NOMA presents Music in the Garden, a seasonal outdoor music series.

Encounter the sounds of local New Orleans musicians while strolling through the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden on select Sunday afternoons throughout the year. Performances will take place alongside sculptures across the garden.

T Marie & Bayou Juju will perform from 2-3 pm in the Pine Grove. Haruka Kikuchi & Friends will perform from 3-4 pm in the Ampitheater.

From the Artists

T Marie & Bayou Juju

T Marie & Bayou Juju play traditional and original Louisiana music. In addition to honoring traditional Cajun, Creole, Zydeco, Swamp Pop, Country, Blues, and New Orleans songs, the band also contributes to the next generation of South Louisiana sound with their own original tunes, performed in both Louisiana French and English. The band started through gatherings at fires, suppers, porches, and levees,  and you’ll feel this vibrant community of friendship echo through all of their music. These days you can catch  them at dive bars, dancehalls, and festivals, sharing that same good juju and joy. They play regularly in New Orleans, and the band has toured in California, Colorado, North Carolina, France, and Spain. So grab your dancing shoes—or shrimp boots—and get ready to dive into some authentic Cajun magic below sea level!

Marie-Isabelle

Marie-Isabelle Pautz is a second generation culture bearer. She grew up across the street from her grandparents, who immersed her in Louisiana French and folkways. Her grandfather played fiddle at house dances, her grandmother was the queen bee of the neighborhood bartering system, and her mother joined the movement to protect Louisiana French. When an injury prevented her from dancing to the music she grew up with, Marie-Isabelle started performing on stage. In addition to performing traditionals from South Louisiana, she also writes her own original songs and poetry. Marie-Isabelle’s writings in Louisiana French have been published by The University of Louisiana at Lafayette as well as Ancrages in Canada, and she is a member of the Recording Academy. Marie-Isabelle hopes that everyone who hears her music is transported to the feel of a community dancing in step – with floorboards creaking under the feet of our ancestors, elders, and the next generation.

In addition to performing, Marie-Isabelle has devoted much of her time to Restorative Justice, Food Justice and Housing Justice programs. Her social change work  includes: EarthShare Gardens co-founder,  Lafayette Hurricane Survivors Coalition founder, Center for Restorative Approaches co-founder, and Culture Campout co-founder.  She has designed, managed, and facilitated programs for Center for Restorative Approaches, Travelers Aid Society, and UNITY for the homeless, as well as a number of other schools and organizations. She is a Restorative Justice Practitioner and Cultural Worker  in New Orleans at an urban homestead and accessible housing community that she founded called Jukebox Farm.

Haruka Kikuchi