The Charmaine Neville Band Funkifies DTA!

Lafayette, La.— A community tradition for 26 years and a popular staple in Acadiana’s cultural and social calendar, Downtown Alive! (DTA!) will be filled with the sounds of New Orleans Jazz and Funk by The Charmaine Neville Band on September 18, 2009 in Parc Sans Souci.  

Born into the third generation of the New Orleans legendary musical family, Charmaine Neville has nonetheless worked hard to get where she is and make her music known as her own. She began her career backing up the Neville Brothers and went on to perform with the Survivors, a band whose alumni list includes Harry Connick Jr. and Bobby McFerrin. It was during that time, she first started working with saxophonist Reggie Houston. The band, certainly one of the best to come out of New Orleans, is co-led by piano virtuoso Amasa Miller and Fats Domino graduate Reggie Houston on sax. They have played festivals and clubs in Rome, Paris, Copenhagen, Germany, Japan and Barbados. The band is known to electrify audiences and have them dancing the night away to a flawless intermingling of African and Caribbean beats with the stylized jazz voice of Charmaine Neville.

The DTA! Fall 2009 series bring great entertainment in the form of free, family-friendly, outdoor concerts to downtown Lafayette. From legendary, New Orleans performers to Lafayette ‘s  own legends and favorites, DTA! features the best of Blues, R & B, Zydeco, Cajun, Rock and variety.

Fall 2009 Season Schedule:

September 18  The Charmaine Neville Band (N.O. Jazz and Funk - Parc Sans Souci)

September 25  David Egan & 20 Years of Trouble (Contemporary/Roots/Blues - Parc Sans Souci)

October 2  Henry Gray and the Cats (N.O. Blues - Parc International)

October 9  Festivals Acadiens et Créoles Kickoff
   Parc Sans Souci
   11:30 a.m.    Bach Lunch
   Parc International
   5:30 p.m.      Feufollet & Special Guests
   7:00 p.m.      A Cajun Country Homecoming featuring Doug Kershaw, Jo-El Sonnier & Jimmy C. Newman

October 16  Sonny Landreth (Blues/Slide Guitar - Parc International)

October 23  5th Avenue (80’s covers & variety – Parc Sans Souci – UL Homecoming Event)

October 30  Black Bayou Construkt (Southern Rock - Parc Sans Souci)

November 6  Cowboy Mouth (Rock - Parc International)

November 13  Chubby Carrier and The Bayou Swamp Band (Zydeco - Parc International)

November 20  Nik-L Beer (Classic covers & variety - Parc International)

November 25  Filé (Cajun - Parc Sans Souci) Lighting of the Official City Christmas Tree * Toys for Tots

DTA! is a free event sponsored by Cox, Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, Lafayette Coca Cola, The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, and Slap Ya Mama Cajun Products. DTA! begins at 5:30 p.m. with food and beverage concessions – musical performances from 6:00 pm until 8:30 pm, unless otherwise noted. Concession sales help keep DTA! free, so please leave your ice chests at home with your pets.  For more information, visit www.downtownlafayette.org. For more information about the artists, visit www.charmainenevilleband.com.

Downtown Alive! is produced by Downtown Lafayette in cooperation with Lafayette Consolidated Government.