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A black and white photo of a vigil at the Magnolia Bridge on Bayou St. John on Saturday, March 20 for the Asian American people murdered by a white supremacist on March 16. It’s a white sign with the names of those whose lives were taken, and at the bottom reads Stop Asian Hate. Photo by Robin Bo Eun McDowell.

GUEST INTRO

Robin Bo Eun McDowell
A black and white photo of overlapping postage stamps that read “USA Forever” with American flags above.

FEEDBACK

Saint Leonard
A black and white illustration of a white candle and two black horns, one on either side of the candle. There is smoke rising up from the flame on the candle, and there’s wax dripping down the sides. Illustration by Artemesia Trapeze.

WILD WAVES

Taylor Balkissoon
A grayscale illustration of two dark-skinned peoples’ legs facing each other. We can see from their thighs down. The person on the left is wearing light jeans that are frayed at the bottom along with white tennis shoes, and the person on the right is wearing dark pants and black shoes. There is a crack in the ground between them. Illustration by Victoria Allen.

RAISING LOUISIANA

Ked Dixon
A black and white illustration by Rachel Speck. It's got a trippy vibe, two psychedelic clouds raining what look like blood because its dark water. There are stars around them that look like asterisks. In the top left corner is a crescent moon.

DIRT NERD

Ian Willson
A grayscale illustration of Mr. Clean holding out a small beverage and a third eye open on his forehead. He is bald, has an earring in his left ear, and he’s smiling. The background is psychedelic looking, with a wavy, checkered pattern. The cup he’s holding is small and filled with a gray liquid. Illustration by Ben Claassen III.

TIPS FROM THERIOT

Isabel Ryan Theriot

TALES FROM THE PEN

Leather
An out-of-focus black and white photo of a brass band with the MaCCNO logo overlaid it in white. Below the logo reads “The Music & Culture Coalition of New Orleans” in white.

GOING BACK TO “NORMAL” ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH

MaCCNO
A black and white photo of Antoine Staib, a.k.a. TWANZ, handling his musical equipment. He’s light-skinned and has dark hair, and he’s looking down at his equipment while dealing with the notches on it. He’s surrounded by speakers, computers, and other equipment.

RED LIGHT FEVER

Sabrina Stone
A black and white illustration of 3 tarot cards sitting side by side. The left card depicts 3 light-skinned hands with crystal balls above them, a pentacle in each. The arms are wavy and surrounded by leaves. The bottom reads “Three of Pentacles.” The middle card depicts 5 candles all intersecting. There is a flame above each, and within each flame is a closed eyelid. There are black lines surrounding the candles. The bottom reads “Five of Wands.” The right card depicts a light-skinned person sitting on a wrecking ball, holding a sword, and smiling. Their hair is long and in a ponytail, and they have the Libra symbol tattooed on their arm. They’re wearing fishnets and high heels. The bottom reads “Justice.” Illustration by Karla Rosas.

TAROT

Michelle Embree

Latest

A black and white portrait of Rose McBurney standing and holding a sculpture. She’s a light-skinned woman dressed in a light jumpsuit, and her dark hair is pulled back in a bun. She’s smiling and is wearing white, fingerless gloves. Photo by Katie Sikora.

WORK IN PROGRESS: ROSE MCBURNEY

Anyone who creates, whether it’s paintings or songs, novels or pastries, has a weird and special role in the culture. It is the job of the artist to take the intangible nothing...

Harriet Burbeck
A black and white illustration of Mike IX Williams singing into a microphone. He is light-skinned and has dark, shaggy hair. He has his right hand wrapped around the microphone and he’s scowling a little bit. He’s wearing a dark jacket that reads “Smell Shock” and “The Sluts” on it. Behind him are posters for Eyehategod, the band that he’s in. Illustration by Bill Heintz.

MIKE IX WILLIAMS: UNIVERSAL DISTURBANCE

Mike IX Williams’ misanthropic screams and Jimmy Bower’s abrasive feedback have resonated with more than just a few people since they played their first gig together in 1988....

