Editor’s Note: There is so much live music in New Orleans, and sometimes it can be rather overwhelming to know what to hear, where to go, or what to do. Writer and music lover Wesley Hodges is giving weekly previews of the live music happening in New Orleans as well as some sneak previews into what is coming up. For a full view of Wesley’s suggestions, check out his facebook page.
Happy Mardi Gras folks! This week is off to a strong start with the New Orleans Pelicans making one of the biggest blockbuster deals in recent NBA history to acquire DeMarcus Cousins from the Sacramento Kings. Needless to say, the rest of the season should be extremely interesting.
As for music, the city will be on fire starting Wednesday for a week straight and there’s plenty of music on the slate to fill the Carnival week so check out the refreshed schedule below! I’m very much looking forward to Friday night at Tipitina’s with George Porter Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste, Jon Cleary and Anders Osborne.
Follow NOLA Live Music Letter’s new Twitter account @NOLALML and like the page on Facebook.
The fine folks at C3 have bestowed a couple pairs of weekend getaway giveaway passes to this year’s 5th Annual Shaky Knees Festival up in Atlanta’s Centennial Park. The lineup boasts LCD Soundsystem, Phoenix and The xx at the top and goes down the weekend after Jazz Fest (May 12 – 14). The winners will be notified in mid-April after the drawing. To enter the contest, go here.
NEW MUSIC
Best of 2017
Pop Life // The Best of Prince
Tinariwen – Elwan
Sinkane – Life and Livin’ It
THIS WEEK
Null with Pope at Gasa Gasa (2/20)
George Porter Jr. Trio at Maple Leaf Bar (2/20)
Elysian Feel with The Groove Orient at Gasa Gasa (2/21)
Sting with Joe Sumner and The Last Bandoleros at UNO Lakefront Arena (2/22)
Benjamin Francis Leftwich at House of Blues – The Parish (2/22)
Jonathan Richman at One Eyed Jacks (2/22)
MainLine at Hi Ho Lounge (2/22)
Jimbo Mathus’s Overstuffed Po-Boys featuring members of the Squirrel Nut Zippers at Chickie Wah Wah (2/23)
Better Than Ezra at The Civic Theatre (2/23)
The Cadillac Three at House of Blues (2/23)
Dirty Bourbon River Show at Gasa Gasa (2/23)
The Soul Rebels at Le Bon Temps Roule (2/23)
Foundation of Funk with Zigaboo Modeliste & George Porter Jr. plus special guests Anders Osborne and Jon Cleary at Tipitina’s (2/24)
Jermal Watson at Gasa Gasa (2/24)
Rebirth Brass Band with Big Sam’s Funky Nation at Howlin’ Wolf (2/24)
Galactic at Tipitina’s Uptown (2/25)
Rebirth Brass Band with Big Sam’s Funky Nation at Howlin’ Wolf (2/25)
Big Freedia and Sweet Crude Mardi Gras Shakedown at One Eyed Jacks (2/25)
SKisM with Trampa and TrollPhace at Republic New Orleans (2/26)
LEON with Jacob Banks at Gasa Gasa (2/26)
Dumpstaphunk at Howlin’ Wolf (2/26)
The Soul Rebels at Le Bon Temps Roule (2/26)
Corey Henry’s Treme Funktet at Blue Nile (2/26)
Galactic at Tipitina’s Uptown (2/27)
Mystikal, Juvenile and Kidd Love at Republic New Orleans (2/27)
Big Sam’s Funky Nation at Howlin’ Wolf (2/27)
The New Orleans Suspects at The Maple Leaf Bar (2/27)
Tank and the Bangas at Mag’s 940 (2/27)
The Gumbolians featuring Cyril Neville, Johnny Sansone, John Fohl and special guest Big Chief Juan Pardo at Chickie Wah Wah (2/27)
The Mardi Gras Indian Orchestra plus Jimbo Mathus’s Overstuffed Po Boys featuring members of the Squirrel Nut Zippers at Hi Ho Lounge (2/28)
NOLAbeings Multimedia artist Claire Bangser created NOLAbeings as a portrait-based story project that marries... 
Voodoo in New Orleans: Reviving history: New Orleans fortune telling This article takes a deep dive into the history of Voodoo in New Orleans, its hybridization with Catholicism, and its present-day place in the city's culture. The author visits fortune-tellers in the French Quarter, using their guidance as a tool for introspection rather than a deterministic predictor of the future. Through her experiences in New Orleans, the author feels a mystical connection to both the past and the future. 