Our cultural highlights for 2024!
2024 was only our second full year, and thanks to the generosity of readers such as yourself, we managed to raise enough for a small operating budget. We happily commissioned several local writers, and we got to cover more of the city's culture. Here's a round-up of some of our favourite features, and a look back at a busy year here at Out All Day: New Orleans...
We started the year with a very fun interview. New Orleans comedian Saya Meads is a rising star of the circuit, and had just returned from a barnstorming trip to Los Angeles. Keep an eye on Saya - she's also becoming quite the social media viral hit with her hilarious rants to camera. January also saw us round up The Worst Portrayals of New Orleans in the media: step right up, The Big Easy, Mardi Gras Massacre and Delta Heat. Speaking of terrible portrayals, we went deep into one of the most infamous shows about the Crescent City with a Deep Dive Into the Pilot of K-Ville - we were so beguiled by this very strange episode that we also made a video about it.
Spring saw us look at the weird world of inauthentic New Orleans and Louisiana-related goods that are sold around the world in our piece, Louisiana Purchases (Cajun Squirrel chips, anyone?). With Jazz Fest on the horizon, we also looked at the people that make up that most colourful of species - the Jazz Dad. One of my personal favourite interviews and concerts this year was the 'Music For 18 Musicians' (by composer Steve Reich) performance put together by Neal Todten at The Happyland Theatre. We also loved the premier of the Dracula Ballet and we eventually caught up with choreographer Oliver Halkowich.
Summer was here, and the time was right for putting on two titans of the theatrical world: one of the more striking performances of A Streetcar Named Desire and an absolutely note-perfect version of Julius Caesar. We always love to hear about a new music festival, and The Black Americana Festival was no exception, founders Teena May and Dusky Waters giving us the lowdown on what we sincerely hope will be an annual event. The production of The Penny Dreadfuls was one of most highly-rated theatrical experiences this year.
Into Fall, and some great DIY productions came and went: we particularly loved Out of the Boil and Drowned Before Dawn: An Evil Dead Water Ballet. Meanwhile, more established theatre companies put out great stuff: Passover from The NOLA Project was the first under new Artistic Director Tenaj Wallace, who we also spoke to. Oral histories as varied as The Human Horse Races and Graphite Gallery started a series that we hope continue this year. We also started our regular feature, Welcome In, interviewing the people working in our hospitality industry. First up: Kathryn Searcy from Costera, Chris Borges at Commons Club, Peche's Nicole Cabrera Mills and Edgar Caro from Brasa Steakhouse.
We talked to a lot of people this year, from tattoo artists and authors to local music stars and orchestras. We also started our video channel, something we're really hoping to expand this year. The first addition since K-Ville was a look at Walt Disney's love affair with the French Quarter. We can only do this with your support, and we're sincerely grateful. Any sharing of our features, letting people know about us and engaging with our video content really, really helps, so many thanks for that.
Lastly, a huge thanks to our writers this year: Marielle Songy, Todd Perley, Eileen Daley, Dorian Hatchett, Amelia Parenteau, David S Lewis, Aura Bishop, Jamie Chiarello, Jeff DeRouen, Gia Martinez, and Momo Doll. Y'all did a great job, please write more great stuff for us this year! Here's to 2025 - we'll cover as much of it as we can. Much love. Paul Oswell, Editor.
