Alison Fensterstock
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No single lineage can contain New Orleans music. But one central thread is the legacy of queer performers and tastemakers — from Bobby Marchan to Big Freedia — who steered the sounds and the scenes. -
Clarksdale, Miss. is home to both the crossroads where Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul and the site of Bessie Smith's death. But in the legend of the genre, not every tale gets the same care. -
The Louisiana native became a mentor to Fats Domino, transitioning from well-regarded horn player to producer and arranger of some of rock and roll's bedrock artists.
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Over a career stretching back to the 1950s, Malcolm John Rebennack came to be a living symbol of the city of New Orleans and its bottomless musical character. -
Big Freedia has always repped New Orleans, becoming famous by insisting on being her sui generis self. How could you see someone who loves herself so much and not follow her to the dance floor? -
The Southern soul survivor has made an album about strength: a holistic shot in the arm to help you find the fortitude to fight. -
The Philly rockers return one year later with Dirty Pictures (Part 2), a collection of songs with more emotional complexity, but still plenty of boogie. -
In the wake of criminal charges against the trumpeter and bandleader, a city laments that a visible face of recovery for his battered and beaten hometown might also have been bilking it. -
Hear essential songs by the late architect of rock and roll, plus recordings by artists who influenced him, and those who covered and took inspiration from him. -
Having cycled through a full generation of performers (not to mention audience), how does the grandpa of festival culture compete in the Coachella-sized market it helped create?
