I have a confession to make. Until this year, I had never attended the Voodoo Music Experience. I know, I know—as a native New Orleanian, it’s shameful. Sacrilege, even. But thanks to the lovely folks at Mississippi Happening, I got the opportunity of a lifetime: I was sent to this year’s festival to cover the action and interview some amazing bands, so that our readers could get a feel for the experience as if they were right there with me. I had an amazing time, for sure!

So, here goes:

THE TOP TEN MOST AWESOME THINGS ABOUT VOODOO 2011

1. Seeing bands I love and have wanted to see.

Naturally, it makes sense that the best part of any music festival would be the music. At Voodoo, though, there is just so much to see—with six stages, it’s next to impossible to see every single performance that is going on. There is literally always a performance going on during the festival—which isn’t generally a problem, until two bands that you really want to see happen to have overlapping performance times. Which happened to me a lot, actually. That’s ok, though—I still got to see every band I wanted to see before I had to leave Sunday afternoon.

Mates of State

Husband-and-wife duo Mates of State wowed the crowd on Friday afternoon at Le Ritual, Voodoo’s main stage.

“Maracas” got everyone in a good mood.

Band of Horses

Band of Horses performed songs from their latest album, Infinite Arms. Front-man, Ben Bridwell.

Band of Horses bassist, Bill Reynolds.

Major Lazer

Major Lazer threw an amazing party during his set on the Le Plur stage, Friday afternoon.

Major Lazer wasn’t afraid to get a little up-close-and-personal with his fans. In fact, by the end of his set, several dozen fans were pulled on stage to dance.

Soundgarden

Soundgarden was the band to see Friday night at Le Ritual.

Fans and press alike were excited to see Soundgarden perform classics like “Black Hole Sun.”

Girl Talk

On Saturday night at the Le Plur stage, mash-up artist Girl Talk took to the stage dressed like Freddy Krueger.

It didn’t take long at all for the party to get kicking during Girl Talk’s set.

Girl Talk’s set was definitely a Voodoo-worthy blowout—a high-energy performance full of pyrotechnics, confetti, and costumes.

Blink-182

Blink-182 headlined Le Ritual on Saturday night. I nearly lost it when they played hits like “What’s My Age Again?” and “The Rock Show.”

Blink-182 drummer, Travis Barker.

Portugal. The Man

Portugal. The Man cooled things down at the Bingo! Parlour Le Carnival stage on Sunday afternoon.

Portugal. The Man played songs from their latest album, In the Mountain in the Cloud. This was the set I was most looking forward to during the entire weekend—it definitely lived up to my expectations!

2. Discovering bands that I am now obsessed with.

While some people are primarily concerned with just seeing the bands they know and love perform at festivals like Voodoo, I was most excited about getting to see bands I’d either just been introduced to or had never even heard of at all. Luckily, this year’s lineup provided a number of amazing opportunities to be exposed to great artists I otherwise probably wouldn’t have found on my own.

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

I couldn’t get enough of the offbeat stylings of Quintron and Miss Pussycat.

Miss Pussycat shakes her maracas at the Bingo! Parlour.

Quintron.

Other performers I saw over the weekend that I am now more than moderately obsessed with include: The Wombats, Peelander-Z, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Bangerz, and The Limousines.

3. Hanging out with some amazing musicians.

Part of my trip to this year’s festival included conducting some interviews with some bands for Mississippi Happening! I was excited to sit down and chat with these amazingly talented people—keep your eyes peeled for these upcoming stories, right here at MH!

Kora Konnection

Kora Konnection, a group of traditional African performers, delighted and educated its audiences Friday afternoon at the Preservation Hall stage.

---

CHRISTMAS TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!
01/05/2012