Celebrating NOLA's Cultural Bearers
A celebration of the Preservation Hall Foundation's Legacy Program, with live music and presentations, will take place in early October.
The event will take place on October 3, 6:30 p.m., at the Toulouse Theatre. In addition to live music and a cash bar, there will be a special presentation at the event that will welcome six new inductees into the Legacy Program: Louis Ford, Shannon Powell, Craig Klein, Leroy Jones, Mark Brooks, and Will Smith. The celebration is free to attend, but RSVPs are required and can be done HERE.
More About the Legacy Program
The Preservation Hall Foundation Legacy Program, which began in 2015, was established to support and honor the Preservation Hall's elder jazz musicians as New Orleans cultural bearers who work to keep New Orleans' unique music and traditions alive.
Additionally, the program distributes monthly financial stipends to musicians 60 and older who are part of the Preservation Hall Collective. So far in 2022, the Foundation has distributed over $65,000 to the current 17 musicians in the Legacy Program. The program also provides other perks to its musicians, according to the Preservation Hall Foundation's website, which include, but are not limited to a health care fund, parking in the French Quarter for performances, and even lawn maintenance.
Some of the Master Practitioners who are in the Legacy Program include musicians Charlie Gabriel, Kerry Brown, Wendell Brunious, Lester Caliste, and many more. For a full list of the musicians who are in the Legacy Program, as well as current members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and other musicians in the Preservation Hall's musical community, visit preshallfoundation.org/meet-the-collective.
For more information about the Preservation Hall Foundation and to donate directly to it, visit preshallfoundation.org.