William Archambeault
A black and white photo of Micah McKee sitting down at a desk with his guitar on his lap. He is dark-skinned and has a beard. He’s wearing a sweater, a beanie, and glasses. He has noise-cancelling headphones on, and there is recording equipment around him. He’s looking to the left of the frame, toward a screen out of frame. He’s holding the guitar in his lap with his left hand, and his right hand is on the desk that his eyes are focused toward. There’s a drum on the right that’s out of focus, and there are plants in the background. Photo by Katie Sikora.

MICAH MCKEE MAKES IT COUNT

New Orleans music—be it brass bands or no-wave punk—is dominated by loud, eccentric personalities. We know ‘em, we love ‘em. And while Micah McKee might not exactly fit...

Dan Fox
A black and white illustration of SOPHIE, with the moon behind her. Her eyes are white and her hair is curly with wisps of it falling in her face. There’s a black circle surrounding her, with a gray moon above her head. Illustration by Kallie Tiffau.

SOPHIE’S IMMATERIAL WORLD

“Always the same and never the same / Day by day, life after life” It was summer and excruciatingly hot. Santos was hosting a Tutti Frutti event: a queer dance party, “an...

Marisa Clogher
A black and white illustration of egrets standing in dark water in the marsh, with oil refineries in the background. There are two egrets and they are facing away from each other. The water is black, and there’s grass on either side. In the background is a fence, and beyond the fence is an oil refinery. The structures are all white and the sky is black. At the bottom reads “St. John Makes, Marathon Takes: Communities Want a Refund” in gray letters. Illustration by Pippin Frisbie-Calder.

ST. JOHN MAKES, MARATHON TAKES

The Marathon Garyville Refinery is a fortress of smokestacks and towers that occupies about five square miles of former sugarcane fields on the Mississippi River. Its footprint...

Chris Staudinger
A black and white photo of the bells of tubas laying down on a table. The open, circular parts are laying face down, and they’re all white. The bell most prominently in frame has a crack in it. There are chairs and instrument cases in the background. Photo by James Cullen.

ROOTS OF MUSIC MARCHES ON

Derrick Tabb had an idea. It wasn’t a new idea, but one he had been kicking around for some time. Tabb saw post-Katrina New Orleans as a city that had been badly damaged both...

James Cullen
A black and white drawing of MF DOOM holding and looking down at a skull with a mask the same as his. The mask he’s wearing covers his eyes and comes down in two parallel lines on either side of his mouth. The skull in his right hand is only visible from the side, but we can see it has the same design as his mask. He’s wearing a cape, holding a microphone, and has a sword attached to his hip. The shading is all done with dots, and there’s a dark circle behind him, like he’s a comic book character. Illustration by Kate Lacour.

MF DOOM 1971 — 2020

I was sitting in my car outside the CD Warehouse (or Sound Warehouse or Warehouse Records; I forget) circa 2003. In my possession was the new MF DOOM (as Viktor Vaughn) album,...

Ballzack
A grayscale illustration of a dark-skinned person with no facial features looking to the right of the frame. Their face is shaded using dot work. Their hair is in a short afro and they’re wearing white dangling earrings. The background is black, and there’s a ray of white that resembles a spotlight coming from the top right corner. This spotlight is also shaded with dot work, but it’s much lighter. Illustration by Ruth Mascelli.

SCENE NOT HEARD

Prologue I started working in the entertainment industry in New Orleans, costume department, in late 2017. As a production assistant (PA), my days were consumed with filing and...

Christine M. Hamilton
A grayscale illustration of a rat in a top hat holding cash. Behind the rat there is a building, and surrounding the rat is money and cheese. Illustration by Artemesia Trapeze.

MONEY FOR NOTHING

After COVID-19 hit, Sia Karamalegos was among the many New Orleanians whose loss of work left her unable to make rent. Considering the economy was in total freefall, she hoped her...

Holly Devon

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