SAMEDI

Warren Storm, Willie Tee and Cypress

Today, the Swamp Pop festival goes down up in Gonzales, the Record Raid hits St. Claude, and the Krewe of Chewbacchus takes over Tip’s, but not if PUEWC has anything to say about it. On this day in history, late clarinet and sax palyer Omer Simeon was born in New Orleans (1902), and prolific session player Plas Johnson was born in Donaldsonville (1931). Now for more of today:

15th Annual Swamp Pop Music Festival & 13th Annual Jambalaya Cooking Contest (Lamar Dixon Expo Center, Gonzales, 10:00am-midnight) The annual festival in Gonzales benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and will feature a Jambalaya cook-off, a car show, a queen pageant, a poker run with the Wild Pigs Motorcycle Club, a meet & greet with two Swamp People and swamp pop music. Bands performing are Cliff Nickens, Kenny Cornett & Killin Time, Tommy G & Stormy Weather, Kenny Fife & The Bac Trac Band, Junior LaCross & Sumtin Sneaky, Warren Storm, Willie Tee & Cyrpress with special guest Tommy McLain, and TK Huelin & GG Shinn.

Record Raid (Hi-Ho Lounge and Siberia, 11:00am) Both bars will host this summertime record raid, where tons of 45s, LPs, CDs and cassettes from all around the Gulf will be for sale. Due to Siberia’s current live music permit problems, there will not be live DJs at the venue. But there will still be drinks, Hungarian food, and music to buy.

Alien Beach Party (Tipitina’s, 9:00pm) The Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus hosts their second annual membership drive at Tipitina’s with live performances by Local Skank, Mighty Wookiee Fiyoship with DJ SpyC, Eat Moby Dick Moby, Koon Ass E-Z-E, MC Chewbacon, and the Vajar Jar Binks Dance Team. The membership funds will go towards a Chewbacchus Base Camp at Voodoo Fest, an Art Bicycle Contest in November, and appearances at Wizard World Comic Con. The Krewe has again invited Peter Mayhew (the actor behind the fur of Chewbacca) to be King of Chewbacchus 2013. But that’s not all. Angry fantasy fans under the banner of PEUWC (People for the Inclusion of Unicorns, Elves and Whinebots in Chewbacchus) will protest outside, as the Krewe of Chewbacchus strictly bans them from their krewe as their only rule.

Beatles Festival (House of Blues, 9:00pm) The first New Orleans Beatles Festival was in 2002. This year, the bands are The Topcats, Chuck Credo IV, Marc Broussard, The Molly Ringwalds, Rockin Dopsie Jr., Tim Laughlin, Jimmy Robinson and Jim Lockwood. $20 cover gets you all the Beatles covers.

Urban Education Smackdown (Shadowbox Theatre, 8:00pm) Jim Fitzmorris’ one-man show continues. “Climbing into the ring against the public education system, Fitzmorris takes on all comers including NPR Democrats, Creationist Republicans, razor wielding students, confrontational parents, and in the main event of the evening, the hall monitor himself: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.”