Latest news with #TheJazzPlayhouse
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
David Shaw and Tarriona ‘Tank' Ball Bring the Heat to New Orleans' Musicians on Musicians Event
Even with Bourbon Street bustling outside, nothing matched the buzzy energy of The Jazz Playhouse at The Royal Sonesta Hotel New Orleans as musicians David Shaw of the Revivalists and Tarriona 'Tank' Ball from Tank and the Bangas sat down with Rolling Stone senior music editor Joseph Hudak for the latest installment of the 'Musicians on Musicians' series in partnership with Sonesta International Hotels. Sitting on stage, closely surrounded by Sonesta Travel Pass guests and a lucky handful of their biggest fans, Shaw and Tank bonded over their unique artistry, friendship, and connections to New Orleans. 'The real focus is how place and location influence your creativity,' said Hudak, referring to the city's culture and how deeply entwined it is with both Shaw and Tank's music. More from Rolling Stone Making Music and Memories in Myrtle Beach How TikTok Is Rewriting the Rules for Emerging Artists How to Buy 'Rolling Stone Presents: Amplified, the Immersive Rock Experience' Tickets Online Shaw described moving from Ohio to New Orleans in 2007 to work for a gas company during the rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. 'I was a construction worker and also making music,' he said. Coming from what he described as 'cowshit and cornstalks,' New Orleans 'felt so different and foreign in such an amazing way…Immediately I could tell the city had a special feeling to it.' Still, he is careful to pay homage to the local musicians whose hard work and legacy have carved out the Crescent City as a premiere destination for great live music: 'Not being from here, it's really about respect and respecting the lineage.' As a spoken-word artist, Tank—who won her first Grammy in 2025 for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album with Tank and the Bangas' The Heart, The Mind, The Soul— got her start at local open mics. 'What made my open mic night really special is it was a poetry open mic and so I always felt so comfortable to be myself because the poets were so encouraging,' she recalled. It was this support and community that provided her with the space to create her signature combination of R&B and poetry. 'New Orleans is about authenticity,' Shaw added. 'Just be you and the wind will carry you.' Both artists have been fans of each other for a long time and recently played together at this year's Jazz and Heritage Festival. 'I love a good live show and I love a good live singer,' Tank gushed to Shaw. 'You're like a rock star to me!' Mentioning her influences (which range from poets Maya Angelou and Nicky to musicians like Queen and Tina Turner), she was also quick to add, 'The Revivalists are dope, too.' Asked what people get wrong about New Orleans music, Tank and Shaw encouraged visitors and locals alike to explore the city's culture beyond the big events like Mardi Gras. 'There's an underbelly of a different type of artistry that locals make come alive,' explained Tank. 'People in New Orleans entertain every day and half the time the music is free…They pour their life into it because it is a part of us.' Following the conversation, guests refreshed their cocktails, which included spicy palomas and local rye-based favorite the Vieux Carré, snacked on beignets, then settled in for intimate sets by both artists. Shaw, playing the acoustic guitar, kicked things off with 'Come Back Home' off his solo album Take a Look Inside. He then introduced a new song 'Lost and Found,' saying, 'It's probably my favorite song I've written in awhile…I'm a pretty shy guy, but—dammit—I'm proud of this one!' After more songs and stories, he reluctantly finished with 'When You Love Somebody,' telling the audience, 'Someone's gonna have to cut me off because I'm having too much fun.' Next, Tank took the stage with the Bangas, first playing the contagiously joyful 'Spaceships' from 2019's Green Balloon. The band's energy never flagged as they moved onto songs including 'Boxes and Squares' and a cover of fellow New Orleanian Louis Armstrong's 'What a Wonderful World,' with a special spoken word addition by Tank. Calling to the happy audience, she sang, 'If you love New Orleans, say it's a wonderful world!' As the Sonesta International Hotels hosted 'Musicians on Musicians' events continue, Sonesta Travel Pass members will have the opportunity to attend and cheer on celebrated artists in multiple cities throughout this year. Stay tuned for more updates! { pmcCnx({ settings: { plugins: { pmcAtlasMG: { iabPlcmt: 1, }, pmcCnx: { singleAutoPlay: 'auto' } } }, playerId: "ac5f547a-22e1-4877-8050-448c6e0f365c", mediaId: "95d58362-53f9-4b97-b818-1f6d938d13e2", }).render("connatix_player_95d58362-53f9-4b97-b818-1f6d938d13e2_1"); }); Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
The Ultimate 3-Day New Orleans Itinerary for First-Time Visitors
