Happy Jazz Fest New Orleans! As we watch people from all over the world make the annual pilgrimage to the fairgrounds I'm reminded of the adventurous and pioneering spirit that founded the festival in the 1970's. It's easy to keep this on the front brain as we announce SONO and our mission to the world. In fact, SONO headquarters occupy the former residence of Alison Miner herself! At that time, a festival that celebrated the rich musical culture here in New Orleans was a genius idea. It allowed artists traveling the world the time, space and funds to do their thing, in their hometown, allowed for collaboration and special musical moments that are still recalled to this day. Now, in 2014, the music festival model has become a force in popular music. The New Orleans festival has modernized to compete with other commercial festivals in breadth, attendance and long term viability. It is safe to say it is quite a different beast than the one idealized and actualized in the 70's and we are left to develop a new model to address the current needs of our creative community. The times have changed but the spirit remains the same. You will see Brad Walker, Paul Thibodeaux and Aurora Nealand playing in all sorts of bands all over the fairgrounds, but since the impetus for the free jazz tent has yet to manifest, you might have missed this gem of a trio. Enjoy!