Music Schedule

If you're a fan of free live music with (not so free) beer trucks nearby, now is the time to visit our area.

Friday: Live After Five kicks off for the spring with a show downtown. This week is MoJEAUX, who I've never heard of. (liveafterfiveonline.com)

Saturday and Sunday is the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans, which is always one of my favorites. Excellent food and music are everywhere you go in the Quarter. (www.fqfi.org/frenchquarterfest)

Sunday also is the start of Baton Rouge blues week. The regular Sunday in the Park series starts with a Kansas City blues band (www.artsbr.org/sunday_in_park.htm) at noon, but the real attraction is the Earth Day show in the afternoon (laearthday.org). Their site is missing the boat by giving Cowboy Mouth top billing. Tab Benoit is really that act that you should get out there and see.

Next weekend has another Live After Five show, followed by the Baton Rouge Blues Festival on Saturday (http://batonrougebluesfestival.org). There are some pretty big names lined up for that one. And then, there's another Sunday in the Park the next day to wrap it all up.

Right behind all of this is the Fest For All in Baton Rouge and the Jazz Fest in New Orleans, so if you get through the next month without dirt in your socks and ants in your butt, there's really no excuse.