J Roddy Walston & the Business —Tues., Sept. 13 @ One Eyed Jacks
Drive-By Truckers + Centro-matic Sat., Sept. 3, 9 p.m. & Sun., Sept. 4, 8 p.m.
Tipitina’s, 500 Napoleon Ave. 895-TIPS In support of their latest record, Go-Go Boots (August 2011), alt-country rock group Drive-By Truckers are toting their southern-twangy but soulful indie rock tunes across the southeast this fall. Though currently based in Georgia, half of the band members hail from Alabama, and their sound and personality resonate as such; ticket sales from one of their Alabama tour dates will raise money for charities involved in tornado relief and recovery. While there’s an unmistakable southern and country vibe to their music and lyrics, the band draws its uniqueness from their ability to delicately weave those influences into the hooks and instrumentation of indie rock and the intimate complexities of soul. With the addition of keyboards in 2008, their three guitar-bassdrums—and pedal steel guitar—setup strove for more range and depth in their compositions, and began attracting an even wider audience after more than a decade producing music together. A hit in local markets, the Drive-By Truckers will be performing both Saturday and Sunday evenings at Tipitina’s, tickets on sale for $21. —Carolyn Heneghan
Los Lonely Boys to benefit PADRES Contra El Cáncer Friday, September 9, 9
PM HOB, 225 Decatur St., 310-4999 Texican Rock’n Rollers Los Lonely Boys are on tour, championing PADRES Contra El Cáncer (PADRES), a non-profit organization committed to Latino kids with cancer. The charity, also supported by Eva Longoria, assists parents and families coping with childhood illness. A family themselves, the three Garza brothers of LLB play together and give back together. They generated a PSA for IamHope.org to raise awareness of the PADRES Mobile Giving Campaign. Requests for $5. donations will be made by the trio at each stop on their current tour. They’ll ask that fans text “IAMHOPE” to 85944. Having earned their much-deserved fame, Los Lonely Boys now even have their own signature line of Stacy Adams shoes, and they’ll set aside a portion of each sale for PADRES. After all this giving of themselves, the boys manage to make great music too. Instantly recognizable after a few strummed notes, crossover hit “Heaven” is a sweet medley of guitar and vocals mixed in little by little to offer up a harmonized slice of that elusive title itself. Rockpango, released March 29, 2011, is their first self-produced long-playing album which they are promoting on the 2011 tour. The New Orleans venue has been featured on the band Facebook page as part of an LLB giveaway of free tickets, air fare, hotel room, and a meet and great with guitarist Henry, bassist JoJo and drummer Ringo. Congrats to the winner, hope to see you at the show! Doors open at 8.—Dionne Charlet
Soul Sister’s 5th Annual Birthday Jam with the WWOZ Funk All-Stars Friday, September 9, 10 p.m.
Tipitina’s, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-TIPS The legendary DJ Soul Sister is having a birthday jam and you’re invited to get down at Tipitina’s Uptown, Friday September 9. Dubbed the “Queen of Rare Groove”, DJ Soul Sister has established herself as one of the best DJs in New Orleans, effortlessly spinning ‘70s and ‘80s funk, underground disco, and of course, rare groove. She’s the host of WWOZ’s 15+ year-running “Soul Power”. Due to that ‘OZ connection, joining DJ Soul Sister in the celebration are the WWOZ Funk All- Stars, featuring David Torkanowsky, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Terrence Houston, Roderick Paulin, and Shane Theriot, with special guest Khris Royal. Tickets are just $12 and doors open at 9 p.m. —April Siese
Journey-Eclipse Tour with special guests Foreigner and Night Ranger Saturday, September 10, 7 p.m.
New Orleans Arena, 1501 Girod, 587-3822 Journey fans, the wait is over. Journey has a New Orleans date set and will play the Arena in September as part of their wordwide Eclipse Tour. 2007 You Tube Find Arnel Pineda was recently featured as part of DailyTop10.net’s “Top 10 Rockstars with the Most Powerful Voices.” Filipino-born Pineda was contacted by Journey Lead Guitarist Neal Schon and auditioned, officially debuting as Lead Singer in February 2008. Both Schon and Pineda will be joined onstage with bandmates Bassist Ross Valory, Keyboardist Jonathan Cain, Drummer Deen Castronovo to promote the May 24 release of 14th album, Eclipse. New single “City of Hope” is part of the set list as well as other songs from Eclipse, the band will include classics “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “Any Way You Want It”, “Faithfully”, “Lights”, “Separate Ways”, “Wheel in the Sky” and more. 2008 release Revelation was first to feature Pineda as lead singer. Foreigner’s Mike Jones and Night Ranger’s Brad Gillis, Jack Blades and Kelly Keagy will be joined by newer band members to prove to fans that the 80s are still alive, kickin’, and ready to set the stage for 2011!—Dionne Charlet
Futurebirds + J Roddy Walston & the Business + New Grass Country Club Tuesday, September 13, 9 p.m.
