On Friday August 26 John “Papa” Gros will release his latest solo record—River’s On Fire—with a free show at Tipitina’s to benefit the Tipitina’s Foundation. After his extended stint leading Papa Grows Funk and his duties on organ with the Raw Oyster Cult, this record sees Gros returning to the piano as his primary instrument and compositional medium. This collection of songs is tied together by their connection to the city itself. River’s On Fire sounds like New Orleans. This is a record that was slowly cured over hundreds of late nights in the Maple Leaf and Tips. There’s a little bit of southern rock and a generous helping of funk all presented with a visual lyricism that is densely steeped in the people, traditions and meals that we think of as being uniquely New Orleanian. The album pivots around a reworked version of the Papa Grows Funk staple “House of Love” which moves the attention to Gros’ skillful songwriting. The song sits at the heart of the record as a reminder to the listener. Despite the playfulness and experimentation that Gros exhibits on River’s On Fire—at the heart of it all is that sensibility built of late nights and sweaty clubs. There is a lot to love here and a number of tracks that we’ll be hearing as they ripple through the local scene and echo back in new forms. Make sure to check out the record’s debut on the 26th at Tips.
Homegrown Night and More at Tipitina’s
If you are looking to get out of this heat this weekend. Tips has you covered with free shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights this week. On Thursday night the club is hosting Homegrown Night with Noggin, Sturmlandia and Michael Liuzza. Noggin’s work represents some of the best new music coming out of the city recently. When I listen to this group I hear a direct and natural progression from the large brass band sound. On Friday local legends Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes will hold down the Free Friday slot with Water Seed. If that weren’t enough free music, on Saturday Boyfriend will be celebrating the 4th anniversary of her rap cabaret at Tipitina’s with a lingerie themed birthday party. Seems like a perfect place to end the evening after spending the day at the Inaugural Irish Channel Regatta, which will be crawling its way from pub to pub through the channel for most of the afternoon.
To Do This Week
- Check out the full schedule of shows at Tips here.
- Info on the Irish Channel Regatta can be found here.
- On Friday check out Dead Gaze at Gasa Gasa or Monolord at Siberia if you’re looking for something harder. Sunday The Atomic Bitchwax will be at Siberia. Tuesday you can see Sawyer Fredericks at The Howlin’ Wolf.
To Listen This Week
- Grandaddy played a new song at their first concert in four years via Rolling Stone.
- Anderson .Paak did an outstanding Tiny Desk Concert via NPR.
- New single from Sun Kil Moon via his website.
