Summertime and the Listening is Easy

We all know what it means once the time has changed and the weather can’t make up its mind …  summertime in southern Louisiana is quickly approaching!  And there's no better sidekick to any summer activity then music and when possible, live music!

It's time to cut the grass and weed the flowerbed again, bummer. But with all the negatives that come with summer, the good certainly out weight the bad.  Around our house this summer the pit will be lit and cannonballs are sure to erupt poolside all while music fills the backyard. At my home summertime is music time. There is no summer activity that music doesn’t make better and with modern technology getting your music to you is easier than ever.  Every recreational ATV out hitting the mud holes and every golf cart cruising the neighborhood this summer will have music in tow. We find music nearly everywhere during the summer and, more than any other time of the year, live music is present. We start to see more bars and lounges with Sunday patio jams and more festivals and fundraisers with live music.

Memorial Day weekend is the major live music summer kick off and southern Louisiana knows how to do it with a bang! Gonzales, Louisiana lays host every year for one of early summer's biggest events in the area: The World Jambalaya Cooking Championship. Better know as “The Jambalaya Festival,” the event runs May 22–24 right in the heart of the city. And while the festival's main attraction during the day may be the cooking and the food, at night the music is what really brings the crowds in. Some of the area's most classic Cajun and Swamp-pop bands preform on three stages through the weekend. While over in Baton Rouge, Tiger Stadium plays host to the 6th annual Bayou Country Super fest. This year's lineup, like in years past is one you don’t want to miss.  Superstars like Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert and Kenny Chesney will invade Death Vally on Saturday and Sunday and get the crowd moving! And let's not forget the extra special Friday night concert being put on by Taylor Swift as she brings her “1989” World Tour to the Red Stick.

Make sure you get out and enjoy the live, local music talent this summer as well! Give a listen to the great original artist and fun cover/tribute bands in this area. There are tons of great venues around the parish that have fully embraced local music and do a great job of making it easily accessible. Patronize venues that embrace live music and let them know you appreciate them for supporting the art.

It almost seams odd to call a gathering a party without music. Studies show that people are more likely to communicate with each other if the silence is broken by music. Think about how awkward it is to sit in a restaurant or walk around a store shopping in silence.  It feels more like you are disturbing someone by asking a question. Make sure music is part of you and your family’s life. If you are considering picking up an instrument stop by and see us at Music Inc. If you want to play your favorite summer songs for your guest at your next party, we can help with that also!  And as Bob Marley once said, "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”