This year’s “From the Bayou to the Bluegrass” (A Celebration of Louisiana in Kentucky) features Lexington’s own March Madness Marching Band + The Blue Brass All-Stars alongside a direct collaboration with two community dance troupes from New Orleans: Original Big 7 Social Aid and Pleasure Club Inc. and Red Flame Hunters All Youth Indian Tribe.

And if that isn’t exciting enough, we welcome Louisville’s Zu Zu Ya Ya as they present – The Music of Dr. John (aka The Night Tripper)

“The Original Big 7 Social Aid & Pleasure Club have operated in the 7th Ward of New Orleans since 1997. We have seen ups and downs in our community throughout the years and have worked with our neighbors and youth with the goal of uplifting and bettering our community. Through our annual Mother’s Day Second Line, our youth divisions, our partnerships with Jazz Festival, Jazz in the Park, The Ogden Museum, and most recently our Annual Cultural & Heritage Day Festival at Troy Avery Park, we aim to be leaders in the community in creating safe spaces for everyone to learn about and enjoy the neighborhood cultural heritage of New Orleans.”

“The mission of the Red Flame Hunters Mardi Gras Indian Tribe is to preserve, promote and teach the traditions of the historically black neighborhoods of New Orleans. Our youth and young adult tribe focuses on teaching traditions of the Black Masking Indians and Secondline Club Culture to local youth, and give them the opportunity to share the culture through performances and parades with the larger New Orleans community and beyond.”

“Active as a session musician from the late 1950s until his death, Dr John gained a following in the late 1960s after the release of his album Gris-Gris (1968) and his appearance at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music (1970). He typically performed a lively, theatrical stage show inspired by medicine shows, Mardi Gras costumes, and voodoo ceremonies. Dr John recorded thirty studio albums and nine live albums, as well as contributing to thousands of other musicians’ recordings. In 1973, he achieved a top-10 hit single with “Right Place, Wrong Time. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.”

Mark your calendars for Sunday August 23 and join us in Lexington, KY at the Oleika Temple Great Lawn.

Tickets available soon