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Ponderosa Stomp Announces Show Schedule

by conqueroo

Ponderosa Stomp, the renowned New Orleans roots festival has announced its artist schedule. The sixth annual Stomp is set to roll on Wednesday, May 2, at New Orleans' House of Blues, encompassing three separate stages with non-stop music.

Wednesday, May 2 rests comfortably between the two weekends of JazzFest in new Orleans, and many Fest-goers stay late or come early to experience Ponderosa Stomp.

This year's Stomp promises to bend ears with the inclusion of many legends of blues, r&b, soul, garage rock, New Orleans music, traditional country, rockabilly and swamp pop. Among the featured artists are garage rock legend Roky Erickson, rockabilly wild man Dale Hawkins, R&B soprano Little Jimmy Scott, master arranger Wardell Quezergue, Texas Tornado Augie Meyers, Texas shouter Roy Head, keyboardist extraordinaire Willie Tee, Mississippi Hill Country bluesman Kenny Brown, chitlin' circuit kingpin Bobby Rush, and "Mr. Big Stuff" soul songstress Jean Knight, among dozens of others.

"The Ponderosa Stomp is rock n roll in the truest sense. Nowhere else will you see such a historied but eclectic bunch of musicians on the same bill. Only in the universe of the Ponderosa Stomp do Dave Bartholomew, Roky Erickson, Little Jimmy Scott and Dale Hawkins exist together. Many of these artists do not tour and the Stomp is the only place to see them." says Dr. Ike. Ike is executive director of the Mystic Knights of the Mau-Mau, the 501c3 nonprofit organization which produces Ponderosa Stomp along with selected New Orleans roots shows throughout the year, plus a "mini-Stomp" at SXSW in Austin. Since the organization's 2000 inception, the Knights have considered it their mission to rediscover and celebrate America's overlooked musical pioneers and re-educate the community about their impact on music.

CNN has declared the Ponderosa Stomp "history in the making, " while New York Times music critic Jon Pareles calls it a "dream" event that "plunges into the obscure byways of rock'n'roll past." Of the 2005 festival, Gambit magazine joined MSNBC, the Associated Press, Mojo, the No Depression, Harp, Paste, Christian Science Monitor, High Times, Blues Revue, Living Blues, the Chicago Sun-Times, and more, with praise, writing, "For roots aficionados, the Stomp was nirvana; you almost had to pinch yourself to make sure it wasn't a dream."



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