Tonight, get some street food grub at NOLA's first Vendy Awards. Emmylou Harris is in town at House of Blues, and Filligar is in Lee Circle. Happy Birthday to the award-winning trumpeter and NOLA native Terrence Blanchard, who turns 51 today. Now, more hump day happenings. 

Just one day shy of Turkey day, and there’s still plenty to do tonight in the Big Easy. Hear music at Tip’s, the Maple Leaf, and of course, on Frenchmen. Meschiya Lake and Tom McDermott are on Canal for their weekly gig. Happy Birthday to Dr. John! The legendary local turns 72 today. Now, for more hump day happenings.

There’s plenty to do this Wednesday evening, whether you want to catch some early opera with a few cold ones in the Warehouse District, hang out with service industry folk in the Bywater, or see some Austin rockers playing at One Eyed Jack’s.  On this day in 1848, Louisiana native Zachary Taylor was elected President of the United States. Now, more Wednesday events. 

It’s a Wednesday packed with activities around the Big Easy, whether you’re in the mood for a free show after work or a concert from one of the three big acts in town tonight. Music lovers can choose from Victor Wooten at the Howlin’ Wolf, Dinosaur Jr. Uptown, and Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes in the Treme. On this date in our state’s history, Hurricane Hilda hit St. Mary Parish in 1964, causing 100 million dollars in damages. Now for today’s events: 

Today in the Big Easy, dance in Lafayette Square after work, hear local gigs all over the city, or bounce into the late night hours at the Big Top. For those looking for something a little off the beaten path, “Esoterotica,” is at the Allways with original erotic readings from local writers. Happy Birthday to the trumpet player and UNO Alum Nicholas Payton, who makes 39 today. The son of late bassist Walter Payton won a Grammy Award in 1997 for his song “Stardust.” Now, more on what’s happening today in New Orleans.

Today, an author revisits one of NOLA's most infamous ghost stories, Meschiya Lake and Tom McDermott play Mid-City and the Tin Men pull in a ringer on Frenchmen. Today marks the birthday of a couple of early jazz legends. Bass player and Preservation Hall fixture Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau was born in 1888, while trombone player and Storyville bandleader Alvin "Zue" Robertson was born in 1891. Now for more about today:

by Ryan Sparks

Part-time New Orleanain Harry Shearer has a knack for being both socially conscious and sociable. While we are all proud of the work he’s done with his Katrina doc The Big Uneasy, sometimes we crave his attention to levity over the levees. To that end, the annual installment of the Spinal Tap vet's Holiday Sing-Along at the Contemporary Arts Center on Sunday promises to wreck the silent night with belted-out classics and satirical sendups of your favorite (or most-tolerated) Christmas carols.  

Once again, NoDef traveled to Buffa’s Restaurant and Lounge Sunday night to check out this week’s episode of Treme. With the episode's “Carnival Time" title and Mardi Gras season focus, the early June night felt a bit more like mid-Februrary. Not that we're complaining!

Professor Longhair's likeness hangs over the Acura Stage as the officially chosen spiritual progenitor of Jazz and Heritage, but another New Orleans piano man who made his comeback around the same time as Fess could just as easily occupy that mantle. James Booker was partial to wearing an eye patch and would often roll up to Jazz Fest in a Rolls Royce wearing his finest. But even those trappings couldn't top his flamboyance on the keys.

April 18, the day Billy the Kid escaped from jail in New Mexico (1881), when the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed most of the city (1906), when Joan of Arc was beautified in Rome (1909), when Yankee Stadium opened (1923), when BBC announced that there was no news to report at all (1930). It's Melissa Joan Hart (1976) and Kourtney Kardashian’s (1979) birthday, and the date of Albert Einstein’s death (1955). In honor of the above, go do: