Off to New Orleans for the 2009 Voodoo Experience Festival!

Things will be quiet here at BL&L for the next couple of days as we're leaving today for New Orleans to cover the 2009 Voodoo Experience Festival. This will mark my first time going to NOLA so I'm over the moon excited. I'm also shooting the Fest-which will make me the only sober person there (heh). Given the vast amount of great acts performing (Flaming Lips, Silversun Pickups, Drive-By Truckers, Mates of State, The Pogues, The Meat Puppets, tons of local acts), plus the amazing scenery that is just NOLA itself, I may come back with a sprained right index finger from all the shutter-clicking, but it's so going to be worth it. If only for the photos of KISS on Halloween!

Some tickets are still available (here). And if you go, come help us break the Guinness World Record for "The Largest Gathering of Zombies!"




Lineup includes:
KISS / EMINEM / JANE'S ADDICTION/ WIDESPREAD PANIC / LENNY KRAVITZ/ THE FLAMING LIPS / JUSTICE (DJ SET) / GOGOL BORDELLO / WOLFMOTHER/ THE BLACK KEYS / THE POGUES / WEEN / SILVERSUN PICKUPS/ JANELLE MONAE / THE COOL KIDS / MEAT PUPPETS / MUTEMATH / Q-TIP / FISCHERSPOONER / BRAND NEW / D12 / AMERICAN BANG / GENERATIONALS / EARL GREYHOUND / SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS / BLACK LIPS / DOWN / MATES OF STATE / ALL TIME LOW / ROBERT RANDOLPH & THE FAMILY BAND / the knux / george clinton and parliament funkadelic / jj grey & mofro / Alejandro Escovedo / sarah quintana / shooter jennings / drive-by truckers / eric church / ledisi / irvin mayfield / New Orleans bingo! show / rebirth brass band / leroy jones / trombone shorty and orleans ave / Big Sam's Funky Nation / Benjy Davis Project / Papa Grows Funk / marchfourth marching band / dj soul sister / rotary downs / andrew duhon and the lonesome crows / amanda shaw / cyril neville's blues revue with tab benoit, big chief monk boudreaux and johnny sansone / beausoleil / leo jackson and the melody clouds / john mooney and bluesiana / quintron and missy pussycat / fleur de tease / suplecs / little freddie king / preservation hall-stars with special guests / the happy talk band / lil brian & the Zydeco Travelers / why are we building such a big ship? / ratty scurvics / mynameisjohnmichael / loose marbles / luke winslow-king / dan dyer / Sam & Ruby / walter "wolfman" washington and the roadmaster with dirty horns / new orleans klezmer all-stars / glasgow / mas mamones / zydepunks / the white bitch / Kristin diable / New orleans jazz vipers / the vettes / lucy's walk / erick baker / tbc brass band / bones / mc trachiotomy / from legends to nancy / brother taisuke mass choir / r. scully rough 7 / katey red & dj papa, big freddia, sissy nobby / davis rogan / and more

A little history on the Fest:

The Voodoo Music Festival was first held on 30 October 1999 at Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park. Planned and executed by Steve Rehage, CEO of Rehage Entertainment, the festival consisted of three stages and many local and national acts.

The Voodoo Festival started with very humble beginnings in 1999 as a one day music festival in Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans with an attendance of about 8,000 people, the headlining artist was Wyclef Jean and The Fugees. The following year expanded to 2 days and drew attention with a performance by Eminem, whose fame had exploded just before the festival, this brought Voodoo to the attention of music fans from around the world. In 2006, Voodoo separated the show into 3 distinct areas (Le Ritual, Le Flambeau and Le Carnival) on six stages. Each area was designed to showcase uniquely different sides of the personality of the festival and New Orleans. “Le Flambeau” features music and sounds consistent with the hometown style of The Big Easy. “Le Ritual” features more mainstream music we’re all familiar with, and finally “Le Carnival” features indie bands, burlesque, and circus acts. In 2007, The festival expanded to 3 days and broke all previous attendance records with an estimate 100,000+ fans.