Event

The Soggy Po Boys Honoring A Tradition: Professor Longhair

The Soggy Po Boys Honoring a Tradition Series has been gone so long, but ask anyone whos been to one before and theyll assure you: its well worth the wait. Highly anticipated and bound to sell-out, these lecture-performances differ from the usual Po Boys gig in that they focus on the cultural contributions of one of NOLAs many musical giants, prefaced with a presentation to provide biographical context. Grab your notebook; this one will be especially educational as the boys go back to school with the rumba-boogie stylings of Professor Longhair (also known as Henry Roeland Byrd).

Endearingly referred to as Fess, Longhairs output is a gumbo of sorts, a tour of New Orleans music, blending mambo and other Caribbean genres with barrelhouse blues and second line. Dr. John, one of Fess many students, would further claim that Fess put funk into music, experimenting with a rhythmic vocabulary that would directly influence the music of James Brown. His most famous songsBig Chief and Mardi Gras in New Orleans, to name only a feware steeped in local tradition, and while the great majority of them never cracked the mainstream, they are locally loved with timeless reverence much like a hymnbook for all of Orleans Parish.

If you already know about Professor Longhair then please excuse the choir preachingIll assume you saved the date somewhere around rumba-boogie. However, if Fess wasnt part of your previous curricula then weve got a lot to cover. No need to be a teachers pet but a little studying wouldnt hurt. Class starts at 7 PM on Saturday, November 3. Dont be late. Better yet, get there early so you can get a seat right at the front of the hall. You might just learn something.

Music starts around 8 and goes all night.

Make sure to get your tickets soon!
Seating and Standing Room.

The Soggy Po Boys are:
Eric Klaxton-Saxophone
Zach Lange-Trumpet
Nick Mainella-Saxophone
Mike Effenberger-Piano
Stu Dias-Guitar and Vocals
Brett Gallo-Drums
Nicholas Phaneuf-Bass

Music at 8pm

$12/advance $15/door