New Orleans Music With a Twist

Fifty years ago, about 30,000 hippies descended on Prairieville, Louisiana, for three days of peace, love, and music at the New Orleans Pop Festival. While not technically in New Orleans, the New Orleans Pop Festival drew quite a few national acts that had performed about two weeks earlier at Woodstock and helped inspire a generation of New Orleans musicians.

From his instantly recognizable voice to his virtuosic musical ability, Dr. John was one of the best musicians to ever come out of New Orleans.When Malcolm John Rebennack passed away at the age of 77 on June 6, 2019, fans of New Orleans music mourned the loss of a true original.His unique talent propelled Dr. John to the heights of the music industry, into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, and helped him land six Grammy awards during his six decade career.But, to many people back home in New Orleans, he was simply Mac.WGNO's very own LBJ was lucky enough to develop a friendship with Mac, who he interviewed over the course of more than 20 years.At one point, LBJ even dined on a meal of raccoon with Mac.Listen to LBJ recount that and many other stories, and hear from the legendary Dr. John himself in this special podcast.As Dr. John would say, “Yeah you right.”

For the 50th anniversary of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, we’re profiling five Giants of the Fest who have played Jazz Fest every single year. Our very own LBJ sat down with the amazingly gifted Germaine Bazzle, the legendary piano man Ronnie Kole, bass master George French, the unstoppable drummer Johnny Vidacovich, and multi-instrumentalist Renaissance man James Rivers. Tune in and let LBJ guide you through the years as he shines a spotlight on these Giants of the Fest and masters of New Orleans music.

We're talking to George Wein, Quint Davis, and Irma Thomas about the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which celebrates 50 years in 2019. From the earliest days of the fest, when George Wein ran into trouble getting the festival he wanted to create off the ground to the story of a young Quint Davis talking his way into his dream job, we cover a lot of the first half-century of Jazz Fest. WGNO News With a Twist will take you behind the scenes to look at the impact of this amazing and iconic festival and so much more. Join us to learn about 50 years of Jazz Fest!