Back in 1997 when I was following Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers to nearly every gig they played, one of the standout performances in the era was for the recording of a live album at Tipitina’s. Ruffins hadn’t played at the world famous club very many times since leaving the Rebirth Brass Band, so it was an occasion.
The recording turned out to be the first release of the fledgling Basin Street Records label. Now, dozens of albums later, Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers and Basin Street are back where it all began to celebrate the label’s anniversary. They are also releasing that seminal recording, The Barbecue Swingers Live, on vinyl for the first time!
There are a couple of other Basin Street artists on the bill. Trumpeter Irvin Mayfield, whose recent collaboration with Ruffins, A Beautiful World, recently hit #1 on the Billboard jazz chart, will be appearing with his band Cirque du Freque.
Also scheduled to perform is Basin Street’s latest, the neo soul artist Saràyah. Her album, Feel the Vibe, is out now. Her video has been viewed over 110,000 times.
As I used to write back in the day when I was first covering Basin Street, Kermit, and Irvin for The Louisiana Weekly—See you there!
Tickets are available here.
