New Orleans Music In Exile BLU-RAY

NEW ORLEANS MUSIC IN EXILE examines what Hurricane Katrina and breached levees did to the city's music community.

Like their neighbors, members of the legendary New Orleans music community were devastated by Hurricane Katrina and its tragic aftermath. With NEW ORLEANS MUSIC IN EXILE, noted music documentarian Robert Mugge (DEEP BLUES, GOSPEL ACCORDING TO AL GREEN, THE KINGDOM OF ZYDECO, RHYTHM 'N' BAYOUS) creates an emotional portrait of horror, heartbreak, and hope as the musicians who lived through the disaster pick up the pieces and try to rebuild their lives. Many Crescent City artists are shown giving post-Katrina performances, among them Dr. John, Cyril Neville, Irma Thomas, Kermit Ruffins, Marcia Ball, Theresa Andersson, Eddie Bo, Rebirth Brass Band, The Iguanas, Jon Cleary, Cowboy Mouth, and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, and interviews with these and other musicians make it clear how a Category 5 hurricane, broken levees, floods, looting, black mold, and their consequences wreaked havoc on music and life in America's most colorful city.

Mugge, his fellow producer Diana Zelman, and their dedicated crew filmed these interviews and performances not only in New Orleans, but also in Memphis, Lafayette, Houston, and Austin a mere two months after the storm. It was a time when most citizens of New Orleans were living elsewhere, and when few of the city's musicians had even tried to reclaim what was left of their damaged homes and music clubs. It was also a time when few stores, hotels, or restaurants were open for business, and when no one knew if the city as a whole could ever again support those who had left it. In addition to the film itself, the MVD Blu-ray of NEW ORLEANS MUSIC IN EXILE will also include a wealth of bonus features, all of them shot on HD video: an 18-minute short about Lafayette public radio executive David Spizale's personal rescue efforts in New Orleans; Jon Cleary performing "A History of New Orleans Piano"; six additional bonus performances by participating New Orleans musicians; and seven extended versions of songs performed in the film itself.