Voodoo Music Experience

I have decided to save Part 2 of the Joni Mitchell posts for next week, because I just netflixed her American Masters profile for this weekend.

So, moving on...

My parents used to have a condo in New Orleans (they sold it pre-Katrina,) and as a result, I became a huge fan of the New Orleans music scene. (The last concert I went to was Dr. John at Potowatomi Bingo and Casino in Milwaukee in September. With my parents, in fact.)

Unfortunately, I am nowhere near New Orleans these days, but if you are, you might want to check out the Voodoo Music Experience this weekend. The annual festival features solid and up-and-coming national acts like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Duran Duran, the Flaming Lips, and Kings of Leon. But even cooler, the festival also features a full line-up of local New Orleans music. I would go just to hear blues maven Marva Wright's tribute to Mahalia Jackson alone. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Original Meters also have a special place in my CD collection.

Even if you can't make it to the festival, check out some of these amazing New Orleans musicians on albums that benefit Katrina rebuilding:

Our New Orleans - Various musicians, some local, some nationally famous, sing the songs that made New Orleans famous.

Sing Me Back Home - The New Orleans Social Club. Did you see these guys on Austin City Limits? Awesome.

Sidenote: One of the national acts performing at the festival is Blue October, who, despite having a moderately annoying press kit (which I learned when they played Hedgpeth in East Troy last summer) have a good song called "Into the Ocean" which I discovered via Pandora. Check it out.