MUSIC
Guitarist, songwriter and jam-funk rocker Billy Iuso and His Rockin’ B Band will play the North Star Theatre in Mandeville on Nov. 21, and just five nights later, Dash Rip Rock will take the same stage. It will be a bounty of music during the Thanksgiving holiday stretch by some long-lived New Orleans players with bangers that can sate appetites for some funk, rock (punk and hard), rock roots, rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll, boogie, blues, swamp pop, cowpunk and outlaw country in their many forms and fusions.
Iuso’s six-piece band includes Radiators’ founding member and bassist Reggie Scanlan and longtime New Orleans funk drummer Eddie Christmas. Iuso led the Restless Natives, backing band for the Wild Magnolias, intermingled with the Meters, and plays in a Grateful Dead tribute with members of the actual Dead and Little Feat.
Post-Thanksgiving, the punkabilly trio of guitar shredder and “barroom poet” songwriter Bill Davis, drummer Wade Hymel and bassist Izzy Grisoli will command the stage as Dash Rip Rock, a Louisiana Hall of Fame band since 2012. Around the time of that induction, SPIN called Dash Rip Rock, founded by Davis in 1984 while an LSU student, “the South’s greatest rock band.”
All seats at the North Star Theatre are reserved; go online to northstartheatre.org to pick a general admission or VIP seat that comes with bites, drinks and a meet and greet in the VIP Lounge with the night’s entertainers.
ÇA C’EST BON:Louisiana Hall of Fame fiddler and singer Amanda Shaw will light up the Lobby Lounge listening room during an “Up Close & Musical” performance on Nov. 20 in the Harbor Center at 100 Harbor Center in Slidell. Her Cajun fiddle, Cajun pop sounds and stage charisma should make for a full evening of lively entertainment in this homey, small space venue designed to feel like a comfortable family room. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with music at 7 p.m. Get tickets at Eventbrite; none sold at the door.
MORE FIDDLING: There will be a Northshore Cajun Dance on Nov. 22 in Abita Springs Town Hall with music by “Louisiana’s Rockin’ Fiddler,” Waylon Thibodeaux, another Hall of Fame fiddler. Before Thibodeaux and the band start playing at 7:30 p.m., visitors can take advantage of a half-hour worth of Cajun dance instruction starting at 7 p.m. Lesson included in the $12 cost of the event at 22161 Level St. For information, call (504) 250 7561.
TRIBUTE: Sixteen-year-old rockabilly and blues tribute artist, musician and singer-songwriter Finley Watkins will perform “The King’s Country and Blues Christmas” show on Nov. 21 and 22 at the Cutting Edge Theater, 767 Roberts Blvd. in Slidell. The show will feature a mix of country and blues hits, some classic seasonal favorites and perhaps some of Watkins’ original music. Watkins started as a preteen Elvis impersonator who is aging into the role and has expanded into tribute performances celebrating Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly and others. General admission tickets for the 8 p.m. shows are $35 and VIP seats $45, plus taxes and fees. Get them at cuttingedgetheater.com; by calling (985) 649-3727; or texting (985) 288-2933.
IRISH:There’s a free traditional Irish session from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 (third Thursday) in back room of Abita Brew Pub, 72011 Holly St. Musicians and music-lovers are invited to come play and sing favorite pieces of Celtic music. Visit nstms.org for details and a link to music.
CELTIC: A free Irish slow/fast session with Madeline Hill from noon to 2 p.m. on Nov. 30 (final Sunday) at St. John’s Coffeehouse, 535 E. Boston St., in downtown Covington. Play numbers slowly to learn, then speed up the tempo. See nstms.org for details and music.
ART
SLIDELL: The Slidell Art League and Slidell Memorial Hospital are exhibiting “Love, Happiness & Art” — a juried show featuring the work of regional artists — at the hospital through Dec. 2 for the pleasure of patients, their families, the medical staff and visitors.
ATRIUM: Contemporary Louisiana artist Pamela Sills is exhibiting in the Atrium Gallery near Covington her “Joie de Vivre” show depicting Louisiana landscapes and botanicals in impressionistic-flavored oils on canvas. The exhibition will hang through Jan. 3 in the Atrium Gallery in the Christwood residential community complex at 100 Christwood Blvd., where it is open to the public for viewing, also at no charge, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
STTA: Michael Guidry’s exhibition in the Art House in downtown Covington continues through Dec. 20. This New Orleans artist creates vibrant, layered works, drawing from the landscapes and waterways of south Louisiana, his imagination, myth and a shot of whimsy. The Art House and its galleries at 320 N. Columbia St. is home to the St. Tammany Art Association.
COMMUNITY GUMBO
RECYCLE: Four weeks of special recycling events statewide ends in St. Tammany on Nov. 22 when residents are invited by Keep Abita Beautiful to bring recycling items to the Abita Springs Utility Department, 72077 Live Oak St., from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Bring metal, cigarette waste, pet food packaging and toys, hardware tools, electronic hair tools and appliances, contact lens cases, personal care packaging, and oral care products and packaging. You can also bring one 18-gallon container of glass per household. Contact info@keepabitabeautiful.org for more information. Currently, only 45 of Louisiana’s 190 municipalities and parishes offer residential recycling programs, making these special recycling events all the more important, says Keep Louisiana Beautiful Executive Director Susan Russell.
GIVING: Lakeview Hospital is collecting new, unwrapped toys and gifts for area children that will be distributed by St. Tammany Project Christmas. The donations can be dropped off through Dec. 5 in the hospital’s first floor Human Resources office at 95 Judge Tanner Blvd. from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours and on weekends, drop them in the first floor Guest Services office just inside the hospital’s main entrance. Gift cards also welcomed. Gifts should remain in original wrapping, but they should not be gift wrapped. For questions, call Tiche Bodet at (985) 867-4166.
T’GIVING: Noon on Nov. 24 is the deadline to place an order to receive a turkey-with-all-the-trimmings meal prepared by Slidell’s annual Community Thanksgiving Day Dinner volunteers. Meals can be delivered, picked up or enjoyed communally at the church — so long as the meal is reserved and confirmed before the deadline. Request a meal by calling (985) 690-3460 or emailing slidellthanksgiving@gmail.com and providing all required details. Anyone 16 years or older is also invited to volunteer to help by signing up as soon as possible at www.aldersgate-slidell.org.
FRA: Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) Branch 222 will meet at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at American Legion Post 374, at 2233 Carey St. in Olde Towne Slidell. All members and eligible members welcome. For more information, call Mark Dernovsek at (985) 788-0928.