Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas to Sing National Anthem at NBA Playoff Game Between L.A. Lakers @ New Orleans Hornets Thursday April 28

Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas will sing the National Anthem at the NBA First Round Playoff Game 6, pitting the L.A. Lakers against New Orleans Hornets, on Thursday April 28. The game is scheduled to air on the TNT network at 8pm EST. The Lakers lead the series 3 - 2. The game comes on the eve of this year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 4/29 - 5/8/11. Both Allen and Irma will be playing multiple shows in and around Jazz Fest.

On 5/5, Allen will play 2 solo shows at Snug Harbor where he will debut some new jazz pieces. On 5/7, he'll perform on the Acura Stage at Jazz Fest directly preceding Jimmy Buffett's closing set. Irma will be the featured performer at the Touro Synagogue Jazz Fest Shabbat on 4/29. On 4/30, she'll play the Acura Stage at the Fest directly preceding Bon Jovi's closing set. On 5/5, Irma will also perform as part of Down on the Bayou III, the New Orleans Musicians Clinic Benefit, at The Howlin' Wolf. The next day on 5/6 she'll play the Fest's Gospel Tent in the 100th Birthday Celebration for Mahalia Jackson w/ guest John Boutté.

Catch both Allen and Irma individually live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

The Stone Foxes' "I'm A King Bee" Featured in Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Ad Campaign and Released on iTunes - Ad Spot Named Adweek's Ad of the Day 4/27/11

The Stone Foxes' rendition of the blues classic "I'm A King Bee" is featured in Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey ad campaign and the song is now available on iTunes. The "King Bee" Spot was named Adweek's Ad of the Day 4/27/11. Adweek notes: "The [ad's] effect is completed with some nice, dirty guitar work from the Stone Foxes... a blend of country, rock, and blues. That choice of music could not have been better, and the end result transplants the viewer to stickier, Southern parts."

Tennessee Honey is the Southern distiller's first new-product launch in 14 years. Preceding the release of the full "King Bee" ad, four teasers were released via Facebook, all featuring parts of The Stone Foxes' "I'm A King Bee" - check them out here if you're logged into Facebook Chapter 1: The Hive Chapter 2: The Keeper Chapter 3: The Night Chapter 4: The Beginning

Written and first recorded by Slim Harpo, "I'm A King Bee" was released in 1957 as the B-side to his debut single, "I Got Love if You Want It," but went on to become better known than the A-side. The song has since been covered by numerous artists, including the Rolling Stones (on their 1964 debut album); the Grateful Dead; The Doors; Muddy Waters (a Rosebud artist until his passing); and in 1976 John Belushi famously played the song on an episode of Saturday Night Live while dressed in a bee costume. In 2008, Slim Harpo's "I'm a King Bee" was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.

The Stone Foxes recently played the Mesa Amphitheatre in Arizona with The Black Keys and Cage The Elephant and they'll be performing at many Summer festivals, including Wakarusa in Ozark, AR and Outside Lands in San Francisco, CA. Check them out live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

Marcia Ball's Roadside Attractions Hits #1 on Top 50 Blues Radio Airplay Chart

Marcia Ball's latest CD, Roadside Attractions, has hit #1 on the Top 50 Blues Radio Airplay Chart (For the Week of April 22, 2011). The album has received great reviews recently from About.com ("Roadside Attractions is another terrific recording in a long series of thoroughly enjoyable albums from this New Orleans mainstay."); PopMatters ("Ball is the real deal: equal parts New Orleans, boogie woogie, swamp music, and Texas soul all wrapped up into one package... The tracks flow into each other to create a mighty musical force."); and AllMusic ("...it cooks and rattles and rocks with Ball's typical joyous energy and powerful piano... it's easily Ball's best and most personal statement to date. But don't worry - she still knows that all paths lead to the dancefloor, and once there... you better be ready to dance. This wonderful album will insist on it.").

