A journal for South Louisiana.
Our editor and resident Tangipahoa Parish songwriter Jesse Brooks shares how going back to the country roots of music can lead to the redirection of American music. Photo by Matthew C. Roy. By Jesse Brooks I’ve been doing a lot of tweaking to my music act while in the extra solitude we have these days.... Continue Reading →
Steven Page and Ed Robertson, frontmen for Barenaked Ladies. By Jesse Brooks Quarantining for COVID-19 can get pretty weird and it can lead to some pleasant surprises even in the darkest of times. I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole the other day and basically was reminded of how great the Barenaked Ladies are as... Continue Reading →
CHANGES- New Orleans songwriter Rel returns and shares demos of new music days before a performance at The Starlight on St. Louis Street Thursday at 8 p.m. New Orleans songwriter Rel Myers has released a demo of a new song called "Changes" on SoundCloud in anticipation of her first public performance in a few years... Continue Reading →
YEAR'S END- Jesse Brooks & The Living Past will play a consecutive three-night in-state run next week before their final show of the year at Nick's Ice House in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 9 p.m. Photo by Emily LaPrime. Tangipahoa Parish-based rock and honky-tonk soul band Jesse Brooks & The Living Past... Continue Reading →
THE ROOT- Little Brother Montgomery, jazz and blues pianist from Kentwood, should likely be credited for creating the initial foundation for the song that became Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" By Jesse Brooks One of the most well-known songs to ever be labeled as rock-n-roll out outlaw country is "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash. So... Continue Reading →
By Jesse Brooks Memphis is a resilient city that has seen many challenging times in American history. Whether it was the Great Depression, civil unrest or a recession, Memphis seemed to always come back better than ever. It may seem typical for anyone from Louisiana to compare New Orleans to Memphis, but there are some... Continue Reading →
STARTING POINT- Owned by Sam Phillips in the 1950s, Sun Studio is considered to be where the first rock-n-roll record was made, Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats. Eventually, a label formed, Sun Records, which launched the careers of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and more. Photo by Jesse Brooks. By Jesse... Continue Reading →
Steak & Eggs at Big Bad Breakfast in Oxford. Photo by Jesse Brooks. By Jesse Brooks For any center of learning, there is always a constant flow of people moving in and out while adding their point of view, changing the culture and bringing those changes into a closely bonded tradition that is meant to... Continue Reading →
Town Square in Oxford, MS. Photo by Jesse Brooks. By Jesse Brooks Our second side as we move north on Highway 51 will take us to the literary hub of Oxford, Mississippi. When the county seat of Lafayette County was founded in 1832, they chose to call it Oxford after the university city in England... Continue Reading →
IMMORTAL- One of the three alleged gravesites for bluesman Robert Johnson in near Greenwood in Money, Mississippi. Photo by Jesse Brooks. By Jesse Brooks For the next two weeks, we will explore two visits that serve as side trips accessible from Highway 51: Greenwood and Oxford, Mississippi. Our first side trip, a route west of... Continue Reading →
Small Town Stories 