It’s another exciting week of live music and cultural events in New Orleans and with the holidays upon us there’s no shortage of events to keep you entertained! Check out this week’s OffBeat Weekly Picks(11/30 – 12/06):
On Friday, December 1, 2023, Jefferson Performing Arts Society will present the iconic Blind Boys of Alabama gospel group, bringing their Christmas concert to the New Orleans area for the first time. The Blind Boys of Alabama have been touring for 75 years, were recently nominated for three GRAMMY Awards for their 2023 album, Echoes of the South, are winners of five GRAMMY Awards as well as a Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY. They began singing together as kids at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in the late 1930s and have become one of the most recognized and decorated roots music groups in the world. Hailed as “gospel titans” by Rolling Stone Magazine, the band sang at benefits for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and were a part of the soundtrack to the Civil Rights movement. They are known for mixing traditional church tunes with popular songs by artists like Tom Waits and the Rolling Stones and they have collaborated with numerous artists including Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson, Ben Harper, Mavis Staples, Robert Randolph, Aaron Neville, Patty Griffin, Béla Fleck, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and the late Allen Toussaint. Learn more about them and this amazing event here.
Also on Friday, December 1, 2023, at 7:30 p.m., trailblazing opera star, Lisette Oropesa returns home to New Orleans for one night only with a concert program that features French and Italian arias by composers including Donizetti, Rossini, Bellini and more! The New Orleans Opera Association is presenting the New Orleans native and Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres awardee for this one-night-only event at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. Oropesa, one of the most in-demand sopranos today, is curating an evening of French and Italian arias inspired by her recent album, French Bel Canto Arias, and will be accompanied by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Tickets begin at $32. Student tickets are available for $10 with proof of student ID. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.neworleansopera.org. Read more about this exciting event by clicking here.
The New Orleans Jazz Museum Improvisations Gala takes place on Saturday, December 2 from 8-11 p.m.. The event features interactive space-themed art installations, and and impressive line-up that includes the Jason Neville Funky Soul Band with special guest “Mr. P. Funk”, George Clinton, the Dixie Cups & James Andrews with the Crescent City All-Stars, The Original Pinettes Brass Band, the Treme Lafitte Brass Band, Mahmoud Chouki & the New Orleans All-Stars with special guests John Boutte, Herlin Riley and Detroit Brooks, Gallatin Street Records artist George Brown Band, Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots, People Museum, international performers Hibriduz from Honduras, the Dominican Republic’s ensemble, Primero Caribe, and RAM, Haiti’s preeminent band from Port-au-Prince. There will also be appearances by the New Orleans Jazz Ambassadors, the New Orleans Chorus Girls, the Pussyfooters, the Dolly Partons, N’Awlins D’Awlins Baby Dolls, and Big Queen Mary K. Stevenson & the Original Wild Tchoupitoulas. There will be a silent auction, a silent disco and plenty of food and drink to enjoy as well.
Another highlight will be “The Mothership Gallery,” a special exhibition powered by VenueApp. The sensory extravaganza combines George Clinton’s incredible artworks, courtesy of Spillman|Blackwell Fine Arts, along with works from SOUND COLLAGE 2023, which envelop you in an immersive, multi-disciplinary collection of sound, light, and visuals. This once-in-a-lifetime experience creates a mind-boggling encounter with creativity led by the Parliament-Funkadelic genius, along with artists including Valerie Tevere and Angel Nevarez; Gregory Lasserre and Anais Met; and Den Ancxt, Stephen Montalvo, Derek Brueckner, Marcus Brown, and Jesse Thomas. Tickets start at $150 per persona and are available here.
If you’re looking for something with a little more edge, Dana Ives, The Rabbit Hole and Culture AID NOLA are presenting The 2023 Christmas Spectacular, An Alternative Music Festival That’s Giving Back to the Local Community, Saturday, December 2. This single-day alternative music festival aims to reignite the local music scene and spread holiday cheer. This event will feature indoor and outdoor performances by ten local artists, an array of food and art vendors, and a food drive in partnership with Culture AID NOLA. Performers include Dana Ives, Quarx, Midriff, The Quadroholics, Beach Angel, Zach Smallman, Lisbon Girls, Virtue Signal, Kidd Love and a live drag show intermission between the indoor and outdoor components. Local vintage clothing vendor Mad Liberation, local jewelry vendor Lemon Makes Things, and local tattoo shop Tough Love Tattoo will all be onsite, along with tasty offerings from local pop-up Confit Baby. Canned food donations can be brought to The Rabbit Hole on the day of the event. The goal is to collect at least 1,000 canned food items, all of which Culture AID NOLA will disperse throughout the community. Accepted donations include all non-opened, non-perishable canned food items. Peanut butter, canned soup, canned fruit, canned vegetables, canned stew, canned fish, canned beans, whole grain pasta and brown rice are all particularly popular items. The event begins at 3 p.m. and goes until 4 a.m. the following morning. Tickets are on sale now at danaives.com. $10 tickets are currently available in a limited quantity, after which tickets will be available for $15.
Also on Saturday, December 2 at 9 p.m. Gravity A will be performing thier late night reunion show, and fans will get the chance to experience the band’s first public show in four years at the Toulouse Theater .They will be performing with special guests Unicorn Fukr. Gravity A made more than just a splash in a relatively short time when they popped up over 18 years ago. Though the band’s recorded releases were limited, they burst onto the live local scene with a scintillating blend of rocking funk and electronica, alternately being dubbed “homegrown jamtronica” and “space rock” by this magazine. They’ve been working in various capacities ever since. You can read more about this event and what they have been up to here.
If you’re looking for an outdoor experience close to home then you may want to check out the 1st Annual Culture Campout, a weekend of music, dance, food and culture from Friday December 1- Sunday December 3. The event features live music, dance and workshops with: Sun Pie Barnes, Margie Perez, Jeffrey Broussard and the Nightime Syndicate, Music Machine Brass Band, Nola Square Dance, Mariachi Moderno Internacional, T Marie and Bayou Juju, Ian Monroe, Bad Penny Pleasuremakers, Louisiana Dance Roots, Joshua Hernandez, Drake Leblanc, Bryant Watson, and more! Food vendors include: Pupuseria La Milpa, Numada, Que Pho, and La’Delyo’s. Participants can choose between day passes, dorm, and tent camping options. The event takes place at Fontainebleau State Park, Group Site 1 and is free for youth and work exchange volunteers. There are a limited number of Early Bird, Full Price, and Work Exchange registration spots available. Learn more at www.culturecampout.org
