On Saturday, November 25, at 8 p.m. People Museum will be performing at Marigny Opera House. People Museum is a four-piece New Orleans band that has found inspiration in the lush musical and cultural roots of their Louisiana birthplace. Taking cues from choral, marching band, hip-hop, classical, and electronic music, the band has developed an iconic new pop sound that nods to the culture of New Orleans while ever evolving and pushing sonic boundaries. The genre-bending group has shared the stage with Thundercat, Big Freedia, Meridian Brothers, Maggie Koerner, and Hurray for the Riff Raff. They’ve recently completed a North America tour supporting the Belgian-Egyptian artist Tamino. Their Louise Bourgeois-inspired EP “Destruction of, Vol. 1” was made in collaboration with the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Creative Cohorts Assembly and premiered under the “Spider” sculpture in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. They will begin a U.S. national tour this fall in support of their upcoming full length record ”Relic” and will be performing the record in it’s entirety with special guests on November 25 at the Marigny Opera House. Learn more at The Marigny Opera House Website.
On Sunday November 26, Snug Harbor presents Yusa: Cuban Jazz Trio in partnership with the CubaNOLA Arts Collective. Regarded as a top Ambassador of 21st Century Cuban Music, guitarist, bassist, vocalist, lyricist, composer and trés player, Yusa is one of the leading voices of Cuban music today. Havana-born Yusa blazed trails in her early years as a member of the all-women quintet Quasi Jazz, cementing her voice in the jazz fusion world, but she is perhaps most well-known as the original musical director of the popular Cuban band Interactivo. She brings her vibrant blend of trova, son, pop, jazz, Cuban and Brasilian rhythms to Snug Harbor for two shows that night. You can learn more and purchase tickets here. Weekly Picks (11/23 – 11/29)
This coming week features two fun filled community parades on Giving Tuesday worth making time for. The first is a second line escorting WWOZ from their home of the last 18 years in the French Market Building (1008 N. Peters St.) to their new home at Jax Brewery (600 Decatur St.) at 10:30 a.m. The second line will be led by legendary New Orleans musicians including James Andrews & the Crescent City All-Stars, the Treme Brass Band, Cyril Neville, John Boutte, Kermit Ruffins, Amanda Shaw, Charmaine Neville, Little Freddie King, Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, Shamarr Allen, and more. You can view the parade route and learn more about it here.
Tuesday evening brings The Roots of Music Support Your Roots Parade on Giving Tuesday. This lively parade will feature a captivating procession of the Marching Crusaders from The Roots of Music studio to Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe. Admission is free for viewing the parade and $25 for entrance and food at Li’l Dizzy’s. This fundraiser benefits The Roots of Music’s vital programs, including Sprouts of Music, their Studio Academy, and Marching Crusaders which provide music history and theory as well as instrumental instruction and ensemble performance preparation. They serve kids ages 9-14 from low-income households, and provide students with hot meals and round-trip transportation to reduce common barriers to participation. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m.. To learn more or to purchase tickets, visit their website.
On Wednesday, November 29, Sierra Green & The Giants Industry Showcase will be at Chickie Wah Wah with a special set by DJ Brice Nice. Sierra Green and the Giant’s fiery Frenchmen Street performances have struck a chord with enthusiastic audiences. Now, with a dynamic new management team, Sierra Green and her band are prepared to take their show to the rest of the world. Her debut record, due out in 2024, already has five heavyweight tracks in the can. Produced by David Torkanowsky, some of these songs include an impressive and passionate version of The Meters’ “Break in the Road” and Sierra’s stylized rendition of “Promised Land,” by the Revivalists’ David Shaw. In November, Sierra heads to Nashville to record with JD Simo (Beyonce, Stevie Nicks, Jack White, Phil Lesh) at the producer’s helm. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 7 p.m., tickets are $15 in advance, $20 the day of show and are available on the Chickie Wah Wah website.
Weekly Picks (11/23 – 11/29)
Weekly Picks November 22