An adopted daughter of New Orleans, Marcia will be playing her 32nd show at this year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 7, as well as many other shows around New Orleans during Jazz Fest. These include playing the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Gala on the eve of the Fest 4/28; a show at The Ogden Museum of Southern Art on 4/30; playing as part of WWOZ's Piano Night A Benefit at House of Blues on 5/2; on 5/4 she'll play both the Wednesday At The Square series at Lafayette Square Park, followed by a solo set at Snug Harbor's Piano Night; on 5/5 she'll again be playing twice - at both an In-Store Performance at Louisiana Music Factory, followed by playing as part of Down on the Bayou III, the New Orleans Musicians Clinic Benefit at The Howlin' Wolf; and on 5/6 she'll perform at The Maple Leaf.

Catch Marcia live on stage as she tours extensively across the country in the coming months, please see Tour Dates >>

2011 GRAMMY Winner Mavis Staples was featured in the Sunday Profile segment on the CBS Sunday Morning TV show on Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011. (read the profile transcript here)

Mavis proclaimed in the piece, "I was put here to sing. I was put here to spread the word. To bring ya'll a message. To inspire you. To motivate you. You know, that's what Mavis is about. That's my life... Ain't no stopping me, I will sing. You know, you'd have to come and scoop me off the stage. I'm gonna sing till I die. I will sing until I die. No need stopping."

Ben Waters, who plays piano with Charlie Watts in The A B C and D of Boogie Woogie, has released a tribute album to Ian Stewart titled Boogie 4 Stu, which features Charlie on drums. Charlie's band mates from his other project also contribute to the album, with one track featuring Ben and Charlie, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman for a cover of Bob Dylan's "Watchin' The River Flow." Other tracks on the CD feature Charlie, Keith, Ronnie and Bill.

Ian Stewart was an original member of the Rolling Stones and despite being removed from the official lineup in 1963 by then manager Andrew Loog Oldham, he performed on every Stones studio album from 1964 to 1985 (with the exception of Beggars Banquet) and also road managed the band in the early years. Charlie Watts said, "It's a privilege to be involved. Ian was a founder of the Stones and was always a friend and champion of us. When Stu said something was so, it was. He still has an influence on us all." Commemorating the 25th anniversary of Stewart's death, proceeds from the album (released April 11 in the UK and April 19 in North America) go to the British Heart Foundation. Also contributing to the album are Dave Green of The A B C and D of Boogie Woogie, Jools Holland, PJ Harvey and Ian Stewart himself, from a performance at the Montreaux Jazz Festival with his group Rocket 88 (in which Charlie was also a member).

March 2011 saw two shows in London to celebrate the album. The The A B C and D of Boogie Woogie were joined onstage at these performances by Wyman, Wood and former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, among others. Stay tuned for news of upcoming shows for The A B C and D of Boogie Woogie featuring Axel Zwingenberger, Ben Waters, Charlie Watts and Dave Green, please see Tour Dates >>

Irma Thomas, Dr. John and horn arrangements by Allen Toussaint are all featured on a forthcoming album by Hugh Laurie (likely known to Americans primarily for his starring role in FOX TV's House series. He's also been a successful comedic actor in his native UK since the late 1980's). The album, Let Them Talk, will be released in the UK May 9, 2011 with a US release to follow in the Fall. Recorded in Los Angeles and New Orleans, the album is a celebration of New Orleans music.

The Soul Queen of New Orleans, Irma Thomas, is featured on two tracks collaborating with Hugh (who plays piano, guitar and sings on the album). On one, "Baby, Please Make A Change" Irma is also accompanied by Tom Jones. "You don't get much better than her," Hugh said of Irma in a recent interview in Guitar Aficionado.

Dr. John is featured on "After You've Gone." Hugh explained in the same interview, "I absolutely worship Dr. John. He's an absolute god on the piano." The legendary Allen Toussaint contributes horn arrangements throughout the album. The project was produced by Joe Henry (Solomon Burke, Elvis Costello, Bettye LaVette, Allen Toussaint, Loudon Wainwright III, among others).

