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Mardi Gras music, like Christmas music, is not so much a style of music as it is an aural milieu comprised of various forms. Among them: orchestral and big-band arrangements played at tableau balls; Mardi Gras-themed rhythm-and-blues numbers that pour out of jukeboxes, “cutting-loose” jazz tunes that drive revelers to “shake booty” and pump umbrellas in the air; Afro-Caribbean chants “Go to the Mardi Gras,” first recorded in 1949, by Roy “Baldhead” Byrd, also known as Professor Longhair. The definitive version was recorded in 1959 for the Ron label. Some say it’s the most popular Carnival record ever made. The Mardi Gras Indians started their journey in the late 1800s and pulled much of their influence from their Native American comrades. Whether they're Wild Tchoupitoulas or Wild Magnolia, the music of the Mardi Gras Indians represents strength and long-rooted tradition and is as vital a part of Mardi Gras music history as the music of brass bands. What kind of music is played at Mardi Gras? And while famous musicians like Louis Armstrong made jazz a popular part of Mardi Gras, it isn’t the most common genre heard during the season. Introduced to parades by the Zulu Club in the 1800s, second line music, along with brass music, rhythm and blues, and zydeco, became leading sounds of Carnival. The traditions of Mardi Gras are a huge part of New Orleans' cultural identity. They've been evolving since the mid-1700s, and for the past century or so, the music of the Crescent City has The mardi gras song is called “Ain’t No Party” and it is sung by the band, Party Favor. At the start of Lent, everyone is dressed in a festive mood. During this time, families surround bonfires to roast marshmallows and eat king cake, a cake made of bread, sugar, and eggs. The music heard at rural Mardi Gras is Louisiana French music called Cajun, Creole, or zydeco music—played and enjoyed by people from all walks of life and who call southwest Louisiana home. Cajun and Creole music indigenous to Louisiana is played year-round, but to some younger generations and the less-informed, it is referred to simply as In 1699, French-Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville traveled to a spot south of New Orleans and called it “Pointe du Mardi Gras” since he and his crew arrived on the eve of the holiday. By the 1730’s, shortly after New Orleans’ founding, Mardi Gras was regularly celebrated in the city. Iconic music that defines Mardi Gras is a Christian holiday and popular cultural phenomenon that dates back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites. Also known as Carnival or Carnaval, it’s celebrated in Mardi Gras Music History The nexus between Carnival and music reflects the festive, let-the-good-times-roll culture of the Crescent City, where parading and dancing have long been obsessions. The seasonal spirit and its accompanying soundtrack conspire to prompt revelers to shed inhibitions If you are new to Mardi Gras, you'll need to know the lingo. Here is a list of common Carnival terms. Glossary of Mardi Gras Terms. Ball: a Mardi Gras ball is a special event parades host prior to rolling. They are similar to galas and often feature presentations of the royal court, dancing and costumes. Bacchus: a parade that rolls the Sunday In 2025, Mardi Gras falls on Tuesday, March 4. Mardi Gras—just one of the festival’s many names—is marked by raucous parties and parades, revelers wearing elaborate costumes, and delicious Mardi Gras (UK: / ˌ m ɑːr d i ˈ ɡ r ɑː /, US: / ˈ m ɑːr d i ɡ r ɑː /; [1] [2] also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. [3] While Mardi Gras is celebrated in various forms around the world, it is most famously associated with New Orleans, Louisiana. Over the centuries, Mardi Gras in New Orleans has evolved into a grand and extravagant celebration, deeply rooted in the city’s unique blend of French, African, Spanish, and Caribbean cultures. The Carnival season there opens on Twelfth Night (also called Epiphany, which is observed on January 6) and climaxes with the Mardi Gras festivities commencing 10 days before Shrove Tuesday. This period is filled with citywide revelry and elaborate parades, both day and night, building up to Mardi Gras and the Rex parade. Penelope Hernandez celebrates along the parade route in the Bastrop Mardi Gras Parade, Feb. 1, 2025. The second annual parade is part of the city's Mardi Gras festival- a cultural exchange with Mardi Gras is the climax of Carnival season and is celebrated the day before the Christian season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. In French, Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday,” another name for Although “Mardi Gras” and “Carnival” are often used interchangeably, New Orleanians are more prone to use Carnival, even sometimes referring to Mardi Gras as “Carnival Day,” while tourists generally say Mardi Gras, often conflating that term with the entirety of the weeks-long celebration. The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in southern Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans.Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (the start of lent in the Western Christian tradition). Also called Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, is usually the last day of Carnival, a week- to month-long celebration in Christian, mostly Roman Catholic, tradition. Mardi Gras is a presented as a great festival, a boisterous carne vale --or "good-bye to the flesh"--that serves as the last sowing of wild oats before the onset of the sober season of
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