Culture is an important aspect to the society we live in today. With the economy so hard to live in, it’s making it harder for the individuals to meet their needs. There are many cultures that are around the world that is different in many ways. One way that many cultures come together is through the cultural events today. Cultural events are events pertaining to cultures, such as a feast or festivals. By attending cultural events, you experience firsthand the diverse offering of culture and artistic expression found in a community. The Essence Music Festival and the Mardi Gras are two of the festivals that many people attend for all over the world.
The Essence Music Festival is a festival, of many, that is held in New Orleans every year. This festival, which is scheduled during the 4th of July, draws many people from all over the world. “Essence Fest draws the best of both national and local acts, with a strong representation of both the commercial sounds of rap, hip-hop, R&B, gospel, and the local flavor of brass bands, jazz and blues” ("Essence music festival," 2013).
The Essence Fest began in 1995. The music festival was supposed to be a one-time event, which celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Essence magazine. The Essence magazine is aimed primarily towards the African American women. Locally referred to as the Essence Fest, New Orleans has held this event that started in 1995, every year except for 2006. In 2006 Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans badly, that the festival was held in Houston, Texas. I have not personally been to the Essence fest, but have read up on it, and one day will attend. Over the years, Essence Fest has been the highlight of New Orleans. With all the partying going on in New Orleans, the ...
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...enjoy all the festivities. Louisiana has been the only state that legalized this festival as a holiday. “According to History, elaborate carnival festivities draw crowds in other parts of the United States during the Mardi Gras season as well, including Alabama and Mississippi. Each region has its own events and traditions” (Mardi Gras, 2011).
Works Cited
History of essence music festival. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.diasporatravelers.com/EssenceMusicFestivalHistory.html
Essence music festival. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.experienceneworleans.com/essence-music-festival.html
Mardi gras. (2011). History.com, Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/mardi-gras
Mardi gras. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mardigras1.html
New Orleans Mardi gras guide. (1999). Retrieved from http://neworleanswebsites.com/cat/tr/mg/mg.html
I have lived in Mississippi all my life and have had an opportunity to travel throughout the state. In doing so, I have observed several things that will important in this discussion. They are the music, the people, and the resources.
Mardi Gras: Mardi Gras mean the ‘Fat Tuesday’. This festival marks the end of the carnival and the beginning of Lent period. The annual celebration starts in 1870. Some colorful dresses, ornaments, toys and the peoples are the main
Blues for New Orleans: Mardi Gras and America’s Creole Soul. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, c2006.
Though the two differed in many ways, the were both chock full of musicality. A key difference between the two is the style of music they both held. New Orleans was a city of a multitude of musical styles, while Vienna remained a well known city for classical music. New Orleans streets would fill with parades and musical performs all over the city. As the documentary mentioned, after Louisiana became American controlled, an influx of newly freed African Americans began calling New Orleans their home. This brought on new styles of African and Caribbean music in addition to spiritual songs from the south. These new styles were not accepted by with upper class of New Orleans. White descendants of the French and Spanish who lived in New Orleans adopted the term “Creole” in order to distinguish themselves from the influx of new American’s for whom they disdained. Creole’s were classically trained and participated in local orchestras in New Orleans, lending to the multitude of musical styles of the city. Creoles soon became second class citizens along with blacks, and thus a new music was born. The influence of the Creoles classically trained music, along with the multitude of different styles, created a music of freedom and liberty. Together African Americans and creoles transformed music as it was known, creating jazz, a quintessential
Voodoo Experience. By New Orleans Klezmer All Stars. City Park, New Orleans, LA. 31 Oct. 2009. Performance.
The event I attended was “An Evening of Jazz” concert held at the Fine Arts Hall on November 17 at 7:30 p.m. The performing groups were The Santa Fe Rhythm and Blues Review, The Santa Fe Jazz Combo, and Santa Fe Big Band. The event was to for me to understand, experience Jazz music and know the instruments used.
Culture is a way of life that is current and it represents who you are. It's a lot of things dealing with culture, but the main three I'm going to focus on are: food, music, and events. I'm going to talk about what dish Louisiana is most known for. How everyone comes to Louisiana to celebrate these most known events. And also, how we live in the same state but people grew up listening to different music.
Richard, Cicely A. "Tourist Attractions in New Orleans, Louisiana." Travel Tips. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
Well, my essay is about Mississippi. It’s a great place to be. There all kinds of events you can participate in. Blues music its part of Mississippi’s culture. This music comes from slaves in the fields, singing about their struggles, their conditions and their sorry. Many of the songs carried secret messages of escaping the plantation life. The music told of life experiences as slaves knew them. The stories sung about in their music went back before the Civil War and even to the western coast of Africa where men, women and children were captured and sold into slavery and brought to America as slave laborers to work in Southern plantations. The Mississippi Delta is considered to be the birthplace of the Blues, with the new music coming out of the Blues-Rock and Roll. The earliest blues musicians came from the Mississippi Delta region, where the uniquely form of music was born. These early musicians in turn inspired blues greats like Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland, who eventually took the blues northward to Chicago and contributed further to t...
New Orleans is the acknowledged birthplace of popular jazz. Despite being in the south, it had a liberal attitude towards pleasure and self indulgence. Being a major navy port, many sailors would need some relaxation when they came in from sea. They liked to go to dance halls, listen to music, and dance with women. Some sailors weren't as conservative and went to one of the hundreds or bars and brothels in a district of New Orleans, nicknamed Storyville. The city was also very racially tolerant. African American musicians were given jobs because they were good. Times are always changing. When World War I began, alert, healthy, and focused sailors were needed. Storyville was closed down.
In the early 1900’s African American musicians from various European cultures created a new style of music, known as Jazz. New Orleans is known as the birth place of Jazz with the French and Spanish migrants shaping early New Orleans’ culture. Settlers from other European countries including Italy, England and Germany combined Blues, Ragtime and Big Band Music to create what we now call Jazz.
... This migration was not only through the United States, but Paris would become a musical center for jazz. Jazz for most musicians is an activity. For African Americans, jazz is no longer used to weed themselves out of society. Jazz is now made for enjoyment purposes.
As soon as I walked in, I realized that it has totally different atmosphere from what my expectations were for the music concerts. Unlike all the other concerts I attended, this concert intended for small audience, probably around a hundred people. Also, this jazz concert seemed very relaxed and comfortable. Most of people were dressed very casual, wearing jeans and shirts. But the musicians were dressed in suit, which seemed quite awkward to me. There was a good diverse group of people, from young children to senior citizens. There was also a pretty even mix of different cultures, too.
The streets are packed with both tourists and Native Louisianans as they celebrate Mardi Gras in full color and sound. . The Huge Parades come flashing down the street with fresh music, an explosion of lights, and spectacular floats. Everyone is having a great time, enjoying the festivities of the parade. So you're new to Mardi Gras, but don't want to act like it? Here, in brief, are the basic facts about America's greatest party.
New Orleans has always been a big music town, for there has always been brass bands that played in the streets for parades, or for families to give comfort during a funeral.... ... middle of paper ... ... (The Influence of Jazz & Blues on Modern Music.”).