Other than the Mississippi River that gave New Orleans its physical shape and demarcations, it’s the music of New Orleans that shaped the culture of the city as one free from inhibitions and boundaries embodied in the Jazz that originated here. It’s that same sense of freedom that exists in the city today that turn visitors into residents, and it’s the music that is the main ingredient at the heart of what gives New Orleans its cultural authenticity and flavor.
How perfect it is that Bandaloo should have its origins in the city of New Orleans, a place where music still creates the ambience in neighborhoods. So, what is Bandaloo? Bandaloo is the brainchild created by two Venture for America fellows in New Orleans, Kate Leisy and Zubin Teherani. Although both come from different parts of the country, they both have an intense affection and appreciation of how music connects people and weaves together the strings of a community.
Bandaloo is organized much like the Startup Weekend events that have gained popularity in recent years where innovators and entrepreneur-types meet up on a Friday evening, form groups, and then work together the rest of the weekend. Ideas are pitched in front of an audience by Sunday evening, and the winner receives prizes and possibly funding to help their idea progress. Bandaloo will be set up in the same format, however, it will probably be much cooler because, well, music is at the center of this particular weekend and that just automatically gives it a leg up.
Starting on Friday, March 28th local musicians from across all genres will come together at local music venue Siberia, create groups, and spend the rest of the weekend, creating original song s, and refining their sounds with feedback from expert musicians from Guitar Center Studios. The three-day weekend will conclude on Sunday evening, March 30th with a showcase at Gasa Gasa where the evening’s winners will get $1000 and studio recording time from Music Shed Studios. Clearly, the support for Bandaloo to grow to other cities is there. It more than met its goal of $12,000.00 (they raised $12,155.00) through a crowdfunding campaign on Rocket Hub, which will pay for the New Orleans event as well as take Bandaloo on the road to other cities.
The two founders describe Bandaloo’s mission is to promote connections and collaborations to create music. They hope to put the ‘us’ back into the music whether it’s making music with friends, strangers you just met, or with professional musicians. For a project centered on fostering the spirit of community, it looks as though Bandaloo picked the perfect place to find its rhythm by launching in New Orleans. Learn more about the event at http://www.thebandaloo.com.