Hugh offers an amusingly humble explanation of the record: "I was not born in Alabama in the 1890s. You may as well know this now. I've never eaten grits, cropped a share, or ridden a boxcar. No gypsy woman said anything to my mother when I was born and there's no hellhound on my trail, as far as I can judge. Let this record show that I am a white, middle-class Englishman, openly trespassing on the music and myth of the American south.

If that weren't bad enough, I'm also an actor... Worst of all, I've broken a cardinal rule of art, music, and career paths: actors are supposed to act, and musicians are supposed to music. That's how it works. You don't buy fish from a dentist, or ask a plumber for financial advice, so why listen to an actor's music? The answer is - there is no answer. If you care about provenance and genealogy, then you should try elsewhere, because I have nothing in your size."

Catch Irma, Allen and Dr. John (who recently joined Rosebud for International booking representation outside the U.S. and Canada) performing individually live on stage, including shows by all three at and around the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. For more info, please see Tour Dates >>

Allen Toussaint Featured In All Star Benefit: Harmony for Health, Unity for the Gulf Concert April 20 at New Orleans' House of Blues

Allen Toussaint will be featured in an all-star benefit organized by Guardians of the Gulf on April 20 at the New Orleans House of Blues: Harmony for Health, Unity for the Gulf Concert, marking the first Anniversary / Memorial of the BP Blowout with the first ever Black Carpet benefit.

The evening features artists from music and film as well as other concerned citizens including Kevin Costner and Modern West, Voices of the Wetlands featuring Tab Benoit, The All Star Band (featuring Kenny Aronoff, Oliver Leiber, Aaron Hersey, Scott Page, & Martin Guigui), Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, Johnny Vidacovich, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Sansone and Waylon Thibodeaux, James Carville, Jose Hendrix, Frances Beinecke President of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Robin Mann President of the Sierra Club, Dr. Ira Leifer Chief Mission Coordinating Scientist for NASA Gulf Mission, Environmental Attorney Stuart Smith, Bonny Schumacher (NASA/JPL) Founder Wings of Care, Daryl Hannah, Dr. Riki Ott, Senator Robert Graham, Co-chair of the President's National Oil Spill Commission, and other special guests.

A special sneak trailer of the upcoming film The Big Fix directed by Josh Tickell from GreenPlanet Productions will be screened and a major international effort to address industry spin in media unveiled. The Sierra Club, the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and WWOZ New Orleans are among those sponsoring the event.

All the proceeds will go to The Oil Spill Memorial Fund administered by the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation and the Gulf Coast Fund. The fund will benefit Gulf Coast grass-roots NGO's to pay for desperately needed medical care for victims of the oil spill through medical clinics for humans including vision and dental, and veterinary services for animals with 2 full-service clinics scheduled to be operational in May; one in Louisiana and one in Alabama. Due in part to a lack of media attention, but owing more to an aggressive campaign by BP to ensure that medical providers and government officials do not acknowledge the problem, the vast majority of the American public is unaware the true extent of health impacts on people and animals along the effected regions of the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida.

Catch Allen performing live on stage, including at and around the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, please see Tour Dates >>  

Pieta Brown is featured on the forthcoming collection, A Nod To Bob 2 (out May 17 on Red House Records), recorded in honor of Bob Dylan's 70th birthday this year. Pieta's rendition of "Dirt Road Blues" accompanies covers of Dylan tunes from artists including Hot Tuna, John Gorka, Lucy Kaplansky, The Pines, Guy Davis and Eliza Gilkyson. The Red House label's original Nod to Bob project in 2001 went on to become the label's biggest selling album in their history.

Pieta is also a featured guest on Amos Lee's recently released CD, Mission Bell (Blue Note). The album was produced by Joey Burns (of Calexico), with other guests including Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson, Sam Beam (Iron & Wine), Priscilla Ahn and James Gadson with musical backing from Calexico.

