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NEW ORLEANS, LA – Wayne Kramer (MC5), Jolie Holland, Jon Langford (Waco Brothers, Mekons), Saul Williams, Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows, Minus 5, R.E.M.), Laura Veirs, Vijay Iyer, Erin McKeown, Bonerama, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, Martín Perna (Antibalas, Ocote Soul Sounds) and Paul Sanchez will come together for “Musicians Bringing Musicians Home V” – a special evening of inspired sounds that celebrate the spirit of New Orleans musical culture. 

The concert takes place at 9 p.m. on Friday, May 22 at Tipitina’s Uptown (501 Napoleon Ave) and benefits Sweet Home New Orleans— a coalition of non-profit organizations that helps find affordable housing and provides rental assistance for Katrina displaced musicians, Mardi Gras performers and other traditional New Orleans artists (www.sweethomeneworleans.org).


Tickets for the event are on sale now at www.tipitinas.com and in person at the Tipitina’s box office. Admission is $12, with all proceeds benefiting Sweet Home New Orleans.


“Musicians Bringing Musicians Home IV” is the celebratory and fundraising finale of the fifth three-day activist retreat hosted by Air Traffic Control (www.atctower.net) and Future of Music Coalition (www.futureofmusic.org) since the Gulf Coast storms of 2005. Artists from around the country converge on New Orleans to tour affected neighborhoods, visit with the city’s notable musicians and community leaders and participate in strategy sessions about how to integrate activism and philanthropy into their musical lives and careers. 

“Last year's retreat was a complete revelation for me,” says Jon Langford of the Waco Brothers and the Mekons. “Being able to come back so soon and cavort onstage once more with Al ‘Carnival Time’ Johnson, the Bonerama boys and this year’s retreat participants is a monstrous privilege. I’ve heard fantastic things about Paul Sanchez and played Erin McKeown's brilliant live album on my radio show but I've never seen either of them play. This will be an exciting night for a great cause.”

Past retreat participants include Steve Earle, Tom Morello, Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Boots Riley (The Coup) Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney), Damian Kulash (OK Go), Nick Harmer  (Death Cab for Cutie), the Indigo Girls, Alec Ounsworth (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah), Jim James and Patrick Hallahan (My Morning Jacket), Hank Shocklee (Public Enemy) and more.   

No two “Musicians Bringing Musicians Home” benefit concerts are the same. Past events have seen many artists performing together for the first time and sitting in on each other’s sets. These unique partnerships arise out of the camaraderie established during the retreat and, in some cases, continue well after participants have left New Orleans.


The efforts of many groups and individuals, including Sweet Home New Orleans, have had an enormously positive effect on Big Easy musicians like Mardis Gras legend Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, who  — thanks in part to fund-raising efforts like the “Musicians Bringing Musicians Home” concerts — recently moved into a new Habitat for Humanity home after having lost his original house to Hurricane Katrina. Yet there is still much to be done to ensure that New Orleans can return to its rightful place as a beacon of American music and culture. “Musicians Bringing Musicians Home V” is part of an ongoing commitment to this cause.

 

About Sweet Home New Orleans

Sweet Home New Orleans (www.sweethomeneworleans.org) is a non-profit agency that offers social services and financial assistance to the city’s musicians, Mardi Gras Indians, and Social Aid and Pleasure Club members.

 

About Future of Music Coalition

Future of Music Coalition is a national non-profit education, research and advocacy organization that seeks a bright future for creators and listeners. FMC works towards this goal through continuous interaction with its primary constituency — musicians — and in collaboration with other creator/public interest groups. (www.futureofmusic.org)



About Air Traffic Control

Air Traffic Control (www.atctower.net) believes in the power of music, the influence of musicians, and the ability that music fans have to make social change. They exist to support and provide musicians and managers who want to be engaged in social change the resources and backing they need to make change.