Today, Megalomaniacs, Chaz, and Daze Between get their own Fests, and the Definition of Bounce becomes a documentary at Cafe Istanbul. This day in history, Gen Benjamin Butler's Order #28 is issued, making any woman who showed contempt for the Union Army guilty of soliciting prostitution (1862), and “Chapel Of Love” By the Dixie Cups entered the Billboard R&B Chart, where it eventually reached #1 during its 13 week run.

by Brad Rhines

Jazz Fest offers plenty of fun in the sun for weekend warriors, but for daytime drinking and midweek music, you’ll have to head to the Bywater.  The 7th annual Chaz Fest happens on Wednesday, May 2, and was originally devised as an alternative to the big show at the Fairgrounds.  Intended as a venue for local artists who couldn’t get booked for Jazz Fest, Chaz Fest was started by Alex McMurray, who named the event after his friend and Tin Men bandmate, the beloved Washboard Chaz Leary.  

The Bywater's annual celebration of one facet of the local music scene might be smaller and in a backyard, but that doesn't mean they don't employ some of the same tactics in scheduling. Like the all-star lineups that can be found dotting the JazzFest scheudle, the Valparaiso Men's Chorus is a confluence of downtown talent into a single entity. The ensemble is lead by ChazFest impresario and host Alex McMurray and made up of a lot of the people (including Chaz!) who are in his other bands (Tin Men, Alex McMurray Band, Happy Talk Band),. It's a celebration of a rarely excavated artform in the cradle of jazz: the Sea Shanty.

May 4, the date of the first Grammy Awards (1959), The Kent State University student killings by members of Ohio’s National Guard (1970), the first Kiss concert (1976); the birthday of Audrey Hepburn (1929), Keith Haring (1958) and moonman Lance Bass (1979). It was also the date of Sherlock Holmes’ apparent death at Reichenbach Falls, Switzerland (1981). An impressive list of historic events, but nothing beats what’s on today’s NOLA plate:

Sure, Jazzfest is great, but those of us tucked away close to the Industrial Canal know something better... CHAZFest. Named for NOLA legend, Washboard Chaz, the local festival staged in backyards by Alex McMurray is always the Wednesday between the two weekends of JazzFest... that's tomorrow! Homegrown talent, Hot8 Brass Band, Meschiya Lake & the Little Big Horns, Happy Talk Band,, and of course Wahboard Chaz will be ripping it up.