5 things to know for 5/27

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Published on: May 27th, 2016

'5 things to know' is a weekly feature highlighting different parts of the WWOZ world that you may have missed this week, including unique WWOZ programming and video, plus New Orleans events, artists, places, features, and more. For the week ending May 27, 2016:

1) Festival season rolls onward! The new, free Treme/7th Ward Arts & Culture Fest starts today and runs through Sunday, and the Slidell Jazz & Blues Festival is tomorrow at Heritage Park. WWOZ will be there with an outreach booth and lots of cool swag, so stop by and see us! This Memorial Day weekend also brings us the New Orleans Greek Festival.

2) Two "Takin' It to the Street" events this weekend. On Saturday, May 28 from 8-9p, it's the Backsteppers Gathering in Treme. On Sunday, May 29, the Bayou Steppers Parade for Peace starts at 4p starting where the Lafitte Greenway meets Bayou St. John.

3) The New Orleans Film Society and Contemporary Arts Center are partnering to show 'Presenting Princess Shaw' on Tuesday, May 31. See the trailer below. Film synopsis: "By day, Samantha Montgomery cares for the elderly in New Orleans. By night, she writes and sings her own songs as Princess Shaw on her confessional YouTube channel. Raw and vulnerable, her voice is a diamond in the rough. Across the globe in Israel, Ophir Kutiel creates video mash ups of amateur Youtube performers. Known as Kutiman, he is a composer, a musician, and a pioneering video artist embraced by the world of fine art. Kutiman transforms sampling into a multimedia art, whether at his home on a kibbutz in Israel or at a live performance at the Guggenheim in New York. Two strangers, almost 7,000 miles apart, begin to build a song. The film unfolds as Kutiman pairs Princess Shaw’s emotional performances in a beautiful expression of generosity and compassion, revealing the bonafide star underneath and her fight to never give up on her dreams." There will be a post-screening performance from Princess Shaw.

4) This week's new music spotlight shines on the Honey Island Swamp Band and their latest, Demolition Day. No Depression, the journal of roots music, said of the New Orleans natives: “Their all encompassing sound of blues, roots, country, and soul has been described as 'Bayou Americana.'”

5) The 'OZ featured video of the week is a performance and interview from the Hot 8 Brass Band as they stopped in at WWOZ last fall and chatted with Thursday New Orleans Music Show host DJ Nita Ketner about their album Vicennial - 20 Years Of The Hot 8 Brass Band. Hot 8 is on tour in the UK through June 4.

For more on Hot 8, check out last week's episode of New Orleans Calling, 'Rock With The Hot 8.' Host George Ingmire delves deeper into the trials and tribulations the band has experienced, and finds triumphs over adversity and a strong determination to continue on. You can hear it at the link.

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