You know a phenomenon has gone mainstream when it’s written up in Vanity Fair, the coffee-table bible of trends and tastes from high to low. And so it goes with “sissy rap,” which was the subject of an award-winning Gambit cover story by Alison Fensterstock in 2008 — and is now immortalized in VF under the headline “New Orleans Sissy Bounce: Rap Goes Drag.” The article, by Brett Berk, begins:

You do not need to spend much time in New Orleans to realize that it occupies a unique position within the pantheon of American cities. As different from similar-sized towns like Pittsburgh as a coyote is from a mound of cottage cheese, the Big Easy is wholly it’s own scrappy, disheveled self (and I mean that as a compliment).

Berk goes on to profile the biggest New Orleans sissy rappers, including Katey Red (who tells him “It’s not sissy bounce. It’s Bounce music. It’s just sissies doing it”), Sissy Nobby, Big Freedia and Vockah Redu.

Whatever you (or Katey) want to call it, this seems to be the season of the sissy. Vockah is also on the cover of this month’s Antigravity magazine, and a clutch of New Orleans rappers (sissy and otherwise) will be appearing at the New Orleans Bounce Showcase at South by Southwest Mar. 20. Then, on April 22, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art will present Where They At: New Orleans Bounce and Hip-Hop in Words and Pictures, an exhibit curated by Fensterstock and Aubrey Edwards, which will go on for most of the summer and have a satellite exhibition at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

In the meantime, don’t miss the Vanity Fair story, which reveals something truly interesting: Katey Red is starting her own marching band, which we hope is rehearsed and ready for next Mardi Gras.

… and it’s called “Say Uncle” — an image of the inimitable Uncle Lionel Batiste of the Tremé Brass Band, painted by Terrance Osborne. Osborne did the 2007 poster of Rebirth Brass Band’s Philip Frazier, and this one is done in the same vibrant style.

Here’s the link to Osborne’s gallery, and the link to pre-order a poster. Prices range from $69 (unsigned) to $329 (double-signed).

Thoughts, Gambiteers?

Shhh! It’s still a secret till midnight over there, right?

Here you go…and more to be announced.

WEEKEND ONE (April 23, 24, 25)

