Keith Spera

What worked and what didn't at Re:SET New Orleans? The headliners (yes!), the heat (no!)

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Jun 13, 2023

Re:SET New Orleans’ steamy opening day in City Park pushed Joe Talbot, singer of raucous British rock band IDLES, to the limit.

Duran Duran delivered a shiny showcase of durable pop at New Orleans' Smoothie King Center

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Jun 9, 2023

In the early 1980s, Duran Duran and MTV fueled one another’s early success. Pinup worthy singer Simon Le Bon, bassist John Taylor, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist A…

Looking for live music in New Orleans this weekend? See Keith Spera's guide

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Jun 8, 2023

This weekend in New Orleans, you can experience a “traveling outdoor concert series,” an Americana singer-songwriter and an all-Black orchestra from Atlanta.

New Orleans rapper Juvenile added to 2023 Essence Festival roster after criticizing it

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Jun 7, 2023

New Orleans rapper Juvenile was not happy to not be included in the roster of the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture.

Trumpeter Wendell Brunious named the first musical director in Preservation Hall history

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Jun 7, 2023

Preservation Hall has named esteemed New Orleans jazz trumpeter Wendell Brunious as its first-ever musical director.

Re:SET mini-fest brings Boygenius, LCD Soundsystem, Steve Lacy to City Park this weekend

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Jun 6, 2023

Even if the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience doesn’t resurrect itself this fall — and there is absolutely no indication it will — the City Park Festival Grounds will nonetheless host a multi-day…

New Orleans saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr. recovering from heart attack in Hawaii

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Jun 5, 2023

On June 1, shortly after his arrival in Hawaii, New Orleans jazz saxophonist and educator Donald Harrison Jr. took to Facebook to praise the “glorious, relaxing experience” that was the Big Is…

Duran Duran, Mary Chapin Carpenter and more music in New Orleans for June 1-7, 2023

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Jun 1, 2023

Options for live music in New Orleans the first week of June include a band of '80s hitmakers, a Brother Martin High School band benefit and a country singer-songwriter.

Pierce the Veil's excellent New Orleans adventure

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Updated May 30, 2023

In front of 2,400 sweaty, jam-packed, crowd-surfing and slam-dancing fans at the Fillmore New Orleans recently, Pierce the Veil singer/guitarist Vic Fuentes and bassist Jaime Preciado engaged …

WWOZ wanted to move to St. Charles Ave. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation said no.

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 27, 2023

Staffers at WWOZ 90.7 FM thought they had finally found their forever home.

'Free Fridays' at Tipitina's returns with Water Seed, plus more music for May 25-31, 2023

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 25, 2023

While there are no arena-level concerts in New Orleans during the last week in May, the clubs are busy and a popular free music series returns.

Who holds the Smoothie King Center concert attendance record? As of Saturday, Zach Bryan

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Updated May 23, 2023

Four years ago, Navy aviation ordnance man Zach Bryan recorded himself on an iPhone outside his barracks singing and strumming “Heading South.” He'd written it out of frustration with an officer.

2023 Bayou Boogaloo update: rained-out Juvenile rescheduled for Sunday afternoon

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Updated May 21, 2023

Homegrown rap star Juvenile's scheduled Saturday set at the 2023 Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo was canceled because of rain.

Ed Muniz, who built Endymion into superkrewe, served as Kenner mayor, dies at 83

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Updated May 20, 2023

Gentilly product made millions in radio, served 27 years in politics

Born again: Louisiana’s Lauren Daigle reboots her life and career with self-titled album

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 18, 2023

Lauren Daigle feared New Orleans had turned against her.

Bayou Boogaloo, Zach Bryan, the Soul Rebels: music in New Orleans for May 18-24, 2023

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 18, 2023

It’s a busy late-spring weekend of live music in New Orleans with a three-day festival and lots of local favorites.

2023 Essence Festival of Culture reveals nightly roster, puts single-night tickets on sale

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 16, 2023

It's time to start planning your nightly itinerary for the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture.

WWL-TV hires New Orleans native Nicole Waivers as the station's news director

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 12, 2023

After stint in Dallas, she returned home in 2022 as executive producer of WWL's 10 p.m. show

WGNO-TV morning show co-host Tamica Lee says farewell to local news

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 11, 2023

Tamica Lee, the co-host of local ABC affiliate WGNO’s “Good Morning New Orleans,” is leaving the station after a decade in local news and a brief foray into reality TV.

2023 New Orleans Jazz Fest attendance dropped slightly from last year, organizers say

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 11, 2023

More than 460,000 people passed through the gates of the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the festival's producers announced Thursday.

The Cure opened its 2023 tour in New Orleans with an epic Goth-pop showcase of 29 songs

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
Updated May 11, 2023

Four songs into the Cure’s tour de force of a tour kickoff at a full Smoothie King Center, Robert Smith relished his secret.

Alter Bridge, Hunter Hayes, a Rush tribute: music in New Orleans for May 11-17, 2023

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 11, 2023

The 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is finished, but the music plays on. Here are highlights of the live music options for May 11-17:

Local Rush tribute band Driven to play benefit for neuroscience research

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 10, 2023

For local drummer Matt Beeson, Rush was more than just a band, and Neil Peart was more than just a drummer.

The Cure in New Orleans: tour rehearsals, lobbying the legislature, enjoying Jazz Fest

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 9, 2023

The Cure and frontman Robert Smith went to great lengths to prevent tickets for the band’s upcoming 2023 Shows of a Lost World North American tour from being scalped.

Mumford & Sons, Trombone Shorty, a Jon Batiste surprise cap off 2023 New Orleans Jazz Fest

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 7, 2023

The final moments of the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival found Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and Jon Batiste standing together, arms raised in triumph, on the main Festival Stage.

Photos: A day of sunshine closes out the last day of Jazz Fest

Brett Duke, Scott Threlkeld
May 7, 2023

A day of sun and fun closes out the last day of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on Sunday, May 7, 2023.

When an electrical fire cut Rock 'n' Bowl's power during Jazz Fest, Cowboy Mouth unplugged

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 7, 2023

On Rock ‘n’ Bowl’s biggest night of the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival season, just as Cowboy Mouth was set to rock a big crowd, the plug got pulled on the show. Literally.

Dead and Company was 'Truckin', H.E.R. rocked on stormy Saturday at New Orleans Jazz Fest

BY KEITH SPERA | Staff writer
May 6, 2023

With 30 minutes to go in singer and guitarist H.E.R.’s Congo Square Stage closing set at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Saturday, she repeated the phrase “make it rain, make i…