Posts by Leslie Michele Derrough

To paraphrase the singer, if you don’t know what a Midge Ure is, you’ll find out soon enough. A virtual musical god in the UK, Midge Ure is the voice behind some of Ultravox’s biggest hits; he co-wrote the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” with Bob Geldof to raise money and awareness for the […]

If you still think the ukulele is not cool, then you haven’t heard it in the hands of Jake Shimabukuro. One minute it can sound like a lush lullaby, like the waves hitting the shores in his native Hawaii, while the next it can rock out with all the rascally tonality of an electric guitar. […]

We have a salutation down here in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, “Hail Rex.” It’s because Rex is THE MAN, he reigns over the festival season therefore his appearance is awaited with high anticipation. The same can be said about the band Cheap Trick, because when Cheap Trick comes to town, you know a good […]

Being in the right place at the right time definitely has its advantages; but to go the next step with your stroke of good luck takes talent, determination and passion for what it is that you are pursuing. Bass player Rick Wills had all those ingredients, and more, one of which is a delightful sense […]

On first glance, Emily Kinney’s songs are sweet and bubbly; but when you give them another go-round, especially those on her upcoming album, Oh Jonathan, out next month, the layers start peeling open like a slow-motion blooming rose and you begin to inhale what is really going on. Kinney’s voice may be all innocence and […]

Singer-songwriter Elijah Newman is in the process of preparing his fifth record for release and if the first single/video is any indication, it’s going to continue to jump down the rabbit hole of Newman’s emotions except this time with a heavier beat. With “Free Born,” he has upped the sonics and the fervor and stitched […]

Can you remember what you were doing twenty years ago? The band Gomez does and they set about making a celebration about it. Back then, they were a newly formed band, recording their first album, with no idea that it would be the starting point of a two-decade career. Bring It On, experimental with cool-sounding […]

When Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey passed away in January of 2016, it was uncertain whether the band had the heart to continue on without him. As Don Henley put it in a statement at the time, “Glenn was the one who started it all. He was the spark plug, the man with the plan.” Even […]

With the release in April of their new live DVD, Kings Among Scotland, and a big tour with Slayer happening as we speak, it looks like there are no signs that Anthrax is slowing down. In fact, while other bands are taking breaks or stopping altogether, the New York band formed in 1981 by guitarist […]

It is a song custom made for a sunny spring afternoon, with its lilting melody and sweetly harmonic vocal trails, reminiscing about people who have made you smile over the years. For Poco’s Rusty Young, “My Friend” is the glistening star on his first solo album and since it’s about all the musicians who have […]

“I really had a great time the last time I was in Baton Rouge but this time I’ve got my band with me so it makes a big difference.” For a singer-songwriter like David Bromberg, he can stand alone on a small stage with just an acoustic guitar or he can surround himself with musicians, […]

Judith Owen is a woman of many hashtags: singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, wife, daughter, sister, lover of dogs, resident of New Orleans, world traveler and Welsh. She has so many things in her palette that they all come tumbling out when she sits down to talk with you about her new album, a collection of […]

When you’re in a busy, non-stop band like Korn, it’s sometimes hard to find blocks of time to work on anything but your main band. For singer/songwriter Jonathan Davis, he’s been sitting on his solo album for close to ten years now, with songs just waiting to come out into the light. With some label-oriented […]

On Sunday, Jazz Fest 2018, Weekend 1, closed it’s curtains and said goodnight the only way they know how: by having the right artists get down, get funky, get bluesy and rock their way out. You just could not go wrong by spending the last hour and a half enjoying the sounds of British blues […]

“This is Jazz Fest – it doesn’t get much better than this!” So were the words of a music fan as she made her way towards the main Acura Stage, where artists such as Rod Stewart, Bonnie Raitt and an all-star tribute to the recently departed Fats Domino would perform during Day 2 of the […]

Listen up, Jazz Fest Day 2, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you – because Day 1 is going to be hard to beat. For an opening day, the weather was picture perfect with a cool breeze. You couldn’t have asked for a better environment to spend a day walking around, eating some […]

With the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival only days away (April 27th – May 6th), it’s a good time to start printing out the cubes and marking off who you want to see. With twelve stages going at all times from the opening of the gates at 11:00 to the shutdown at 7:00, […]

It starts with a few thumps, like a heart awakening to a new day. With a few strums of an acoustic guitar, life slowly kicks in and you begin again. It’s how Royston Langdon has chosen to take his first breath of a new album, with a tranquil, reflection pool number called “You Can’t Go […]

Black Stone Cherry is the kind of band that can play your backyard BBQ party and then headline a major music festival and put out the same blast of energy at both places. All four of the guys who make up this band – Chris Robertson on vocals and guitar, Ben Wells on guitar, Jon […]

Singer-songwriter Elizabeth Cook brought us into her living room last Friday night (April 6, 2018) at the Red Dragon Listening Room in Baton Rouge. Sitting in a chair, jacket thrown over the back, tall lamp standing next to her and a natural ability to make a room full of people her best friends in the […]