Aug. 29, 2015 is the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and the catastrophic failure of the Mississippi River levees that put the city of New Orleans under water. In tribute to the city's struggles of the last 10 years, we are rebroadcasting our Hip Deep program made in spring 2005, a few short months before life in New Orleans was turned upside down.
"Living in New Orleans, Part 1" takes you to the rambunctious street music scene in the Crescent City around Mardi Gras time. This is one town where kids still pick up tubas, and young brass bands have lots of work, parading along the same funky streets where jazz was born. We'll get inside the world of the Mardi Gras Indians as Hip Deep producer Ned Sublette, who is spending the year on the ground in New Orleans, talks with musician and educator Big Chief Donald Harrison; Sylvester Francis of the Backstreet Cultural Museum; scholar and former New Orleans resident Joseph Roach of Yale University, author of Cities of the Dead; and Vicki Mayer of Tulane University. We'll hear music from Kermit Ruffins and Rebirth Brass Band, Cyril Neville and the Uptown All-Stars, and Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias. Produced by Ned Sublette.