One Eyed Jacks, 615 Toulouse, 569-8361 Flying high but still riding the chillwave, the Futurebirds—one of several alt-country rock groups based in Athens, GA—find themselves rising faster than most after only two years of touring and recording. While they initially grew up with Athens bands like Drive-By Truckers, the Star Room Boys and Elephant Six—now they’re sharing stages and festival lineups with them—notably Dead Confederate last fall. Their debut EP Future-
birds (2009), was quickly followed up by their first full-length album, Hampton’s Lullaby (2010), both of which were praised for the group’s dreamy vocal harmonies and signature, hazy reverb that coats each guitar strum with a psychedelic timelessness. Stopping at One Eyed Jacks on the way to their first Austin City Limits performance, the Futurebirds will be gaining momentum for a possibly Bonnaroo-topping performance—so be sure to thank SimplePlay promoters for snagging them on their way to still more successes in their bright future. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. —Carolyn Heneghan
Ponderosa Stomp’s 10th Anniversary September 15-17
The Howlin’ Wolf, 907 S. Peters St., 529-5844 The legendary New Orleans Music Festival spotlighting the architects of American music including Allen Toussaint, William Bell, Big Jay McNeely, Eddie Floyd, Lady Bo, Sir Mack Rice, Lazy Lester, Dave Bartholomew, The Bo- Keys and more is back celebrating the seminal songs that formed the backbone of American pop culture from the post-war era. These artists will be paying tribute to Excello Records, Stax Records and New Orleans’ Greatest Producer- Cosimo Matassa. 2011 marks the 10th anniversary of the Stomp, which has expanded over the years from a 2-day concert to include a film festival, music conference, record hop and a DJ dance party. This year the Ponderosa Stomp takes over a new venue, the Howlin’ Wolf while moving the music conference, Clandestine Celluloid Film Series and record hop into a central locale, the Renaissance Arts Hotel, 700 Tchoupitoulas Street.
The conference will feature historians and musicologists. For a complete schedule of events, speakers, and to purchase tickets visit www.ponderosastomp.com.—J.J.
Cutting Edge C.E. Wednesday - Saturday, September 21 - 24
Continental Hotel, 11th floor, 601 Poydras Performances at venues across New Orleans Musicians, there are four days in September set aside for you to network and learn cutting-edge details about the music business.
Based on the eleventh floor of the Pan American Conference and Media Center/InterContinental Hotel, the Cutting Edge C.E. (formerly the Cutting Edge Music Business Conference) is a New Orleanian conference for musicians and music professionals, dedicated to sharing information on the latest trends in the music industry. Since its inception in 1993, the event has grown to include entertainment workshops covering legal issues, filmmaking, interactive applications and media business
education. Cutting Edge C.E. is produced by the New Orleans based non-profit organization Music Business Institute (MBI). Panelists include Martin Atkins, entertainment, Darryl Cohen, Jeff Brabec, Todd Brabec, Tony Moore, Scott Keniley, and others. The legal seminar is approved by the Supreme Court for 16 total hours of CLE credit, including 1 hour of Ethics and 1 hour of Professionalism. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) is showing their support of New Orleans and surrounding area musicians by assisting with the ex pansion and development of the Cutting Edge Trade Show. Net proceeds from sales of booth space will be donated to the Gulf Coast Musician’s Relief Fund. Information, including schedules of performances and panels, is available at cuttingedgenola.com. —Dionne Charlet
10 th Annual Ezra Open ft. Better Than Ezra Friday, September 23, 7:30 p.m.
Harrah’s Casino Theater BTE is celebrating 10 years of giving back to New Orleans & South Louisiana with a celebrity-filled bowling tournament at Mid City Lanes Rock-N-Bowl at 2 p.m., topped off by a patron party with a live and silent auction, along with a Better Than Ezra concert full of special guests. The Better Than Ezra Foundation has donated funds raised from the annual Ezra Opens to various organizations such as: Preservation Resource Center to renovate and rebuild a first responders flooded home from Katrina; New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) to aid the Summer Program for students; Brad Pitt’s Make it Right Foundation to help rebuild homes in the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood; and the Audubon Nature Institute to build the Cool Zoo Splash Park at Audubon Zoo. Most recently the BTE Foundation donated school supplies and built an educational playground for the children at Bethune Elementary in the Holly Grove neighborhood of New Orleans. For more information on the 10th Annual Ezra Open charity event, to purchase tickets or inquire about sponsorship opportunities please visit www. btefoundation.org.—Sheri Bleuler McKee
Correction: In our Satchmo Fest coverae in the August issue, a photo of Paul Longstreth was incorrectly identified as Jeremy Davenport on page 13.
Better Than Ezra—Tues., Sept. 23 @ Harrah’s Casino Theater