Lionel Richie, Allman Brothers Band, My Morning Jacket, Anita Baker, Dr. John, Darius Rucker, The Black Crowes, Steel Pulse, Johnny Lang, Band of Horses, The Levon Helm Band, Drake, Keely Smith, Baaba Maal, George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic, Imagination Movers, Ledisi, King Sunny Ade & His African Beats, Better Than Ezra, Blind Boys of Alabama, Elvin Bishop, funky Meters, Sax for Stax featuring Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, and Jeff Lorber, Marcia Ball, Shawn Colvin, Pastor Smokie Norful, Terence Blanchard, Cowboy Mouth, The Campbell Brothers, Chocolate Milk, Sam Bush, The Voice of the Wetlands Allstars, Joe Lovano Us Five, Donald Harrison, Lena Prima, Tab Benoit, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & the Golden Eagles, Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Bonerama, Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Deacon John, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters, Davell Crawford and One Foot in the Blues with special guests Dr. John and Jon Cleary, The Bounce Extravaganza feat. Big Freedia, Sissy Nobby, Katie Redd, Magnolia Shorty, and DJ Poppa, Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band 100 Year Anniversary Celebration, Jon Cleary: Piano, Bass & Drums, Irma Thomas’ Tribute to Mahalia Jackson, The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong feat. Wycliffe Gordon, James Andrews, and Victor Goines, Papa Grows Funk, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, Theresa Andersson, Jewel Brown with the Heritage Hall Jazz Band, Joe Krown Trio feat. Walter Washington & Russell Batiste, New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, The Radiators–Pre-War Blues, Wayne Toups & Zydecajun, Grayson Capps, Kenny Neal, Treme Brass Band, Dr. Michael White & the Original Liberty Jazz Band feat. Thais Clark, Jeremy Davenport, Maurice Brown Effect, James Andrews & the Crescent City Allstars, Storyville Stompers Brass Band, Glen David Andrews, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, Roddie Romero & the Hub City Allstars, Honey Island Swamp Band, OTRA, Leah Chase, Bill Summers & Jazalsa, Savoy Center of Eunice Saturday Cajun Jam, Mia X, Cheeky Blakk, and Ms. Tee, Wayne Toups & Zydecajun, Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band, Rotary Downs, The New Orleans Bingo! Show, Little Freddie King Blues Band, Andrew Duhon & the Lonesome Crows, Rumba Buena, Spencer Bohren, Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes, Louisiana LeRoux with Tab Benoit, Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble, Red Stick Ramblers, Guitar Slim, Jr., Kipori Woods, Kim Carson Band, Ivoire Spectacle feat. Seguenon Kone, The Revealers, Shades of Praise, Lionel Ferbos & the Palm Court Jazz Band, Sammy Rimington, The Electrifying Crownseekers, Tribute to Juanita Brooks feat. Betty Shirley, Germaine Bazzle, and Leah Chase, The James Rivers Movement, Leo Jackson & the Melody Clouds, Susan Cowsill, David Egan, Panorama Jazz Band, George French & the Storyville Jazz Band, New Orleans Night Crawlers, Midnite Disturbers, Ninth Ward Navajo Mardi Gras Indians, Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers’ Tribute to Rockin’ Dopsie, Sr., Frankie Ford, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Reggie Hall & the Twilighters, Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue, Mas Mamones, Lil’ Buck Sinegal Blues Band, Jesse McBride presents the Next Generation, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Septet, Michael Ward, Bleu Orleans, Mahogany Brass Band, Untouchables, Furious Five, and Big Steppers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Creole Wild West and Golden Star Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Mark Braud’s New Orleans Jazz Giants, Gospel Soul Children, Blessed, Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries, Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble, Clive Wilson’s New Orleans Serenaders feat. Butch Thompson, N.O.C.C.A. Jazz Ensemble, Judy Spellman, Leroy Jones, Olympia Aid, New Look, and The First Division Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Golden Comanche, Golden Blade, and Wild Mohicans Mardi Gras Indians, Free Agents Brass Band, The Wiseguys, Jambalaya Cajun Band, Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys, D.L. Menard & the Louisiana Aces, The Revivalists, Rockie Charles, Robert “1 String” Gibson, Beth Patterson, Patrice Fisher & the Honduran Connection, Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Tommy Sancton Quintet, UNO Jazz Allstars, Smitty Dee’s Brass Band, Comanche Hunters, Semolian Warriors, and Black Feathers Mardi Gras Indians, Willis Prudhomme & Zydeco Express, Goldman Thibodeaux & the Lawtell Playboys, Marc Stone Band, Betsy McGovern & the Poor Clares, Alexis Marceaux, Julio y Cesar, Sonny Bourg & the Bayou Blues Band, Chris Clifton, Miss Sophie Lee, June Gardner, The Guitar Woodshed feat. Steve Masakowski, Todd Duke, and Jake Eckert, Mount Hermon BC Mass Choir, Tonia Scott & Anointed Voices, Resurrection Baptist Church Mass Choir of Schertz, TX, Brass Bass Ensemble, Jai Reed, Loyola University Jazz Ensemble, Real Untouchables Brass Band, Divine Ladies, Dumaine Gang, and Ladies of Unity Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Young Pinstripe Brass Band, Johnette Downing, Kat Walker Jazz Combo, Guardians of the Flame, Single Ladies, Keep N it Real, and Nine Times Men Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Voices of Distinction, Nineveh BC Mass Choir, Kevin Thompson & the Sensational Six, Red Hot Brass Band, Lindsay Mendez, God’s House Westbank Cathedral Choir, The Gospel Stars, Da Souljas Brass Band, Single Men, Family Ties, and Big Nine Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Delgado Community College Jazz Ensemble, Natasha Richard of Canada, Culu Children’s Traditional African Dance Ensemble, Jacquelyn Mayfield, Golden Voices Community Choir, John Lee & the Heralds of Christ, Greater Antioch Full Gospel Mass Choir, Black Mohawks, Seminoles, and Red, White & Blue Mardi Gras Indians, Archdiocese of New Orleans Mass Gospel Choir, The Bester Singers and the Dynamic Smooth Family Gospel Singers, New Orleans Young Traditional Brass Band with the Heel to Toe Steppers, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church Mass Choir, Carrollton Hunters Mardi Gras Indians…

