A Musical Silver Lining for Austinites and Evacuated Musicians
It turns out that the destruction and devastation wrought by Katrina may be a boon for the Austin music scene. Through a great article by Michael Corcoran in today’s Statesman, we have come to learn that a slew of New Orleans’ musicians have relocated to Austin, some permanently. And several of the bands and artists have already lined-up gigs. The Iguanas will be playing the Continental Club on Monday nights; Big Sam from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band has joined the Topaz lineup; Cyril Neville and a host of other New Orleans’ players will be playing every Tuesday at the Cedar Street Courtyard; and Basin Street Records has temporarily re-located to Austin. So, while the hurricane has brought us only sad news for the most part, this story should fill the hearts of all Austin music lovers. We will now have a stronger scene, spiced up considerably with the music of our neighbors, and these displaced musicians will have somewhere to share their art and fantastic energy. And, as we all know, New Orleans has always had a better music scene than us, anyways, at least as far as blues, roots, jazz, funk and hip-hop go. So get out and support these cats and welcome them with open arms.
Our favorite part of the article (besides the general excitement it inspired): The one thing Cyril made sure to grab before leaving town - his Richard Pryor box set. Excellent!
