Ice Cream Man

Only in New Orleans is a phrase that every New Orleanian and anyone who has visited this wonderful, unique, and alluring city can appreciate. For where else can you experience such a romantic mix of unique, diverse culture, excellent cuisine, interesting architecture, easy-going attitudes, and of course, the music-New Orleans’ greatest contribution to the world, amazing, innovative, historic, omnipresent and multifaceted music? And with New Orleans’ textured history of European, African, Caribbean and Native American inhabitants who combined to create this unique cultural gumbo, what better place for a music festival that celebrates free expression?

The eighth annual Voodoo Music Experience took place in New Orleans’ gorgeous City Park over three gloriously beautiful sunny days, on six stages, with over 130 musical acts (that’s right, 130-more than 40 performances each day). While that’s obviously too much for one person to absorb, there is undoubtedly something here for everyone. But thanks to the gracious hospitality of the Louisiana Office of Tourism, Ice Cream Man was on hand to take in and share the festivities.

To accommodate so many musical performances, the beautiful and expansive City Park, with its sprawling grounds and ancient live oak trees (some of which are up to 600 years old), was divided into three different performance areas of two venues (stages or tents) each, Le Ritual, Le Flambeau, and Le Carnival. Le Ritual hosted such national and international acts as Rage Against the Machine, Smashing Pumpkins, Sinead O’Connor, Wilco, Ben Harper, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Fall Out Boy, Black Crowes, and Kings of Leon (among many others). Le Flambeau was reserved for more homegrown Louisiana and New Orleans music acts such as local favorites Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers, Irma Thomas, Henry Butler, Trombone Shorty, [CC Adcock, Deacon John, Hot 8 Brass Band, Marc Broussard, New Orleans Social Club, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, and the world famous Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Finally, Le Carnival, according to the official Voodoo Fest 2007 program “paid tribute to the underground arts and bohemian culture that celebrate the historic carnival days of New Orleans”.

While Le Ritual sustained the largest crowds and Le Flambeau celebrated New Orleans and Louisiana’s abundantly rich and soulful musical catalogue and traditions, Le Carnival was by far the most interesting. Le Carnival, particularly the Bingo! Parlour Tent, hosted performances by Marygoround (a raucous and soulful, Tom Waits and Gypsy-influenced one-woman accordion show), the Zydepunks (traditional Zydeco and folk music played to punk rock rhythms), Fleur de Tease (a modern day old fashioned burlesque group), Tchoupchupacabra (paying tribute to a famous local street, Tchoupitoulas Street, and the mythical Chupacabra), the New Orleans Bingo Show (equal parts R&B show and vaudevillian clown review), Lez Zeppelin (female Led Zeppelin cover band), and the Panorama Jazz Band (the best jazz band you’ve never heard of), as well as many, many others.

Two things set Voodoo Fest apart from other music festivals-the diversity of music acts and the quality and types of available food. Most music festivals have at least some semblance of a unifying theme when it comes to performers-jam bands, heavy metal, alternative/pop, hip hop, country, indie, or jazz. But within a single afternoon at Voodoo Fest one can experience a dizzying preponderance of music genres including, traditional New Orleans jazz, rock and roll, Caribbean, blues, country, funk, hip hop, jazz, fusion, punk, folk, soul, r&b, brass, marching band, Latin, classic rock, electronic, Cajun, heavy metal, Zydeco, swing, traditional African instruments (like Toubab Krewe’s kora and kamelengoni from Mali), and Hatian drumming.

Like any other occasion in New Orleans, Voodoo Fest would not have been an event without great food. Vendors from local eateries enticed hungry concertgoers with such delectable specialties and local favorites as: shrimp po-boys, crawfish etouffee, corn and crab bisque, red beans and rice, blackened chicken, crab po-poys, meat pies, crawfish pies, chicken andouille gumbo, jambalaya, boudin, and alligator sausage on a stick-not your typical music festival eats.

In addition to food, art, souvenir vendors and other promotional stations, Voodoo Fest also hosted a number of organizations that are working to raise awareness of the hurricane recovery work that remains to be done (notably to rebuild and restore homes and to protect the Louisiana coastlinethe states first defense against storm surges). After two years, New Orleans’ tourist industry is back on its feet after the absolutely devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, however there is still much to be done. Nearly half the local population is still displaced, empty and boarded-up homes and FEMA-trailers abound in most neighborhoods, and out of a 40 block area in the lower ninth ward (the neighborhood located directly adjacent to the Industrial Canal Levee which failed as a result of Katrina) only three livable residences remain. The rest of the neighborhood is now comprised of hundreds of empty lots occupied by nothing but driveways and brick stoops.

Nearly everyone you talk to-business people and ordinary citizens alike-thank tourists for visiting their fair city. Tourism contributes to the recovery effort by injecting money into the economy but also by imbuing visitors with first-hand knowledge and experience of how far New Orleans has come since the twin tragedies of Katrina and the government’s response to it, as well has how much remains to be done.

But things are definitely getting better in the Crescent City and Voodoo Fest provided a sample of some of the best music New Orleans has to offer. What could be better than three days outside in the sun enjoying delicious eats and a multitude of wonderful music?