I’ve been walking around the French Quarter in New Orleans this weekend. It has been great observing people at their work. Hospitality is such a great calling card in this town. You know folks are earnest about accommodating you for a meal or, a bit of music, or whatever else you need. It is easy on the skin here. You get the sense that people know that they must earn their daily bread, but that it doesn’t get in the way of play. Moderation in all things. I think you probably need to be mindful of that when you live in a place where the party virtually never ends. But you can feel the balance, and the intention. People here are doing it; rebuilding a city, reknitting the social fabric. And it is good. If you haven’t been back since Katrina, you owe it to yourself to return. Here’s hoping Hurricane Isaac comes ashore as a non-event this week.

We filmed founding members Craig Aspen & Cynthia Frazzini of The Believers, during our Americana Fest Fall Music Fog Marathon last October in Nashville. BTW, Americana Fest is a month earlier this year, so I will be heading to Nashville in September. Unfortunately, Music Fog won't be there filming our sessions this time, though, because we didn’t make our Kickstarter goal.

The Believers formed in Seattle during the Alt. Country - No Depression era and have been recording and performing ever since. We actually filmed them for the first time two years earlier, when Tara Nevins brought them up on the Music Fog bus in 2009. Here is one from last year, a brand new song called “Wait Around.”

-Jessie Scott