GONE FESTING. . . .

Ilê Aiyê - photo by Dan Phillips

Yes, it's that time of year again. Last wekend, I cruised the French Quarter Festival, and it was all good. Last night, my wife and I were at the opening of the Festival International de Louisiane here in Lafayette, where we heard some great music, including the above pictured Ilê Aiyê from Bahia, Brazil, an absolutely awesome percussion/vocal/dance ensemble I've long admired but hadn't seen live. To have them about ten minutes from my front door was particularly sweet (long term goal: to catch them on their home turf). We'll do one more night of festival here before heading to Jazzfest for two weekends.

Needless to say, this means HOTG bloggus interruptus for a while longer. I'll be back with more on Eddie Bo's adventures in recording. . .and more. . . as soon as I can.

I hope you'll be festing somewhere this season, too, despite the economic hardships. To my mind, it's the quickest way out of a depression. As the Police said, "when the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around." If you can't come here this year, tune in to KRVS and WWOZ for live broadcasts from Festival International and Jazzfest, respectively, to be here in spirit. Enjoy.