Events Calendar

Universally celebrated as the living embodiment of the rich musical heritage exclusive to New Orleans, Dr. John began his musical career in the 1950s playing guitar on records by Sonny and Cher, Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin and The Rolling Stones among others.  Adorned with voodoo charms and regalia, Dr. John established his unique blend of funk, rhythm & blues, psychedelic rock and Creole roots on the 1968 album Gris-gris.  His acclaimed albums have garnered six Grammy Awards and international recognition, including the prestigious Academie Charles Cros 57eme Palmares award in France.  After a half century of writing and performing, Dr. John’s 2010 release, Tribal¸ revisits the classic, swampy gris-gris style that initially put him on the map.

Affectionately known as the Godfather of Go Go, Chuck Brown’s notorious combination of Latin beats, African call and response chants, and American Jazz led to a unique sound coming out of Washington D.C in the 1970s; “I got sick and tired of watching people sitting around,” Brown says, “Disco was too fast—people didn’t want to get all sweaty, and they just sat down. So we cut the beat in half.” Brown called this new sound Go Go, “because it never stops.”  Brown’s albums have topped the charts, and his mid-80’s album Go Go Swing was released to international acclaim.

Led by Dholi Sunny Jain, Red Baraat is the first and only Dhol ‘n’ Brass band in North America, melding North Indian rhythm Bhangra with brass funk.  The NYC-based big band improvises a powerful live sound, comprised of dhol (a double-sided, barrel-shaped North Indian drum slung over one shoulder), drumset, percussion, sousaphone and five horns.  Mixing originals and Bollywood favorites, Red Baraat has performed internationally from the Montreal Jazz Festival to Lincoln Center and the group’s debut album Chaal Baby was realeased on Sinj Records in 2010.