-
-
This week we pay tribute to the late singer-songwriter, actor and counter-culture icon, Kris Kristofferson. He wrote “Me and Bobby McGee” sitting on an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, 1969. Before the song turned his life around, Kristofferson struggled to make ends meet in Nashville. Whether it was a love song like “Help Me Make It Through The Night,” or the rueful regret of “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” Kris Kristofferson’s straightforward lyrics later reached listeners and other songwriters.
-
Here are 21 ways to ring in the new year, from live music to rooftop parties and more.
-
-
This is American Routes for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years, and beyond. I’m Nick Spitzer in New Orleans, where holiday second lines are in the streets, French Réveillon feasts in the restaurants, and house light decor ranges from downhome color schemes to grandiose yard display. This hour we explore Santa’s exploits, fallibility, and possibility with songs from Baltimore’s Fat Daddy, Tampa Red, and Tennessee Ernie Ford. Also, Christmas songs and celebrations from French Louisiana to Mexico and Puerto Rico, holiday blues from Chuck Berry and Charles Brown, the abolitionist version of “O Holy Night” from soul queen Irma Thomas, and the ancient carol “Greensleeves” from John Coltrane. Right now let's get back out on “Santa’s Second Line” with New Orleans’ New Birth Brass Band on American Routes.
-
-
We’ve got jazz trumpeter from Preservation Hall, Wendell Brunious with his New Orleans All Stars. Wendell Brunious is from a famed New Orleans Creole jazz family. He is the son of Nazimova Santiago and John Brunious, Sr., a trumpeter who played with Onward Brass and Young Tuxedo Brass Bands, and Paul Barbarin. Wendell Brunious’ brother was the late John Brunious, Jr., also a trumpeter who lead the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Over the years, Wendell Brunious sang with Chief John and the Mahogany Hall Stompers in the 1960s. He studied at Southern University, worked with Danny Barker in the ‘70s, and later played on Bourbon Street and with Kid Thomas Valentine, Eureka Brass, Lionel Hampton, Linda Hopkins, Sammy Rimington and Louis Nelson. Right now it’s Wendell Brunious and band on American Routes Live.
-
The traveling exhibit, American Revolution Experience, will be on display at Baton Rouge's Capitol Park Museum until Jan. 17, 2025.
-
From drive-through tours to boat parades, here’s a curated list of some of the city’s most stunning holiday light displays.
-
-
The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band has been playing together since 1977. The band includes husband and wife Marc and Ann Savoy, on accordion and guitar respectively, and Michael Doucet of Beausoleil on fiddle. The trio has presented traditional Cajun music at Louisiana dance halls, major music festivals, and presidential inaugurations. They recently played a Cajun dance party in New Orleans’ French Market for the National Treasures Tour of Culture Bearers in National Parks. I sat down back home with the Savoys and Michael Doucet to talk about the band and their relationship as friends, family, and musicians. First, I asked Marc Savoy about his choice to continue family traditions of making and playing accordions.
-