WEEKEND TWO (April 29, 30, May 1, 2)

Pearl Jam, Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison, Widespread Panic, The Neville Brothers, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Irma Thomas, Gipsy Kings, The Dead Weather, Elvis Costello & the Sugarcanes, Teena Marie, Allen Toussaint, Gov’t Mule, Average White Band, Jose Feliciano, Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers, Maze feat. Frankie Beverly, Kirk Franklin, Wayne Shorter Quartet, Gil Scott Heron, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Clarence Carter, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Tye Tribbett, Juvenile & DJ Mannie Fresh, Take Six, Sugarfoot’s Ohio Players, Galactic, Stanley Clarke Band feat. Hiromi, Old Crow Medicine Show, Richie Havens, Marcus Miller, Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, Pete Fountain, The Radiators, Blues Traveler, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Anders Osborne, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, Rebirth Brass Band, Sonny Landreth, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Martin Sexton, Bernard Allison, Ruthie Foster, Jimmy Johnson Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Cyril Neville & Tribe 13, Dee Dee Bridgewater – A Celebration of Lady Day, Ellis Marsalis, Buckwheat Zydeco, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Louis Prima, Jr., Henry Butler, The Roots of Music Marching Crusaders, Selvy Singers of Arkansas, Aaron Neville, Chris Thomas King, Dala, Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band, The Davell Crawford Singers, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Inspirational Souls of Chicago, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, John Mooney & Bluesiana, subdudes, Iguanas, DJ Captain Charles, The Dixie Cups, Sherman Washington & the Zion Harmonizers, The Jon Batiste Band, Nicholas Payton, The Four Freshman, Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys, Russell Batiste & Friends feat. Jason Neville, Pine Leaf Boys, Eric Lindell, C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Shamarr Allen & the Underdawgs, Banu Gibson with Swing Out & Tap!, Tribute to Juanita Brooks feat. Wanda Rouzan, Barbara Shorts, and Topsy Chapman, John Boutté, Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Luther Kent, Astral Project, Germaine Bazzle, Soul Rebels, New Birth Brass Band, Big Chief Bo Dollis & the Wild Magnolias, Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole, PJ Morton, New Orleans Spiritualettes, The Johnson Extension, Orange Kellin’s New Orleans Deluxe Orchestra, Bobby Lonero’s Tribute to Louis Prima, Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders, The Allen Toussaint Jazzity Project, Charmaine Neville, MyNamesIsJohnMichael, Kirk Joseph’s Backyard Groove, Paul Sanchez & the Rolling Road Show, Bobby Lounge, Big Al Carson, Lynn Drury, Vivaz!, Nova NOLA feat. Sasha Masakowski, Topsy Chapman & Solid Harmony, Coco Robicheaux & the Swamp Monsters, Fredy Omar con su Banda, Loose Marbles, Heavenly Melodies, Betty Winn & One A-Chord, Kent Jordan, Shannon Powell’s Organ Combo feat. David Torkanowsky and Charlie Gabriel, Forgotten Souls, Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie, TBC Brass Band, Westbank Steppers, Valley of Silent Men, and Pigeon Town Steppers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Apache Hunters, Wild Red Flame, and Mohawk Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Jockimo’s Groove feat. War Chief Juan and Billy Iuso, Elysian Fieldz, Feufollet, Creole Zydeco Farmers, The Hadley J. Castille Family & the Sharecroppers Band, GROUPA – Nordic Folk Fusion, Tin Men, R. Scully Rough 7, Creole String Beans, Ernie Vincent & the Top Notes, Margie Perez, Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone & the XL Band, Kristin Diable, Jimmy Robinson, Kenny Bill Stinson & the ARK-LA-Mystics, Mem Shannon & the Membership, Bamboula 2000, Kora Konnection feat. Morikeba Kouyate of Senegal and Thierno