Who knew music and charity would work well together?
The Block Party, an all-day music festival that takes up all of Clio Street, is back this year on Saturday, April 17 from noon to midnight to celebrate local culture and the music scene in New Orleans.
The idea was something that Greg Rodrigue, A’08, and Daniel Ray, A’09 had been toying with for months before actually putting the idea into action.
“Block Party was created to bring attention to our artists and us as a label and most importantly the thriving, underground New Orleans punk/ska/D.I.Y community,” said Ray.
The guys had been inspired by touring and playing ska music festivals in different states and wanted to try their hand at creating one of their own. Rodrigue and Ray managed to put their own twist on the ska festival — and have done so for three years running.
Not only is the Block Party a noted festival for ska lovers, but it also helps the New Orleans Mission by allowing donations to be made at the event.
“The first year we did it, we donated three truck loads of clothes and food to the New Orleans Mission and had about 500 attendants,” Ray said. “Last year, the attendance grew to about 700 and we donated a little more than three trucks of clothes and food to the Mission. If you bring clothes and food to be donated to the New Orleans Mission, you get three dollars off your ticket.”
Bands from across the United States, including New Orleans favorites Fatter than Albert and Caddywhompus, and even a band from the Dominican Republic are coming to New Orleans to play at the Block Party.
“It’s so great having our far away friends in one place,” said Ray.
Rodrigue and Ray have high expectations for this years upcoming Block Party.
“We are really shooting for the moon this year,” said Ray. “So, hopefully we get between 800 and 1,000 attendees and donate more clothes than the Mission can hold. Hopefully, we can draw some attention to Community Records and this incredible D.I.Y. scene we have here in New Orleans. We want people to realize that these local bands qualify as New Orleans music too, not just the traditional genres one associates with the city.”
For more information, visit the Community Records Web site at http://www.communityrecords.org
Erica Colbensen can be reached at [email protected]