(SOUTH ORANGE, NJ) -- Marcia Ball and The Subdudes are sure to astound and delight longtime zydeco music fans and give newcomers plenty of reasons to join this feel-good Mardi Gras Celebration at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) on Saturday, February 25 at 8:00pm. Tickets range from $45-$65.
Marcia Ball mixes Gulf Coast Blues, New Orleans R&B, swampy Louisiana ballads, and jumping, Tex-‐Mex flavored zydeco into a one‐of‐a‐kind musical gumbo, a sound she has perfected over the course of her legendary career. The Subdudes draw most of their inspiration from the sounds of their native New Orleans, blending Blues, Gospel, Funk, and R&B with their own harmony vocals.
Marcia Ball’s songs paint vibrant musical pictures richly detailed with characters, flavors and scenes straight out of Louisiana, Texas and the Gulf Coast. The Texas-‐born, Louisiana-‐raised musical storyteller has become a zydeco icon for her ability to ignite a full-scale roadhouse Rhythm & Blues party every time she strolls onto the stage. Her groove-laden New Orleans boogie, deeply soulful ballads and rollicking Gulf Coast Blues have made her a one‐of‐a‐kind favorite with music fans all over the world. In 2010, she was inducted into the Gulf Coast Hall Of Fame and in 2012 into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. She’s received a total of six Living Blues Awards and nine Blues Music Awards and has a whopping 42 nominations. She’s received five Grammy Award nominations, including five of her six previous Alligator albums. Always a songwriter of renown, Marcia Ball delved deeper into songwriting than she ever had in her career with her Grammy Award‐nominated 2010 Alligator release, Roadside Attractions, creating one of her best and most personal albums.
Over the course of 25 years and ten albums, the Subdudes have quietly become one of America’s national music treasures. Led by singer and guitarist Tommy Malone and accordionist, John Magnie, The Subdudes New Orleans sound is noted by the band’s substitution of a tambourine player, Steve Amedée, for a drummer. Tim Cook rounds out the band on bass.
The New Orleans-formed group is a living encapsulation of American music, a vibrant cauldron of sounds that stirs together meaty grooves and Jazzy dynamics, soulful R&B swagger, easy vocal harmonies, cheeky Rock 'n' Roll attitude and Folky social consciousness — not to mention some of the sharpest musicianship and ensemble playing you’ll ever hear from any five musicians.
SOPAC is located at 1 SOPAC Way in South Orange, NJ.
