Buckwheat Zydeco Keeps the Sound of Louisiana Alive in Major Benefit Concerts

Press release
Source: conqueroo.com/Cary Baker

One of Louisiana's foremost musical ambassadors, Buckwheat Zydeco, is joining with many others to keep the sounds of Louisiana alive and help their neighbors back home as the band participates in a number of major hurricane relief benefit concerts and broadcasts in the next days and weeks.

Coming off a nationwide five month tour in support of Buckwheat Zydeco's new album, Jackpot!, (Tomorrow Recordings), Buck and the band had hoped to get home to their families after a Labor Day appearance, ironically, at Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival (a bumbershoot is an umbrella). But instead of a well deserved respite at home, Buckwheat Zydeco will head first for Nashville and then New York City -- which will virtually become a New Orleans in exile for at least a couple of weeks in September.

"This is something we must do," said Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural, Jr. "Our hearts are heavy for the people who have suffered so much, and we hope we can lift their spirits a bit with our music. We must all step in and help as much as we can."

Luckily the band's hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana was spared the destruction experienced by New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast, and their families and homes are fine. But communication has been very difficult as Louisiana home and cell phones are still unworkable, and the Lafayette area is apparently now home to thousands of displaced persons from New Orleans and elsewhere.

First off for Buckwheat Zydeco will be Nashville and an appearance on ReAct Now: Music & Relief, a three-hour concert special airing September 10th on CMT, MTV and VH1 to benefit the Hurricane Katrina relief campaign. Among those scheduled Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, and Lynyrd Skynyrd will join the Rolling Stones, Neil Young and Paul McCartney. The three-hour live broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will emanate from New York, Los Angeles, Nashville and Atlanta. It will feature a combination of live and taped performances and messages from artists. Additional details will be announced soon. Check the MTV Networks websites for more information.

On Saturday, September 17th the band will participate in Jazz at Lincoln Center's Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Concert and Auction. The evening, hosted by Laurence Fishburne, will feature Wynton Marsalis, Bill Cosby, Elvis Costello, Robert De Niro, Bette Midler, Dianne Reeves, Paul Simon, Meryl Streep, McCoy Tyner, Cassandra Wilson, Ken Burns and many more. The concert and auction will be held at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th Street. Tickets go on sale September 8th, and are available at: The Jazz at Lincoln Center Box Office, Broadway at 60th Street, ground floor.

The Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert and Auction will be televised live nationally on Live From Lincoln Center on PBS, hosted by Beverly Sills. XM Satellite Radio will carry this concert live on their network from coast to coast on channel 70, the Real Jazz channel. Higher Ground will also be broadcast live via radio partner WBGO Jazz88.3FM in the New York City area and offered nationally and internationally via National Public Radio and its 807 member stations in the U.S., NPR Worldwide, and streamed live on www.npr.org, www.wbgo.org, www.xmradio.com. The event will be recorded by Jazz at Lincoln Center and a CD will be produced and released by Blue Note Records with all profits going to relief fund efforts.

For more information see: http://www.jalc.org.

Next up Buckwheat Zydeco will perform at The Big Apple To The Big Easy, New York City's Live Concert For The Gulf Coast, on September 20th at Madison Square Garden. The live concert event will feature New Orleans musical legends joined on stage with many of music's biggest names, including Elton John, Jimmy Buffett, Rod Stewart, John Fogerty, Bette Midler, Loggins and Messina, Stevie Nicks, Lenny Kravitz, Earth, Wind & Fire, Fats Domino, and the Neville Brothers. Madison Square Garden is underwriting all costs related to the event, and has pledged an additional $1 million dollar donation to begin the event's fundraising efforts. 100% of all proceeds will go directly to the long-term rebuilding of the area. Tickets to go on-sale on Tuesday, September 13th through ticketmaster outlets and the Madison Square Garden box office.

Finally, for now, the band will also participate in The New Yorker Magazine's Parting The Waters, an evening of words and music from New Orleans and the Delta that will feature music and reading, on Saturday, September 24th at Town Hall, 123 West 43rd St., New York City. Net proceeds from this event will be matched by Conde Nast Publications, Inc. and donated to the American Red Cross. Readers and musicians will be announced in the next issue of The New Yorker and online at newyorker.com. Tickets are available now at ticketmaster.com, at all ticketmaster outlets, or by phone: call 1-877-391-0545. Tickets are also available at the Town Hall Box office.

Buckwheat Zydeco would like to thank all the concerned friends and fans who have inquired about it's safety and that of its families. For more information, please visit www.buckwheatzydeco.com.