New Orleans is a city bubbling with excitement and history at every turn. With some of the most delicious food and drinks in the country, amazing music and very entertaining nightlife, it's a city that deserves to be at the top of any United States itinerary! While 3 days may not sound like a lot, you can certainly get a good taste of the best of New Orleans with this itinerary. Many of the best things to do in New Orleans are within walking distance of each other. I highly recommend staying at a hotel near Bourbon Street and walking to as many of the destinations in this post as you can. We had stayed at the Royal Sonesta Inn while in New Orleans and were right on top of all the action. Pro tip: if you aren't planning on staying out all night partying and want a decent night of sleep – request to stay in a room that is NOT facing Bourbon Street. We had to sleep with earplugs in because our room was right on Bourbon Street and the partying doesn't stop until at least 6 am! For the places that are too far to walk, you'll have a few different options.. I, personally, used Uber if places were too far to walk to. Renting a car in New Orleans can get expensive due to parking. It's much more cost-effective to forgo the rental car and walk as much as possible. Another option is to take the public bus, you can checkout this site for a list of all the available lines. This includes 4 streetcar lines – which can be a fun and unique way to explore the city! We arrived in New Orleans on our first day in the afternoon. We got checked into our hotel and then took a walk down Bourbon Street and then to the French Quarter. There is a lot to see down here! We wandered and stopped at a few bars and restaurants to get a feel for the city. This would also be a great day to take a 'behind the scenes' tour of Mardi Gras World. Tours leave every half hour between 9 am - 4:30 pm and are only an hour long. Once you've had a chance to do a little walking, eating and drinking, head to a live jazz show! We actually ended up right back at our hotel for this, as the Royal Sonesta Inn has a great jazz bar inside it called 'The Jazz Playhouse.' However, if you aren't a fan of hanging out in a hotel – then, I recommend checking out this list for some more cool places to see live jazz in NOLA. The most important thing to do on your trip to New Orleans is to eat as much as your body can safely handle! The food in NOLA is simply amazing. From Po'boys to gumbo and jambalaya to beignets – my mouth is watering just thinking about it. One of the best ways to get a taste of all the best foods in New Orleans is to do a food tour. I personally took this food tour and loved it! If you really want to go all too – combine your food tour with a cocktail tour to also get a taste of some New Orleans' best alcoholic beverages! The food tour will only take a few hours maximum, so we used the remainder of the day to shop in the French Quarter and do a little exploring. There are tons of fun shops in this area. (Grab a drink for the walk too! You can take alcohol to go in New Orleans!) Another highlight of this trip was taking a walking haunted history tour (like this one). This is best done at night + you can bring alcoholic beverages along for your haunted walk through the city. (They even let you stop to refill your beverages halfway through, haha.) Day 3 – Tarot Card Reading + Garden District & Cemetery Tour We woke up this morning to get a tarot card reading at Rev. Zombies Voodoo Shop – it was a fun experience! Whether you believe in this stuff or not, I do recommend trying it out while in New Orleans. I would fall in the 'nonbeliever' category when it comes to ghosts and readings, but I have to say… our reading here was eerily accurate! One of the weirdly accurate things our reader told us was someone very close to us in our family was pregnant and hadn't announced it yet… low-and-behold the day after we returned home from New Orleans, my sister-in-law told us she just found out she was pregnant! (I told her we already knew – our tarot card reader had told us, haha.) Note: Marie Laveau's House Of Voodoo is the most popular place to get a reading, but it was completely booked for the entire time we were here, so be sure to call and book ahead of time. Next up, head to one of New Orleans' famous cemeteries. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the oldest cemetery in New Orleans and the final resting place of Marie Laveau 'The Voodoo Queen'. Another option is to combine Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 with a tour of the Garden District – an area that evolved from plantations to landscaped gardens to suburban streets. End the night with dinner at Brennan's (be sure to save room for their Banana Foster dessert), and then head to Lafitte's Black Smith bar for a night of drinks and fun – be sure to try a 'hurricane' here! *Another fun option would be to end with a dinner cruise your final night in NOLA!.
