Brian Blade and Friends will perform a Mama Rosa session tonight, at Bears on Fairfield. Blade performed that show at Naked Bean Cafe, Line Ave, in 2010. In the audience was a performer, Maggie Koerner, on the cusp of a singing and song writing career. A Shreveport girl (Loyola Prep, LSUS), she has since migrated to New Orleans. Her recent record, Neutral Ground, is a highly-evolved, poetic, and organic blues rock song cycle. Meanwhile, she has begun touring as a singer with Galactic.
“I was fresh out of LSUS at 22, and my new path (same old dream) was to pursue a music career instead of the easier, natural continuance of school for a masters in counseling psychology. I had just met Brady Blade a few weeks back & that gave me some hope for the future. He told me that I should come hear his brother Brian play some songs at this little cafe on Kings Hwy.
When the day came, I showed up 15 minutes early and the place was packed like sardines. I saw a few familiar faces including Brady who was, as always, busy talking to a million different people at once. I came solo and quickly found 1 lonesome seat on the front row so that’s where I parked it until the show started. When it did, I knew instantly that I was in for a real and rare treat of a performance.
Intimate and educating, Brian and the band blew my mind right open to a place I had never been before with music. Little did I know that I was sitting there 2 feet away watching a living legend play, but that probably helped me experience the show in its purest form. The 2 things I remember most about the set was one, the guitar player freaking me out with his talent, especially during his solo on ‘You’ll Always Be My Baby‘ and, two, when they played ‘Second Home,‘ I unexpectedly teared up. I felt such a strange and visceral connection to that song. It wasn’t until I had been living in New Orleans for a year & a half & coming back home from a gig with my band, all huge fans of Brian, that I realized why I teared up. My guitar player, Chris, put on the Mama Rosa album in the van. When “Second Home” started to play and I understood everything Brian was talking about through the lyrics, they had resonated in me because I had to get to my second home of New Orleans.
I feel honored and grateful that I was able to meet Brian & Mama Rosa after the show. Such a special night that I have not nor will ever forget.”