Abita Fall Fest and Oak Street Po-Boy Festival
Tomorrow head out to the Abita Trailhead for the first Abita Fall Fest. The fest will feature eight hours of music including performances by Marc Broussard, Flow Tribe, Bruce Daigrepont and more. This festival is designed to be a non-profit and family-friendly means of getting more people out to explore this beautiful area. Kids under 10 are free and the music and food will be accompanied by a rock wall, petting zoo, face paining and more.
Oak Street Po-Boy Fest is always one of the most anticipated festivals of the year. The food is amazing and there are four stages of music with a great sampling of acts. This year features performances by Aaron Benjamin, Radio Zydeco, Billy Iuso, Roadside Glorious and Funky Monkey with Arsene DeLay. The event is free but you’ll need a wristband if you want to try any of the delicious culinary creations on hand.
Angel Olsen and Vagabon at The Civic Tuesday
On Tuesday night, two absolutely exceptional performers are playing together at The Civic when Vagabon opens for Angel Olsen. Playing as Vagabon, Laetitia Tamko has expanded her sound in amazing ways for her self-titled sophomore record. I can’t wait to see how these new sounds play live. Tamko is followed by Angel Olsen who has managed to become something of an indie rock legend in a very short time. She has had three critically acclaimed releases since 2014 and both Burn Your Fire for No Witness and My Woman were on my top ten lists for their respective years and her recent effort All Mirrors seems bound for the same treatment. This is a can’t miss show. Check out Olsen’s “Lark” below.
Voodoo Victorious
I love the feel of Voodoo Fest. Every year it hits that sweet spot between the weather starting to change and the end of daylight savings time – which makes it comfortable for costumes and provides just enough gloom to make everything a little mysterious. Despite a rainy opening day, this year’s installment was a triumph. The park grounds really felt like they were inhabited by the festival in a way that brought a communal spirit to the crowds. Voodoo feels like it belongs exactly where it is in terms of its space, people are performances. It’s a magical little city that pops up for 72 hours and then vanishes. While the headliners were naturally big draws this year, the festival was really anchored by fantastic performances by artists that are just beginning to really make names for themselves. I saw outstanding and well attended sets from grandson, Elohim, ZHU, Japanese Breakfast and others that brought out serious passion from the collected fans. It was clear that while folks might have been interested in passing by Guns n’ Roses or Beck to see what they were up to the fans at ZHU or Japanese Breakfast were there for the duration. Seems like overall festivals are changing to focus more on the experience than just big names and Voodoo has that down in droves. I’m already looking forward to next year. Some of our best shots from the fest are below.
Also This Week
Tonight, Mavis Staples, Chris Robinson and Anders Osborne headline the Tulane Tipping Point Homecoming show at The Fillmore. Also tonight, Appalachian Psychedelic Bluegrass ensemble Keller and The Keels drops into Tipitna’s while Elephant Wreching Ball play The Howlin’ Wolf and Vintage Pistol are at Gasa Gasa with The Trongone Band. If that weren’t enough Widespread Panic continue their Halloween shows at the Lakefront Arena and you can also catch Andrew Bird at The Civic. Tomorrow, Starcrawler are at Gasa Gasa while The Stoop Kids play One Eyed Jacks and Dumpstaphunk roll into Tipitina’s. Sunday, outstanding chip-tune wizards Anamanaguchi play One Eyed Jacks while Gwar plays the Joy and Bishop Gunn plays Tipitina’s. Monday, Russian Circles are at One Eyed Jacks. Tuesday, The Swamp Blossoms are at The Circle Bar while Washboard Chaz drops into The Columns Hotel with John Rankin. Wednesday, AJR are at The Fillmore while George Porter, Jr. + Steve Walkup & the Night People play Cafe Istanbul. Thursday, The Raconteurs are at The Fillmore and Shoreline Mafia are at Republic.
To Listen This Week
- Great new track from Tame Impala via Youtube
- The Regrettes and Dylan Minnette have kicked off the holiday season early with “Holiday-ish” via Youtube
- Macca and Ringo reunite to cover John Lennon’s “Grow Old with Me” via CoS