Dioubate of Guinea, Papa Blue Viking Jazz Band of Sweden, Onward Brass Band, Dukes of Dixieland, Tim Laughlin, Val & the Love Alive Fellowship Choir, Jo “Cool” Davis, Zulu Male Ensemble, Phillip Manuel, Roderick Paulin, SUBR Jazzy Jags, Pinstripe Brass Band, Original Prince of Wales and Original Lady Buckjumpers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, New Orleans Indian Rhythm Section, Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors, 101 Runners, Evan Christopher & Tom McDermott, New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra, Pfister Sisters, Walter Payton with Snapbeans and Filé Gumbo, Brother Tyrone, Driskill Mountain Boys, Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots, Thomas “Big Hat” Fields, Mark Adam Miller, Benny Grunch & the Bunch, J. Monque’D Blues Band, Mia Borders, Lars Edegran & the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, Classie Ballou & the Family Band, John Rankin, Jonny Frishberg & Bayou DeVille, DJ Soul Sister, Zion Trinity, AsheSon, Los Po-Boy-Citos, Kumbuka African Drum & Dance Collective, Donnie Bolden, Jr. & the Spirit of Elijah, Ebenezer Mass Choir, Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, Voices of Peter Claver, Sean Johnson & the Wild Lotus Band, Mario Abney Quintet, Lady Rollers, Original C.T.C. Steppers, and Nine Times Ladies Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Baby Boyz Brass Band, Geronimo Hunters, 7th Ward Creole Hunters, and Young Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians, Lafayette Rhythm Devils, Joe Hall & the Cane Cutters, Eddie “ChopChops” Paris, Hot Club of New Orleans, Connie Jones & the Crescent City Jazz Band, Young Tuxedo Brass Band, Lady Jetsetters Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Ladies Sing the Blues feat. Gina Brown, Angela H. Bell, and Tereasa B., Julliard Jazz Ensemble, Craig Adams & Higher Dimensions of Praise, McDonogh #35 High School Gospel Choir, O. Perry Walker Charter High School Gospel Choir, Warren Storm, Willie Tee & Cypress, McMain High School Gospel Choir, Blodie’s Jazz Jam, Xavier University Jazz Band, Tulane University Jazz Ensemble, Pinettes Brass Band, Scene Boosters, Ole & Nu Style Fellas, and Secondline Jammers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, New Wave Brass Band, Red Hawk, Black Seminoles, and Black Eagles Mardi Gras Indians, Dwight & Connie Fitch with the St. Raymond/St. Leo the Great Choir, N’Fungola Sibo West African Dance Company, Marisa y Mariachi Agave, Grupo Sensacion, Dee-1, Lucky 7, Franklin IV, Mardi Gras Indian Orchestra, Ray Abshire, Bonsoir, Catin, Dillard University Jazz Ensemble, Jamil Sharif & the Jazz Professors, Rocks of Harmony, Some Like it Hot, Kid Simmons’ Local International Allstars, The Wright Brothers, Tyronne Foster & the Arc Singers, St. Joseph the Worker Music Ministry, Heritage School of Music Band, New Generation, Undefeated Divas, and VIP Ladies Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Highsteppers Brass Band, Trouble Nation and Wild Apaches Mardi Gras Indians, David & Roselyn, Paulin Brothers Brass Band, Morning Star BC Mass Choir, Arthur Clayton & Purposely Anointed, Gloria Bell & the Revelation Gospel Singers, First Emmanuel Baptist Church Choir, White Cloud Hunters and Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indians, Tornado Brass Band, Lyle Henderson & Emmanuel, Pastor Terry Gullage & the Greater Mount Calvary Voices of Redemption Choir, Gospel Inspirations of Boutte, Ayla Miller, Original Four, Original Big 7, and Bon Temps Roulez Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Golden Sioux and Cherokee Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Nashville Children’s Choir, Claudia Baumgartner, Saltimbanqui Puppet Theater of Mexico, Stephen Foster’s Foster Family Program, Hazel & the Delta Ramblers, N’Kafu African Dance presented by Young Audiences, O. Perry Walker Kuumba Players, Jazz Fest Residency Showcase feat. Seva Venet and KIDSmART.

Thoughts, Gambiteers?

