Time for some “Fire on the Bayou” at a rare reunion of New Orleans’ funk jam band and studio wizards, The Meters on stage at the Howlin’ Wolf. Then Drive-By Truckers bring their poetic and critical style of Southern rock a la Muscle Shoals, Alabama to New Orleans’ historic Civic Theatre. Finally, we roll 80 miles upriver to the Baton Rouge Blues Festival, featuring dapper Mississippian Little Freddie King; Louisiana swamp blues guitarist Lil Buck Sinegal; Creole zydeco accordionist Jeffery Broussard; and Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens from New York. Turn on, tune in and chill out!

Join us this week for an exploration of the guitar in jazz, blues and country music. We’ll visit with modern jazz guitarist Pat Martino at his home in Philadelphia and find out more about his formulas for playing jazz solos. Then it’s a conversation with up and coming thumbpicking guitarist Ben Hall, who walks us through the Merle Travis songbook.

Join us on the festival grounds in Lafayette, LA for the 25th annual Festival International. We’ll sample outstanding live performances in Cajun, Creole, Latin and Blues, including Keb Mo, Sonny Landreth, and Steve Riley. Be sure to get out your dancing shoes for cumbia with Miami’s Locos Por Juana, two-steps with Yvette Landry and cajun waltzes with the Lost Bayou Ramblers. Plus an all-star South Louisiana tribute to the best of swamp pop, Cajun classics and zydeco.