Wednesdays at the Square Concerts

The Wednesdays at the Square concert series is, sadly, coming to a close. Starting in April and ending in June, this series of free concerts in the late afternoon/early evenings on "hump day" at Lafayette Square across from Gallier Hall (and where, many years ago, my family used to spend Mardi Gras day, back before the Federal Court building was erected) brings out the wide variety of music- and food-loving New Orleanians -- black and white and brown and yellow retirees, Baby Boomers, bikers, professionals, young adults, teens, and babies in strollers (and dogs! Big Man loves to pet all the different dogs at the concerts).

The tradition of the concerts began before Katrina and seems even more popular now, as a celebration of what makes New Orleans unique and wonderful, and as an early start to the weekend. (Only in New Orleans can the weekend start on a Wednesday!) It's great for the local musicians, the concerts being early enough that the musicians can get to a night gig afterward, and thus be paid twice on the same day.

Local restaurants and caterers set up little booths and sell small portions of delicious food and drinks at reasonable prices, using tickets instead of money, and so providing a steady stream of income for the sponsors of the series, the Young Leadership Council (YLC), who took over the concerts after Katrina, when the former sponsor, the Downtown Development District, had to concentrate helping businesses to survive in the post-Storm environment. There are also arts and craft booths, selling locally-themed items such as photographs, replicas of famous or infamous New Orleans buildings and signs, fleur de lis jewelry, etc.

Some people bring chairs and blankets, other stand, some sit on improvised seats, such as the steps surrounding the statues of Lafayette and John McDonough that adorn the park; still others "cruise" the square, meeting and greeting friends and family and enjoying the people-watching (and yes, the pretty woman-watching. Big Man says that per capita New Orleans has more home-grown pretty women than any other city in America.)

There's two more concerts to go, one tonight with the big horn band the Boogie Men, and the last one next week with the double bill of the Hot 8 Brass Band and Galactic, but it'll all be somewhat anti-climatic after last week's blow-out with Trombone Shorty and his band Orleans Avenue. Now, THAT was a show! (Troy pretty much reprised his set from Jazz Fest, but it did not seem like a repeat of anything, just pure musicianship and entertainment.)

I understand the many reasons why the series has to end in June -- it gets way too hot, for one thing, and I'm sure it's very expensive to produce, and so many local musicians go on tour in the summer, to get away from the slow season. But I'm always sorry when the series draws to a close.