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival will announce its 2010 lineup next week. According to Internet concert sites, here are a few of the performers scheduled for the Fair Grounds: Richie Havens, Jose Feliciano, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Blues Traveler, Average White Band, Joe Lavano, Darius Rucker and Baba Maal.

Festival Productions has already announced the lineup for its Bayou Country Superfest scheduled for May 29-30, 2010 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. Performers include Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn and many others.

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Photographs courtesy of Greg Rhoades

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John Georges hasn’t officially come out and said that he’s running for mayor — he came just barely shy of saying so on the radio — but considering his actions of late, you could pretty much count on it. See that picture up there? That’s Georges with Jazzfest founder Quint Davis (far left in white jacket) on the back of a car at the head of the Young Olympia 125th Anniversary Second Line back on Sunday. See that bag Georges is holding in his lap? Well they were full of these:

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He was also handing out plastic cups and Mardi Gras beads with the same slogans on them. Oh, and GeorgesforMayor.com has been booked, meaning somebody (probably Georges) has bought the rights to the URL and is creating a site for it.

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We were there filming second line footage for our brass band documentary and noticed Georges handing out the trinkets. With all the people that were out on Sunday (not sure on the actual count but it had to be in the thousands) I can’t think of a better grassroots effort than giving out plastic cups at a second line — most of which were promptly filled with booze.

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Now far be it from me, a humble sports and entertainment writer, to do any political prognosticating. But when someone who has already run for governor of Louisiana is talking about his possible platform on the radio on one day and is then handing out “Georges for Mayor” trinkets on the next, it’s a good chance that that person is most likely running for mayor. Official announcement or not.

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Oh, and it always helps to have a guy like Quint Davis on your side. That should keep people from making any references to Tommy Carcetti from “The Wire” (though he did become Mayor of Baltimore and then Governor, so that may not be a bad thing).

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Tonight, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., d.b.a. hosts a musical tribute to Hart McNee, the flutist, saxophonist and four-decade Jazz Fest veteran, who died Tuesday from liver cancer. In an email received yesterday, Valid Records‘ Benjamin Lyons wrote: “Most of what I know about really listening to music I learned from Hart, and I suspect he had an equally profound effect on the lives of all the musicians coming together this afternoon to honor him. Please come join us.”

Over the years, many couples have chosen to wed at Jazz Fest, and countless bridesmaids are probably eternally grateful. The Jazz & Heritage Foundation is documenting such nuptials in a photography show at the institution’s gallery space. Anyone wishing to share photos from their wedding album can email the foundation at ceremonies@jazzandheritage.org. (Above: Joyce and Jorge McCoy tie the knot at the Acura Stage in May 2006.)

Photographer, New Orleans native and Gulfport, Miss., resident Bruce Keyes unveils “Spirit of New Orleans,” an exhibition of images from his book by the same name, tomorrow at the George & Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art. The 228-page black-and-white volume — “forever locked in the pre-Katrina era,” Keyes’ Web site states — captures scenes from 30 years of Jazz Fests and jazz funerals, from the French Quarter to Magazine Street. Writes art critic Arin Black, “It’s the sweet decay, the slow motion, the willingness to stop and let the joy seep in, that lets New Orleans take hold and not let go, and it’s present in every single image of Spirit of New Orleans.” The opening reception is 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Internationally acclaimed Louisiana folk artist William Hemmerling, who painted the 2005 Jazz Fest poster and was a perennial favorite of Jazz Fest art aficionados, died on Monday, June 15, at his home, surrounded by loving friends, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 66.

Born April 15, 1943, in Chicago, Bill lived all of his adult life in Ponchatoula, La. He led a simple life devoid of material trappings even after his art brought him great fame and considerable fortune. Those who knew Bill and his unique artistic interpretations of southern life and culture could not help but love him and his work. He was a humble and deeply spiritual painter — he eschewed the title “artist” — who often evoked religious themes in the heartfelt words that adorned much of his art. He fondly recalled the day he met Jesus — at the Café du Monde in the Vieux Carré — and he later painted and wrote of his religious experiences, “One day when I let God out of the box I built, he danced with me.” Renowned Louisiana Blue Dog artist George Rodrigue, one of Bill’s many collectors, called him “probably the truest, most classic folk artist to come along in the last 50 years.”

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