Sherpa Music Vol 17 Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras day is upon us, and I thought it a good time to celebrate the latent carnival within us and let loose a bit. 

We could all use a little break from harsh realities, without losing sight of how we navigate this rocky terrain with grace and courage.

I first visited New Orleans at the end of the seventies and ended up living there for about five years, going back many times since. I vividly remember my first Mardi Gras parade; Uptown New Orleans, nighttime, the street filled with people, garish floats, people carrying flambeaux, haunting crazy rhythms, loud music, beads, and Mardi Gras coins flying through the air, and everyone yelling “mistah throw me sumpthin.”

We start this playlist in Uptown New Orleans on Fat Tuesday morning with Bo Dollis, Jr. and the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians ready to rumble and end with our feet up and the great Allen Toussaint after a long, magical day. 

“The Mardi Gras Indian tradition dates back to around 1718. Runaway slaves from the transatlantic slave trade were taken in, protected, and hidden by the indigenous people of the continent in the Louisiana area. Throughout the years, the African and Native American cultures began to mix, creating a new masking culture.” - Eric Craig, Curbed New Orleans 

This is real-deal music from the soul of New Orleans. My guess is you’ll be up on your feet at some point doing the second line around your living room. I hope you are. Let the spirit move you.

“The songs of the Mardi Gras Indians are the most popular and accessible aspect of the culture. At Indian gatherings, songs are arranged in call-and-response fashion, with the chief improvising a solo vocal and the tribe responding with a repeated chant: shallow water oh mama! big chief got a golden crown! Popular chants have also become the basis for rhythm and blues, soul, funk, and hip-hop recordings.” - Mind Smoke Records, New Orleans 

Be well, stay safe, dance, Jim