Raegan Labat
SteveRiley_SFFWF_2019
Steve Riley is one of many local musicians who won’t let quarantine keep him from sharing music. On March 22, he and sons put on a “Riley Family Cajun Porch Concert” for his fans. Keep an eye out for similar upcoming opportunities to listen in and to support local musicians.
One remarkable consequence of this contact crisis has been observing—just in the last few weeks—the creative solutions emerging in the spirit of keeping our chins up. Though live in-person music performances are one of the many casualties of our upcoming spring, there’s still plenty to sing about. In the coming weeks, our social media and web interactions—already shifting due to this change in reality—will be enriched with live concerts from both national and local musicians.
At press time, some upcoming March “at home” concerts by local musicians included a porch session by Cajun musician Steve Riley, a Live Streaming benefit concert by Baton Rouge band Better Than Ezra, and the first of Rep Cap’s “Remote Talent” series, featuring Peter Simon of Minos the Saint. Rep Cap takes it a step further by not only giving musicians a platform through this new streaming series, but also paying them their regular fee.
As a community of music-lovers, don’t forget that with these cancellations comes a serious lack of income for our local musicians. Supporting them is as simple as listening on Spotify, buying albums and merch, or donating. Keep an eye out for streamed concerts, and tune in with the rest of us. At Country Roads, we’ll do our best to keep our online calendar (countryroadsmag.com/events-and-festivals) up to date with the latest as events are announced.
In the meantime, here are some of the Spotify playlists we’re listening to right now—ways to discover new music from artists who were ready to offer you their souls this spring, and just didn’t get the chance … yet.
Your Festivals-From-Home Spring Playlist
- 2020 Festival International de Louisiane: Featuring The Hip Abduction, Ayrad, Chloé Breault, Radio Radio, and more.
- Baton Rouge Blues Fest 2020: Featuring Christone “Kingfish Ingram, Sonny Landreth, Kenny Neal, Little Freddie King, and more.
- New Orleans Jazz Fest 2020: Featuring Irma Thomas, Sweet Crude, Tank and the Bangas, Trombone Shorty, and—of course—Fleetwood Mac.
- Ebb & Flow Music Festival-2020: Featuring Parish County Line, Rockin’ Dopsie, and Justin Garner.
