The final act of our 37th edition will be Take Me To The Rivers All-Stars New Orleans. This is the ultimate and authentic New Orleans music experience, featuring an amazing mix of the city's finest musicians.

This unique 11-piece lineup includes legendary Crescent City talents such as Cyril Neville, Omari Neville, Ian Neville, Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr. of the Wild Magnolias, Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, Rob Mercurio of the iconic band Galactic, and award-winning filmmaker Martin Shore.

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Cyril Neville

In New Orleans, the Neville family is one of the most important musical dynasties, with music being passed down from generation to generation. Cyril Neville, now 76, began his career as the youngest of the four Neville Brothers and is hailed as one of the last great Southern soul singers.

In 1970, he released his debut solo single, “Gossip,” and joined The Meters, where he contributed to albums such as Cabbage Alley (1972) and Fire on the Bayou (1975). He later toured with The Rolling Stones.

Cyril has collaborated with artists such as Bono (U2), Taj Mahal, and Allen Toussaint and was the musical catalyst for the Grammy Award-winning album YELLOW MOON. He has also sung for bands such as Galactic, Royal Southern Brotherhood and Wild Tchoupitoulas. Cyril has been featured in series such as Treme and has recorded with artists such as Bob Dylan and Dr. John.

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Omari Neville

Omari Neville, also known as ONeville, is the youngest son of Cyril Neville. Born on Feb. 14, 1988, this drummer/percussionist was surrounded by his family's rich musical heritage. Omari leads his own band, Omari Neville & The Fuel, which brings a new generation of the Neville family to the stage. Their music is a fresh approach to the Neville legacy, with influences from reggae, punk, soul and R&B.

 

Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr. of the Wild Magnolias

Gerard, “Bo Jr.” Dollis is a bigwig of the Mardi Gras Indians. The Big Chief of the legendary Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians inherited this role from his father Bo Dollis, the charismatic singer whose piercing call brought forward a generation of Black Indians through the 1970 regional hit “Handa Wanda” and a string of recordings with major record labels.

When the Wild Magnolias became an international phenomenon, Bo Jr. began parading with the group as a child, accompanied by his mother Rita Dollis until he was able to make the long, demanding tours himself. When he could, he would go to Native American exercises and spend time with the group, learning folklore and chants from his elders. When Bo passed away in 2015 after a lengthy illness, Bo Jr. had learned his lessons well and was ready to take over the Big Chief's golden crown from his father.

As a millennial, Bo Jr. understands how New Orleans music has evolved over the years. He brought a blend of timeless ideas and new perspectives to the Mardi Gras Indians. Bo's singing is powerful and his songwriting makes him one of New Orleans' cultural leaders.

 

Anjelika ‘Jelly’ Joseph

Anjelika ‘Jelly’ Joseph is one of today's most versatile and powerful singers and entertainers. Especially since the huge success of her hit song “Fya,” along with bounce artist HaSizzle, her star has risen rapidly. Although Joseph appeared in the spotlight relatively late, she has firmly established her place in the entertainment world in just a few years.

She grew up in New Orleans, surrounded by musical inspirations such as soul legend Irma Thomas. She had her first stage experience with a performance of “O Holy Night” in her senior year of high school. Not long after, she was already performing in clubs on Bourbon Street, competing on “American Idol” and becoming a backing vocalist with the eclectic, Grammy-nominated band Tank and the Bangas.

These days, Joseph is conquering the world stage solo. She collaborates with HaSizzle and other bounce artists, but is best known as lead singer of the funk-jazz jam band Galactic. She also displays her versatility as a vocalist with the Original Pinettes, the only all-female brass band from New Orleans.

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Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph proves time and again that she is at home in every style - from soul to funk, brass to bounce - and she is far from sung out

 

Ian Neville

Ian Neville, born in New Orleans, is a guitarist with funk in his blood. The son of Art “Papa Funk” Neville - the legendary keyboardist and founder of The Meters and The Neville Brothers - Ian was literally born into the groove.

He grew up amidst musical luminaries: his uncles are Charles, Aaron, Cyril and Athelgra Neville, and his cousins include Ivan Neville and Aaron Neville Jr. From an early age, Ian played in his father's bands. He was taught the craft by none other than Meters guitarists Leo Nocentelli and Brian Stoltz, who personally taught him the ropes of funk guitar playing.

