Gumbo Radio

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band swung through Lafayette last year, and it was one of the best shows I’d seen in quite some time. Here’s partially why:

Since April, there’s been a 7-hour playlist in rotation broadcasting from Live365‘s servers. For some reason, I couldn’t connect to their servers and broadcast the live stream from here in Lafayette. Live365 didn’t know what was going on and neither did my ISP – LUS Fiber. This happened once before – strangely enough around April of last year – but the problem only lasted about a month and one day it just miraculously resolved itself. But that hasn’t been the case these last two and a half months. Until today.

This morning (as I’ve done ever morning), I tried to connect to Live365 and voila! No problem. I’ve been monitoring it for the last 4 hours or so, and it looks all right. I have no idea what changed, but I just hope that it continues to work. I’ll keep my ears on it for the next couple of days, and if it’s all back on track, I’ll start adding more titles to the playlist.

So spread the word: Gumbo Radio is live. Again. For now.

Two years ago today, I cranked up this little dog and pony show, with nothing more than bailing wire, half a roll of duct tape, and a 25-pound bucket of lard. I can play over 8,000 songs in the playlist and not hear the same song within 20 days.

You may ask yourself, “How can I participate in this joyous, money-losing venture?” It’s simple. Tune in to the 24-hour broadcast and then send cash.

Check out the new updated playlist. There’s currently 8,339 songs for 20 days worth of music, including new music from Steve Conn, Gatemouth Brown, Lawrence Walker, Jo-El Sonnier, Lucinda Williams, Red Beans and Rice Revue, Dash Rip Rock, the Louisiana Swamp Stomp benefit CD, and some Christmas music.

I added 11 albums to the playlist, including new music from Horace Trahan, Dylan LeBlanc, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. If you’re not familiar with with these artists, do yourself a favor and check them out. I’ve added some video of each below.

I’ve also added music from Bix Beiderbecke, Eddie Bo & the Soul Finders, Shirley Bergeron, Dr. John, Slim Harpo, the Magnolia Sisters, and B.B. King.

From Theresa Andersson’s website:

On Sunday, February 28, 2010, Theresa performed live at the Le Petit Theatre, with very some very special guests, including the legendary musician, composer and producer Allen Toussaint. …