In addition, Pieta's father, singer-songwriter Greg Brown, covers Pieta's "Remember The Sun" (which Pieta wrote as a tribute to The Staples Singers, who were Rosebud artists as well) on his new album, Freak Flag (out May 10 on Yep Roc Records), his 24th studio album. Greg, a former musical director for A Prairie Home Companion radio show, has had his own songs performed by Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson, Carlos Santana, Ani DiFranco, Shawn Colvin, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Joan Baez among others.

Check out Pieta performing live on stage, including a series of dates with fellow Rosebud artist Carrie Rodriguez in May, please see Tour Dates >>

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band's classic 1969 album Trout Mask Replica was selected for preservation by The Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry on April 6, 2011. The Registry ensures that cultural, artistic and historical Recordings will always be available to the American public. The late Captain Beefheart, who passed away in December 2010, was an early agency client of The Rosebud Agency, who represented him through his relationships with four different managers until he retired from touring in 1981. His last recording was a short "Happy Earthday" to the tune of "Happy Birthday" recorded over the phone with Rosebud head, Mike Kappus, for inclusion on a benefit compilation for Earthjustice - a project compiled by Kappus that also featured tracks from Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, Ry Cooder, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Michael Franti and Tom Waits among others.

Trout Mask Replica, the Captain's third album, was produced by Beefheart's friend and former schoolmate Frank Zappa (who reportedly gave Don Van Vliet his Captain Beefheart handle). It was originally released on Zappa's Straight Records label (distributed in the U.S. by Warner Bros.). The Library of Congress notes: "This unclassifiable melding of country, blues, folk and free jazz filtered through Captain Beefheart's feverishly inventive imagination remains without precedent in its striking sonic and lyrical originality. Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - Bill Harkleroad, Jeff Cotton, Victor Hayden, Mark Boston and John French - had spent months sequestered in a house in [the] Los Angeles foothills, rehearsing and re-rehearsing the compositions to meet Van Vliet's exacting standards before they entered the studio, to be recorded by Frank Zappa. Upon its release, the album, by no means universally embraced, nonetheless garnered raves from many influential music critics. Scores of pop, new wave, punk and post-punk artists claim Beefheart as an influence, including The Gang of Four, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Minutemen, Pere Ubu, The Fall, Tom Waits, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and The White Stripes."

Legendary BBC disc jockey John Peel said of the album: "If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then Trout Mask Replica is probably that work."

Trout Mask Replica is joined in the National Recording Registry this year by "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" by Edward Meeker; "Tipitina" by Professor Longhair; Steely Dan's Aja; "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" by Blind Willie Johnson; "Stand by Your Man" by Tammy Wynette; Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" and De La Soul's landmark hiphop album 3 Feet High and Rising, among others. These recordings will be housed in the Library of Congress' state-of-the-art facility, the Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper, VA. Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through it's collections, programs and exhibitions. Congratulations to you, Don.

Marcia Ball's new CD release, Roadside Attractions, was #1 most added record at Americana radio and is the top debut at #25 on the AMA Americana Airplay Chart. Two days after Roadside Attractions was released, NPR picked "Everybody's Looking for the Same Thing" from the CD as their Song of the Day. Check out the feature here.

In other radio news, on April 7, prior to her performance at B.B. King Blues Club in New York City, Marcia was featured in a live in-studio interview and performance at New York's Jazz station, 88.3 FM WBGO at 3 PM EST. Listen online here.

Critics have been very enthusiastic about Marcia's new CD in early reviews. PopMatters says, "Ball is the real deal: equal parts New Orleans, boogie woogie, swamp music, and Texas soul all wrapped up into one package. Her new album shows that she's also an incredible songwriter... The tracks flow into each other to create a mighty musical force. " AllMusic also praises the album: "...it cooks and rattles and rocks with Ball's typical joyous energy and powerful piano... The whole album is full of motion and life, and it's easily Ball's best and most personal statement to date. But don't worry - she still knows that all paths lead to the dancefloor, and once there... you better be ready to dance. This wonderful album will insist on it."

Check out Marcia live on stage, including her 32nd show at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 7, as well as many other shows around New Orleans during Jazz Fest. Please see Tour Dates >>