Together with his cousin Ivan, Ian founded the band Dumpstaphunk, now one of the coolest and most beloved funk bands in New Orleans. He is also a guitarist in the funk supergroup Dr. Klaw. Ian Neville is a musical heir to a rich tradition, but is firmly pushing the envelope with his own sound.

 

Robert Mercurio

Robert Mercurio is the bassist and a founding member of the New Orleans funk band Galactic. In addition to his role as a musician, he also has an impressive record as a producer: he co-produced all ten of Galactic's albums and has also worked with artists such as Big Freedia, Boyfriend, Lyrics Born, Porch 40, Greyhounds and The Company Stores.

Mercurio is also active in other musical projects, including Dragon Smoke (with Ivan Neville, Eric Lindell and Stanton Moore), Good Enough for Good Times (with Jeff Raines, Simon Lott and Joe Ashlar) and the M&Ms (with John Medeski, Papa Mali and again Stanton Moore), among several other local New Orleans bands.

Mercurio has also made a name for himself in the field of music for film, television and games. For example, he co-produced the entire soundtrack for the PlayStation 3 game inFamous 2, marking the first time Galactic wrote and performed a complete original game score. Their music has previously been used in popular games such as Rock Band and Grand Theft Auto.

Galactic continues to tour worldwide and draw sold-out audiences. The band has performed several times on American talk shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and even made a guest appearance on the HBO series Treme.

This makes Robert Mercurio not only a key figure in New Orleans funk, but also a creative force behind countless musical projects far beyond the stage.

 

Martin Shore

Martin Shore is an award-winning filmmaker (including winner at SXSW) and GRAMMY-winning musician and producer. His career began as a musician, touring with such luminaries as Bo Diddley, Albert Collins, Clarence Clemons and Bluesman Willie, among others. Later he devoted himself to producing soundtracks and musically accompanying feature films. For example, he collaborated on such well-known films as SAW, SAW II, RIZE and Rock School.

As a music producer, Shore worked with a variety of artists, including Snoop Dogg, G-Eazy, Yo Gotti, Mavis Staples, Booker T. Jones and North Mississippi Allstars. With multiple GRAMMY-winning productions to his name, he most recently toured with Cody Dickinson and his band Hill Country Revue, as well as five national Take Me to the River LIVE! tours with the likes of William Bell, Bobby Rush and Charlie Musselwhite.

Shore is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (GRAMMY Awards) and the Producers Guild of America.

His directorial debut Take Me To The River (2014) won the Audience Award at SXSW, Best Film at the Raindance Film Festival in London and numerous other international awards. In April 2022, the sequel Take Me To The River: New Orleans was released.

In addition to his work in film and music, Martin Shore is also founder of the Take Me To The River Education Initiative, a nonprofit organization that develops teaching materials for history and social studies. These lessons are now included in the regular curriculum of hundreds of schools in the U.S., including more than 700 public schools in New York City. Partner in this educational project is the Berklee College of Music.

 

Shore is also active in education. He has guest lectured at universities across America, been a guest lecturer at the Berklee campus in Valencia, Spain, and taught at The New School in New York.

 

His second film as director, The Mad Hannans (2018), was awarded Best Documentary at the Manchester Film Festival and won multiple awards worldwide.

 

 

 

Take Me To The River

 

Take Me To The River is a social awareness project created by award-winning producer, director and musician Martin Shore, along with producer and musician Cody Dickinson (son of Jim Dickinson). The initiative aims to capture masterful musicians, their legacy, culture, heritage and history - while also celebrating the global cultural gift that is pop music.

 

With the first two feature films in the series - Take Me To The River: Memphis (winner at SXSW and Raindance London) and Take Me To The River: New Orleans (GRAMMY winner in 2023) - America's cultural gem, music, is uniquely immortalized in vivid documentaries. These films feel current and fresh because new music is recorded specifically for each film in historic, one-off sessions with legendary artists. This creates a timeless historical document - an “evergreen” - that helps current and future generations understand where our music comes from, what it means, and how deeply it is embedded in American culture.

 

 

 

This performance is guaranteed to keep everyone dancing, shaking and smiling! It's like being transported to New Orleans itself.

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