The Stooges Brass Band has gained notoriety across the USA and the world as a full-blown musical party whether leading a second-line parade or performing their spirited stage show.
The band is undeniably one of the hardest working bands out of New Orleans, and their dedication to their craft has made an impact. The Stooges Brass Band victoriously battled in the finals for the title of "Red Bull Street Kings: Best Brass Band" under the iconic Claiborne Bridge in NOLA (the subject of a recent documentary). Along with this auspicious title, the band won an all-expenses paid trip for a recording and mentorship session with a producer in the Red Bull Studios in California
"Life is a stage," says Cole Williams 2016 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival performer, with the authority of a seasoned artist, entrepreneur and educator. More than a singer/songwriter/producer/composer, Cole has expanded her repertoire to reflect an increasingly eclectic assortment of creative endeavors. Blessed with a powerful voice and superlative musical instincts, Cole is forging a fearlessly original sound that is as eclectic as her outré fashion sense.
East Flatbush, Brooklyn gave birth to this multi instrumentalist (voice, piano, percussion), and New Orleans has given Cole wings, as she fearlessly pioneers her sound, African Rock. In her early years, Cole attended Brooklyn Technical High School (known for its breadth of alumni, including Nobel Laureates, as well as Mos Def and Talib Kweli) before studying classical voice at New Jersey City University. This rich background coupled with Cole’s foundation in classical piano (trained from ages 4-17), church upbringing and childhood love affair with her parents’ record collection provided her with the foundation to eventually broaden her artistic output, and become a diverse force in the entertainment industry.
Whenever CORROSION OF CONFORMITY releases a new album, folks take notice. But their latest is a true event. It’s been a dozen years since C.O.C. recorded new material with vocalist/guitarist Pepper Keenan at the helm. In that time, there have been rumors, whispers and outright allegations that the legendary Southern rock outfit would reunite to blow the doors off the whole damn scene again. In 2014, after nearly a straight decade traversing the globe as a guitarist with New Orleans supergroup DOWN, Keenan reconnected with the core C.O.C. trio of Woody Weatherman, Mike Dean and Reed Mullin to hit the road hard. “Reed called me and mentioned maybe playing a couple shows,” Keenan recalls. “I said, ‘Let’s just go to Europe and see if it works.’ So we went to Europe and then ended up going back four times in one year. Then Nuclear Blast gave us an offer and we didn’t even think about going anywhere else. We ended up touring for a year and then started tracking about ten or 11 months ago.”
Ladies and gentlemen, the long wait is over. CORROSION OF CONFORMITY have returned with »No Cross No Crown« - an album that somehow sounds as though no time has passed between 2005’s »In The Arms Of God« and today.
So far, Mark has done a One-Hour Comedy Central special “Don’t Be Yourself”, a Comedy Central HALF HOUR special, has appeared on TBS’s CONAN 6 times, Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Showtime’s “Live at SXSW”, INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, TruTv, Best Week Ever, MTv, Last Comic Standing, @Midnight and released an album with Comedy Central records titled “Still Got It” (it’s not bad). This year, Mark took first place at the Great American Comedy Festival competition. In 2013 won Caroline’s March Madness competition, beating out 63 other comedians. And this is a real shocker for all of us, but he was also voted Village Voice’s “Best Comedian of 2013”, I know, right? In 2012, Mark appeared on “John Oliver’s New York Standup Show” on Comedy Central, and in 2011 was picked as one of Comedy Central’s “Comics to Watch.”
Mark was born and raised in New Orleans, LA surprisingly to two normal parents. As a kid he spent most of his time shooting short films and wetting the bed. He started doing comedy right after college and quickly moved to New York. Mark now does comedy clubs and colleges across the country and has been involved in many festivals including Portland, Seattle, DC, Boston, Vancouver, Melbourne and in 2013 was featured as a New Face at the Montreal Comedy Festival.
Hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana, Strange Roux is a high energy rock n’ roll band with influences both old and new rooted with the sounds of the Louisiana swamp. The members consist of Laurie Lehner (Vocals), Jason Kareores (Guitar/Slide), Cody Lee(Guitar), Eric Burgess (Bass), and Nick Hughes (Drums). They have had successful shows at popular New Orleans’ venues such as Tipitina’s, Howlin’ Wolf, and Blue Nile. They were also featured as one of New Orleans “up and coming” bands at Backbeat Foundations’ “Made in the Shade” event at Le Petite Theater during French Quarter Fest 2011.
Strange Roux has just released their first E.P. Boogieman which has already been welcomed with great reviews. They plan on doing some regional touring and building their fan base at home and on the road.
Based out of New Orleans, Louisiana, The Crooked Vines is a funk-pop collective that brings exciting funk-fueled jams to the stage. Their heavy-hitting energy sustains and tastefully dips into spacey pleasure throughout their shows bringing a new sound to life. Mikayla Braun's sensitive yet compelling voice leads the ensemble, backed by Rex Marshall on bass and Woody Hill on drums. This duo holds down the gritty rhythm section grooves where Steven Schwartz perfectly places his sweetly distorted keyboards, creating the perfect pocket for the hard-hitting horn lines provided by Phil Arpa on saxophone and James Keene on trombone. The group released their first studio effort on October 10th, 2015, self-titled The Crooked Vines, and their second album "Alive" on November 10th, 2017. Both are available on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, BandCamp, and most other major platforms. You can find the group in New Orleans at venues such as Tipitina's, The Howlin' Wolf, House of Blues, and Gasa Gasa. They have opened for The Grammy Award winning Rebirth Brass Band, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Mystikal, George Porter Jr., Naughty Professor, Cyril Neville, John "Papa" Gros of Papa Grows Funk and more!
