Take me to Chico: New Orleans-based funk to play Laxson Auditorium
Artwork for the “Take me to the River: New Orleans” soundtrack. Courtesy of Missing Piece Group.
“Take Me to the River: NOLA Live!,” a musical “movement of social consciousness,” consisting of performances from funk-music legends, is coming to Chico State’s Laxson Auditorium on March 2. Tickets range from $15-$55 for this groovy gig.
The show is part of an on-going tour that sees various artists involved in the “Take Me to the River: New Orleans” project, the second project in the Take Me to the River series, perform original songs.
The songs are part of an original soundtrack that accompanies the Take Me to the River: New Orleans documentary, which was released on Feb. 3, 2023. The soundtrack consists of 26 songs and several artists, including but not limited to:
The soundtrack’s song “Stompin’ Ground,” by Aaron Neville and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, won the 2023 Grammy for Best American Roots Performance.
The documentary’s director and the album’s producer, Martin Shore, spoke with The Orion about the process that went into creating “Take Me to the River: New Orleans” and what attendees can expect.
Shore believes that Chico and “Take Me to the River Live: NOLA Live!,” are a perfect match for one another, and that this is the type of performance the community will love.
“They should be expecting to dance their butts off.”
-Martin Shore
Chico’s stop in their tour is particularly special, as this is the only tour date where artists George Porter Jr., Dumpstaphunk and John Cleary are all performing.
With what he describes as “New Orleans royalty” in the house, Shore says it’s going to be a “funky good time.”
Take Me to the River is a non-profit organization, the project required artists that were passionate about telling the story of New Orleans’ culture and music and were determined to further musical education’s relationship to social justice.
Through artists’ desires to do the project justice, the combination of various styles of music, ages, races and genders and good mixing of course, the cohesive soundtrack was born.
“In my opinion there are only two kinds of music,” Shore said. “Good and bad.”
Good music, of course, can result in Grammys. However, that’s not the only award Shore has won. Both Take Me to the River documentaries, New Orleans, as well as the first project in the series, which focuses on music in the Mississippi Delta and Memphis, have both been recognized for various accolades.
Shore says the idea behind the series came from his belief that the story of American music and its influence on popular music globally hadn’t been properly told.
“As Americans we have given the world popular music, that’s our jewel we have given them,” he said.
For the full interview with Shore, click here.
“Take Me to the River: New Orleans” is available for streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Google and Vimeo. The Grammy award-winning soundtrack can also be streamed on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon Music.
For tickets to the 7:30 p.m., “Take Me to the River Live NOLA!” show on March 2, check out Chico Performances or the University Box Office.
Noah Herbst and Mario Ortiz Jr. can be reached at [email protected] and at @NoahHerbst13 and @realnameismario.
