
The season of Mardi Gras, the final big blowout before the period of fasting and sacrifice called Lent, begins this weekend. Feel free to party as you please; here's some music to help you on your way. These are some Louisiana-style tunes to spice up your Mardi Gras mixtape. Play 'em loud, play 'em often and play 'em all year – make every day a Mardi Gras Day. MP3: "Between Eunice & Opelousas" by Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys MP3: "Zydeco [...]
Happy 2012 live music freaks! Hope you all had a killer 2011 and finished it off with a bang and some good shows! Last week was obviously a busy week for live music fans in the New York metro area, so naturally, the concert calendar slows down a bit this week as we start the new year. But that's not to say there aren't some great shows to hit...
Check out the accompanying LMB NOLA & Friends Year In Review post here It's always interesting to hear what artists have to say when recalling past concert experiences and in particular, which ones stick out in their mind as "memorable". After an evening up on-stage, musicians take home an entirely different recollection of their live [...]
A week to give thanks to family, friends, good health, good food, and.....multi-night runs in NYC!

Justin Bond & Thomas Bartlett ( more by Dominick Mastrangelo ) As you may have noticed in What's Going on Sunday , both Allen Toussaint and Justin Vivian Bond played shows at Joe's Pub on Sunday. Allen's show, entitled "A Southern Night", is part of "the Joe's Pub New York Voices series" and happens again three times this week. All three are still on sale (11/21, 11/22 & 11/23). The singer, pianist, songwriter, arranger and producer [...]
The 10th Annual Ponderosa Stomp will be held next Friday and Saturday at The Howlin' Wolf, today organizers released the daily schedules for the event. For more information on the festival, go here. Continue on for the schedule.
Let Them Talk has enough twists and turns, both in the material and the arrangements, to make it interesting.
Five good covers of 'The Weight' by The Band, including Weezer, The Gaslight Anthem, Diana Ross and the Supremes and more.
The influence of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and venues like Tipitina's that provide late night live music to fans is extremely prevalent in the spirit of Bonnaroo – a 24-hour, anything goes musical city set in the hills of Middle Tennessee each summer.
Ernie K-Doe had his only number one hit fifty years ago this week.

So, this is our final "official" post before we enter the blissful sleep of the real world. Thanks for reading. But does anyone mourn the passing of a music blog? I mean, c'mon now: this ain't no Rolling Stone . Thank God. But if one were to mourn a music blog, there'd only be one way to do it: the immemorial NOLA dirge, "St. James Infirmary." It's a song recorded by hundreds. Of unclear origins—possibly forked from the old English folk song "The Unfortunate Rake," possibly not. "Written" in the early [...]

Actors putting out albums - it's an idea that doesn't always bode well. Actually, almost never. Unexpectedly, this trend of thespian trainwrecks doesn't include the (apparently) multitalented actor, musician, and bestselling author, Hugh Laurie. His debut album, Let Them Talk (Warner Bros), proves that Laurie has a soulful set of pipes that handle complex melodies with an unexpected natural ease. Dim the lights and sit back, as Let Them Talk is an evocative fifteen-track tribute to New Orleans blues. If you're familiar with Hugh Laurie's character House on the eponymous series, it's [...]

I was watching Allen Toussaint's recording of Austin City Limits and before playing Get Out My Life Woman, Toussaint says, "This song coming up is a song that I wrote for brother Lee Dorsey many years ago but it was really made popular by another great person, but it's my most covered song of all songs I've written - I'm not sure why.....because ten minutes after I wrote it, I was quite confused." And I...I just don't know what cover he is referring to. It's been covered by so many [...]
It's impossible to talk about New Orleans and its music (and broader culture) without talking about the city's recent strife. Period. So forgive me, apolitical readers, and political ones who flinch at the possibility of bring preached to. It goes without saying that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast (from which I live about half an hour away in North Florida) has a had a string of shitty luck in the last few years. Maybe "luck" isn't the right word. Divine improvidence or damning from God, perhaps, if you believe that. [...]
This weekend, iClips will be webcasting sets from this year's New Orleans Jazz Festival, where our esteemed Editor-in-Chief is currently having a blast . The broadcast starts this weekend and includes some big-name sets like Arcade Fire , Jeff Beck , Robert Plant , Jimmy Buffett and Wilco , along with some more classic NOLA Jazz Fest artists like Allen Toussaint , the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Galactic , George Porter Jr., and the Neville Brothers . Read on for the [...]
Hugh Laurie will release his debut album, Let Them Talk, via Warner Brothers Records on May 9th in the UK (the US release has yet to be announced). The album finds the House star and former Band from TV singer covering classic blues songs, such as "St. James Infirmary" and "John Henry." Irma Thomas and [...]
Hugh Laurie sings the blues on Let Them Talk.
In the world of Bonnaroo , late night sets are almost as important as the headliner's. There is, after all, nothing like hitting This Tent at 2:30 AM for your 14th straight hour of live music even though the only thing in your belly is some grilled cheese and a make-shift vodka and Redbull. While the festival's complete day-by-day schedule is still forthcoming, Bonnaroo has revealed this year's late night acts. They are as followed: Lil Wayne, Girl Talk, STS9, Big Boi, String Cheese Incident, Bassnectar, Dr. John with the Original Meters and Allen Toussaint performing [...]
Since Coachella and Sasquatch! sold out before some folks even had a chance to crack open their wallets, there hasn't been much need to add a Prince, let alone Die Antwoord . But Bonnaroo is a different type of animal, especially since the Manchester, TN-based festival all but has an unlimited capacity. Plus, with two main stages, three tents, a comedy castle, a cinema, and countless other performance areas, organizers usually take their time in revealing all the planned festivities. Now, two months after the initial 2011 lineup announcement , Bonnaroo has [...]

allen toussaint - "southern nights" (download) Made popular by Glen Campbell , but originally recorded by Allen Toussaint in Miami in 1975. "Southern Nights" is the title track from Toussaint's concept album of the same name. This version is much more psychedelic than the upbeat Glen Campbell version. While the whole album isn't quite as great as this particular track, it's still worth a listen. buy