The New Year sees Big Freedia, the undisputed Queen Diva and New Orleans ambassador of bounce, return to Australia this summer with her phenomenally high energy, ultra positive club shows and workshops.
Popping by to perform as part of Falls Festival 2014/15, we chatted with Freedia ahead of her visit. This will be Freedia’s third visit in four years, unable to stay away from “all those asses down under” she laughs “the people love the music there, there’s been plenty of requests for me to come back and each chance I get I’ll be coming.”
The past couple of years have been pretty huge for the Freedia camp, between hosting monthly New Orleans club shows, festival performances and international touring, Freedia is also the star of her own reality TV show ‘Big Freedia: The Queen Of Bounce‘ (on Fuse In the US), is writing a memoir, and has just broken her own twerking records, which she brought home to New Orleans.
“I brought the title home to New Orleans a few weeks ago. In New York I made it a year before as a launch party for season two of my show, we put it together in Times Square.” Freedia explained that it was important to bring the record ‘to the home of bounce’. “It was my city behind me making sure the title came home, I wasn’t doing it on my own you know initially. I was actually only going to bring it home if somebody tried to break my record in New York.”
Being such a vocal and important ambassador for New Orleans we asked Freedia to guide us a virtual musical tour of New Orleans.
If You Have Some Cash To Splash On Vinyl
“Peaches – has been around for a very long time, when I first jumped in the rap game, Peaches was already in existence. She has been one of the longest living record stores in New Orleans. You know at a time we had Odyssey Records and others but Peaches is the only one that’s still standing.
She’s a very nice woman, me and her have a really great relationship, she’s always been in love with my music. She’s the only person in New Orleans I think that still has my double disc, and she keeps it in vault to make sure nobody gets to it. She has the old tower recs building so she has a very very good building. She has a very creative store and a very good spot.” Website: www.peachesrecordsneworleans.com
If You’re Up For A Dance
“You’ve got to visit Republic NOLA – this is where we hold one of our bounce nights.
We usually do it once every month, all of the different bounce artists have performed there, we’ve been doing it for the past four years and it’s just very nice, it’s a very nice setting, it’s a mixed crowd it’s a mixed club and it’s somewhere that’s safe and that everybody can enjoy, and should come to New Orleans to visit.” Website: www.republicnola.com
New Orleans Is The Festival Capital
“So check out New Orleans Jazz Festival – just for the feeling of Jazz Fest and all of the people that come in town the two weekends that it’s held. It’s such a New Orleans festival and people really love it, they love the music, they love the food they love all the artists on the line up.
What’s also so great is that Jazz Fest organisers make sure they incorporate a lot of the artists from New Orleans and give them a platform to perform at the festival. So between Jazz Fest and Voodoo Fest they produce a great culture in New Orleans.” Website: www.neworleansonline.com
New Orleans Is Overflowing With Talented Artists
“In the bounce game there’s tons of talented artists and I can give you a whole list of them that are still young and still pushing themselves and are trying to get the exposure that they need.
There’s one that’s called Fly Boy Keno, Hot Sizzle, there’s so many of them my god. All of us are out there working, Katy Red. We’re all still trying to get as far as we can go.”
…And The Soon To Be Released Memoir You Should Be Reading
“It’s going good, up to about 100 or so pages, and have about 100 or so to go. It’s definitely going. Me and my publicist have been working really hard on writing the book, so every chance I get I’m doing a whole lotta’ talking. I’m twriting it whenever, I may be in the car and she [the publicist] may have a question you know, it’s whenever, whereever however. We’re just trying to get it in ’cause we have a deadline- it’s set for release in the beginning of next year.”
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Australian Tour Dates
Tuesday Dec 30th 2014 – Howler, Melbourne – tickets
Friday Jan 2nd 2015 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney – tickets
Big Freedia will also be performing as part of Falls Festival
