NPR will host its annual New Year’s Eve special in a place that is in need of a resurrection in the New Year: New Orleans. According to NPR’s website, many star musicians from New Orleans’ storied jazz and blues scene will perform as part of NPR’s Toast of the Nation broadcast. A December 31 concert will take place live at New Orleans’ well-known Tipitina’s nightclub, and local artists such as the Hot 8 Brass Band and funk band Galactic will be performing in the Big Easy for the first time since Hurricane Rita. NPR will also broadcast performances from other cities including the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band from the Kennedy Center in D.C. and the Brubeck Brothers Quartet from Sanibel Island, Fla. Tipitina’s Foundation director Bill Taylor tells NPR, “We want to send the message that New Orleans is up and running and it’s okay to come back.” The Toast of the Nation special has been going on since 1979.
National Public Radio official site
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