The Bayou Battle
The week ahead, starting with the Bayou Classic's Battle of the Bands.
We've slept off Thanksgiving dinner, thanks in part to the New York Jets' less-than-stellar performance Sunday night. Now holiday stuff starts happening. My Spilt Milk has created its Soundtrack for the Season - hours of holiday music with varying degrees of seriousness.
Friday: John "Papa" Gros and the Tin Men, Jimmy Robinson, 9 p.m., Carrollton Station: In recent years, John Gros has taken the Friday after Thanksgiving off from Papa Grows Funk to sit at his piano and share a loose, songwriter's night with some of the city's other prominent writers. In the past, he's performed as a duo with Alex McMurray; tonight for the first time he joins with The Tin Men. Also on Friday: James Hall, 10 p.m., Circle Bar; Pine Leaf Boys, 10 p.m., d.b.a.; Duane Trucks' Flannel Church, 10 p.m., Maple Leaf Bar; Donald Harrison and Dr. Lonnie Smith, 8 & 10 p.m., Snug Harbor (tickets)
Saturday: Wiz Khalifa, Taylor Gang, 7:30 p.m., UNO Lakefront Arena: Rapper Wiz Khalifa has a new album due out December 4, o.n.i.f.c. The first single, "Remember You," is out now. (tickets) Also on Saturday: Lyrikill and Friends, 10 p.m., Howlin' Wolf's Den; Valparaiso Men's Chorus, 10 p.m., Saturn Bar; Donald Harrison and Dr. Lonnie Smith, 8 & 10 p.m., Snug Harbor (tickets)
Sunday: Japandroids, Swearin', KG Accidental, 10 p.m., One Eyed Jacks: The exuberant Vancouver-based guitar and drums duo are exhilarating fun on their recent Celebration Rock album. (tickets)
Monday: Old Crow Medicine Show, Chuck Mead and His Grass Knoll Boys, 8 p.m., House of Blues: Old Crow have become flag bearers for a good-natured, enthusiastic bluegrass-based Americana that doesn't let energy substitute for skill. (tickets)
Tuesday: The Wood Brothers, Carsie Blanton, 8 p.m., House of Blues: Chris and Oliver Wood pursued separate musical paths before realizing years later how they could fit together musically. (tickets)
Wednesday: Ingrid Lucia and Friends, 7 p.m., Preservation Hall: Singer Ingrid Lucia has lots of friends, but a show with her "Friends" at The Voodoo Experience were a collection of female singers, many of which appeared on Ingrid Lucia Presents New Orleans' Female Vocalists. Also on Wednesday, Dylan LeBlanc, 10 p.m., Circle Bar; The Other Planets, Tim Robertson Power Trio, Alexandra Scott, The Grapefruits, 10 p.m., AllWays Lounge
Thursday: Delicate Steve, Rareluth, Aerial Attack, 10 p.m., Circle Bar: This guitar-led New Jersey-based primarily instrumental band touches on world music by way of Dirty Projectors. Also on Thursday: Luke Winslow-King, 6 p.m., Ogden Museum of Southern Art;
OTHER STUFF
The Bayou Classic takes place Saturday in the Superdome, and while the game between Grambling and Southern can be a hit-or-miss affair, the Friday night Battle of the Bands and Greek Show is reliably entertaining. A lot of great, creative stepping, and band performances that are musically satisfying with with a lot of showmanship. (tickets)
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