by Brian Serpas

Dutch Alley, French Quarter
Saturday, October 17th Noon-9 p.m.


    New Orleans is a city where you can simply walk through the streets and be entertained. Gazing at the architecture and people watching is an event all to itself. Those things can be a warm up to the main attraction, and I’m not talking about the food (albeit we’ve got some of the best), but the music. Voodoo Fest is approaching fast and the best in local and international talent will be performing. If you’ve ever attended the festival, then you’ve either heard of or seen the Land of Nod, which is a project that produces intriguing and exciting performance art and musical acts. This year, unfortunately, the experiment won’t be taking place at Voodoo Fest. But that isn’t stopping the group from putting on a show.
    The Land of Nod will still be taking place and they will be doing it in the historic Dutch Alley, in the back of the French Quarter near the river. I was able to contact the founder, Dan Sheridan, to remind or inform our readers about Land of Nod. My first inquiry pertained to what exactly the Land of Nod does. Sheridan replied, “It’s an evolving project testing the boundaries of presentation, human creativity, and the exploration of the arts. It is an event to showcase underground art and music and to expose the public to imagery they will not find at conventional events. It’s a collective of creative minds and free thinking individuals and artist groups.” Dan Sheridan started the Land of Nod experiment concept at the Voodoo Experience several years ago, and it has evolved into a collaborative effort involving many other artists, musicians, and producers. The project takes place in several locations, now including Jackson, New Orleans, Michigan, and Black Rock City of Burning Man.
    Considering the experiment started at the Voodoo Fest and has been a part of it for the majority of the festival’s existence, it’s unfortunate it won’t be a part of it this time around. But Sheridan and the others wanted to make sure the event happened for a consecutive year. “ The Land of Nod Experiment has grown to become a big production at Voodoo Experience and is quite expensive to produce,” Sheridan said. “NOOMOON has for nine years financed the production through unique and artistic entities. This year due to the bad economy, sponsorships are hard to come by and our regular sponsors are struggling. To fill the void and to keep the experiment going we decided to have the event in the French Quarter free to the public and to benefit the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic. This will give the artists and musicians who have performed at the Land of Nod for so many years another chance to showcase their talents, and create awareness for the musicians’ clinic.”
    Besides the music, there will be spoken word, performance art, fashion shows, and live muralists creating works before your eyes. Some of the musical acts that will be performing are: Margie Perez, Tapwater Mind Control, Ratty Scurvics, Sista Otis, My Graveyard Jaw, The White Bitch, Ray Bong, Zydepunks, and many more. This is an important event in that The Land of Nod refuses to allow itself to be let down. The fact that Dan Sheridan and company are presenting it free to the public and in support of the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic is further reason to go to the French Quarter and be a part of the art.