We’ve got your weekend: Music, comedy, exhibitions, and some serious dancing

Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence III) (photo provided by: New Orleans Museum of Art)

Wednesday, March 14/Dixon Hall (Tulane University): The New Orleans Center for the Gulf South a symposium that re-examines the colonial narrative of Louisiana history and cultural heritage from Native and non-Native perspectives. It is called “Indigenous Spaces, French Expectations: Exploring Exchanges Between Native and non-Native Peoples in Louisiana.” While much attention has been paid to the 300-year anniversary of the founding of New Orleans, the objective of this meeting is to expand that focus and consider the lives of Indigenous communities before the arrival of Europeans and Africans, their subsequent interaction and, finally, to shift the focus to the present day and the First Nations who continue to inhabit this space we call Louisiana. It all begins at 8:30 AM (with coffee and registration), continues at 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM with the symposium, and it will end at 6:00 PM with a reception. This event is free and open to the public, and if you would like to find out full details, you can visit the event page here. 

Wednesday, March 14/Tulane University Recital Hall: Versipel New Music continues its fourth season with an evening of contemporary chamber music augmented with electronics from the United States and beyond. Collectively, the pieces chosen for this program approach the use of electronics in far-ranging ways with far-reaching results – from works that immerse us in delicate ambient otherworlds, works that act as a salve, as an escape, or play upon our memories to music that throws open the gates modern peripetic life with all its chaos and violence and forces us to think and question the world we live in. How can you say no to what sounds like a mind-blowing (or at least mind-exanding concert). It all begins at 7:30 PM, the tickets are no cost (although, they appreciate donations), and you can find out about the performers and the pieces here. 

Friday, March 16/Saturn Bar (3067 St. Claude Avenue): Sometimes the simplest explanations can intrigue us the most. Take for example the description for the 3rd Friday Fundrager: Jam Edition. On the event page it says, “Come get dancy with us in your best space/apricot/paper/traffic/jymjam style!” We feel this requires no more explanation, except that it begins at 11:00 PM, there is a $5 cover charge, and you can find out more here.  

Friday, March 16/New Orleans Museum of Art (1 Collins Diboll Circle): We in New Orleans know that spring has sprung, so now comes the flowers. If you are ready to dot your eyes with bursts of color, then The exhibition Carlos Rolón: Outside/In is for you. This exhibit features the work of Puerto Rican artist Carlos Rolón, and it will be on view at NOMA from March 16 through August 26 of 2018. Carlos Rolón is internationally recognized for paintings, sculptures and installations that break down walls. Rolón’s project for NOMA explores the rich connections between New Orleans, Latin America and the Caribbean, from their shared tropical landscape to the intricate wrought iron fences—rejas in Spanish—that define the architecture of both places. For more information about the exhibit, check out NOMA’s website. 

Friday, March 16/Marigny Opera House (725 St Ferdinand Street): On Friday (as well as Wednesday, March 21), you will have the opportunity to see five musicians all in the same space. The Louis Moreau Institute is holding a concert for their five award-winning musicians. With Christina Bouey on violin, Rhiannon Banerdt also on violin, Colin Brookes on Viola, Grace Ho on Cello, and Adrian Blanco on piano, you are getting a flavorful concert of sounds. The concert begins at 7:30 PM, tickets are $20 (general) and $10 (student/senior), and you can purchase them here. 

Friday, March 16 and Saturday March 17/The Music Box Village (4557 N Rampart Street): The avant-garde maestros of Animal Collective take over The Music Box Village this weekend for two nights of original music, incorporating the unique instruments of The Village into their beautifully warped sonic landscapes.  Last year the band performed a one-off “audiovisual meditation” in Miami entitled Coral Orgy that aimed to express the “secrets behind the sexual reproduction of corals, and an invocation towards the human quest of unlocking them.”  If that show is any indication, expect a wonderfully weird experience this weekend. Doors open at 6:30; tickets cost $35 (advance) and $40 at the door.  Check out The Music Box Village’s website for full details and tickets. 

Saturday, March 17-April 7/Second Story Gallery (2372 St. Claude Avenue): The Second Story Gallery is continuing its monthly art exhibition, and they are now featuring “Abstractions in Steel,” the welded sculptures of Gina Laguna. They are also featuring “Yo Tengo Nombre,” which is an exhibit by Cynthia Ramirez. The opening occurred on March 10, which means you can head to the Second Story Gallery during opening hours to see the works on display. To find out more about the exhibits, you can check out their website here. 

Sunday, March 18/Hi-Ho Lounge (2239 St. Claude Avenue): Black Girl Giggles is pleased to welcome home De De Theriot on Super Sunday at the Hi-Ho Lounge. You can head to the Hi-Ho to relax and laugh after the secondline with performances by radio host and actress Chu Bu, YouTuber Nkechi Chibueze, BGG president Camille Roane and New Orleans native and creator of the Mommylogues Ashleigh Branch. The giggles begin at 6:00 PM, the admission is free, and you can find out full details here.