The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest 2008) opened on Friday May 25 to a packed park, and the sight of the crowds staking out spots on the racetrack infield signaled that the heart and soul of New Orleans was back.

New Orleans is facing a housing crisis of epic proportions, but this crisis did not suddenly spring full blown from the heads of politicians or think tanks.

Cyril Neville Talks About Going Home and the New Orleans Projects

Ruby Rendrag’s hair is, well, red. A nice red. Not exactly “ruby” red. Hard to describe. Subtle tones, but definitely red. Pretty. Her music is subtle, too. Definitely rock, but there are the pop and folk influences also. Maybe just a hint of Rilo Kiley. Yeah, definitely.

Dana Abbott is More Than “Halfway Home”

The morning broke in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo today with the sounds of gunfire as FARDC government forces fought with rebel troops in Kivu Province.

Betty Harris, on the list of the greatest soul singers of all time, gave a knock down, drag-out-all-the-emotion performance at New Orleans’ Old Point Bar on St. Algiers Point. Some of the city’s finest back-up musicians were there to support her in the person of Marc Stone’s Band, and the 200 plus audience that crammed into the funky little West Bank neighborhood bar was knocked flat by a performance that happens once in a lifetime.

The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) announced late today (Tuesday, November 6) that Congressional negotiators have agreed to provide an additional $3 billion for Louisiana's Road Home program in a pending defense bill.

Susan Cowsill is perched on the front stoop of her home in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans on the west bank of the Mississippi, doing an interview about the wallop hurricane Katrina delivered to her family as well as the local music community. The conversation drifts to the iconic Summer of Love and when, exactly, she joined the Cowsills. Yeah, THAT Susan Cowsill.

They dressed the wounds of my poor people as though they're nothing...saying "peace," but there's no peace. Days without number. Who will dress their wounds?

--Sinead O'Connor (Theology)