Event preview: Happy hour salon with Sula Spirit & the Neighborhood Story Project

Clockwise, from top left: Spirit of the Orisha, Janet “Sula Spirit” Evans, Talk That Music Talk, Rachel Breunlin, Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes

Room 220 is pleased to present a Happy Hour Salon celebrating two excellent New Orleans music books: Spirit of the Orisha by Janet “Sula Spirit” Evans and Talk that Music Talk, edited by Rachel Breunlin and Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes. The event, featuring readings, discussion, translation, and live music, will take place from 6 – 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, at the Press Street HQ (3718 St. Claude Ave.).

Spirit of the Orisha is a book-music combination meant as a teaching tool to connect new generations with traditional Orisha music. It features a selection of song lyrics compiled and annotated by Janent “Sula Spirit” Evans, translated into English by Omoba Adéwálé Adénlé. The book’s accompanying two-CD album features performances of the songs by the Zion Trinity, of which Evans is a member. She is also a birth doula, spiritual healer, and entrepreneur.

Talk That Music Talk: Passing On Brass Band Music in New Orleans the Traditional Way is the latest major offering from the wonderful Neighborhood Story Project. Editors Rachel Breunlin and Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes spent years compiling oral histories, photographs, and documents that tell the story of how brass music in New Orleans has remained alive and thriving for more than a century. Breunlin is co-director of the Neighborhood Story Project and Barnes is a veteran park ranger at New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.

The event will feature presentations of the two books as well as live music from Spirit of the Orisha, performed by Evans, Barnes, and special guests.

Stay tuned for the Room 220 interview with Evans, conducted by Andy Young. Read an excerpt from Talk That Music Talk here.

As always, this event is free and open to the public. Both books will be on sale.

This article was reposted from Room 220, a NolaVie content partner.