Join us on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center for The Life and Artistry of Leigh "Little Queenie" Harris , a panel discussion co-produced by The Historic New Orleans Collection and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. Following the panel discussion, the evening will culminate with a tribute concert celebrating the lasting musical legacy of Leigh “Little Queenie” Harris, the beloved New Orleans singer who passed away in 2019. Harris's significant impact in music, especially through her work with Little Queenie & the Percolators, will be honored and celebrated for its dynamic contributions.
About the Panel Discussion:
New Orleans singer-songwriter “Little Queenie” Harris (1954-2019) had a voice that defied categorization. Though she is best known as a blues-rock singer, she played with bands of many genres and helped shape New Orleans music for 40 years. Once called “a short, dynamic Southern woman with a tough, earthy, blues-ish voice that can rise ecstatically to gospel abandon,” Harris was respected as a musician, songwriter, collaborator, and mentor, and her absence is felt in the music scene in New Orleans and beyond. In 2022, Leigh Harris’s husband, Rick Ledbetter, donated her collection to The Historic New Orleans Collection where it is now a cornerstone of its music collections. Press photos, posters, promotional material, stagewear, and other concert ephemera chronicle Harris’s public presence and persona. Instruments, chart books, lyrics, and audio recordings are a record of her musical skill and vast body of work. Notebooks and scrapbooks provide glimpses of Harris’s mind at work. Taken together, the materials show her influence and ensure that it will live on.
About the Concert:
A roster of renowned musicians, including: John Magnie, Alison Young, Ricky Sebastian, Paul Clement, original Percolators bassist, John Meunier, Jimmy Robinson, Joe Cabral , Alex Harris MacDonald, Darcy Malone, Lenny Zenith, and more special guests will converge to honor her memory, showcasing the far-reaching impact and adoration Harris garnered throughout her career. This gathering underscores not only Harris’s indelible mark in music but also the community's deep respect and affection for her work and spirit. Free and open to the public.
Program Schedule:
5:30 pm - Doors
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Panel discussion
Moderator: Gwen Thompkins
Panelists: Nina Bozak, Missy Bowen, Debbie Davis
7:00 pm - 7:15 pm -Q&A
7:15 pm- 8:00 pm - Concert
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm - Reception
Photo: THNOC, gift of the estate of Leigh Harris, 2022.0147.15
5 окт 2024
