Our September issue is hitting newsstands a little later than normal this month due to delays caused by Hurricane Ida. The new issue is arriving on some newsstands now, and it will reach the rest of the stands early next week.
As much as the hurricane has defined our lives over the past week, you won’t find a mention of it inside this month’s 225. We sent the issue to the press about a week before the storm formed as a late August tropical disturbance in Caribbean Sea.
We hope by time you pick up a copy, it provides a little bit of an escape from post-storm life.
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And inside, you’ll find plenty of coverage of other big stories affecting our region.
This month’s cover story is about the state of the local live music and events industry. It’s been nearly two years since the city last staged some of its largest festivals. While some industries have bounced back more quickly than others during the pandemic, the live music and entertainment spheres have been among the hardest hit and the slowest to return to normalcy.
This summer, it seemed we were finally in for a much busier fall season. Baton Rouge’s biggest signature events were planning to return, from Live After Five to the Blues Fest to the Halloween festival and parade.
But as the fast spread of the delta variant caused most fall events to postpone, cancel or go virtual, we turned our attention instead to the state of the industry. We spoke with owners of venues like Phil Brady’s and Teddy’s Juke Joint about the impact of long closures and cancellations. And with schedules constantly changing, keeping venues connected to audiences has been more important than ever. We interviewed the founders of Red Stick Music, which bills itself as “Baton Rouge’s Live Music Calendar.” Even when venues were shuttered for much of last year, the website was able to support musicians by posting upcoming livestreams and small events—and it will be invaluable as things continue to evolve this fall.
Our September issue also has stories on the Arts Council’s brand-new community arts center, Black Restaurant Week, an organization trying to make a difference for locals’ mental health, and so much more.
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Flip through our digital edition below, and look for a print copy on newsstands very soon.
We hope you are safe and well, and we appreciate you reading 225!