The 8th annual Sacred Music Festival could not come at a better time. On Saturday, April 6 a Peace Walk will gather at St. Roch Park at nine a.m. and walk to the New Orleans Healing Center at 2372 St. Claude Avenue to open the Festival at 9:15. Rocking until nine o’clock at night, it includes Deacon John Moore, Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band, a Vodou ceremony, Japanese Taiko drumming, storytelling, the Muslim Call to Prayer, Yoruba sacred songs, Celtic Tribal spirituals, Buddhist chanting, sacred altars, Gorealla Strong’s hip hop, hand-crafted goods from around the world, and so much more.
We need it now because sacred music is powerful. It can heal and uplift us and awaken the profound connections that run through our diverse cultures and communities. The performers are both local and international, ancient and cutting-edge. The Festival is fun, lively, FREE, and full of magical moments for people of all ages, all faiths, and no faith.
Eugene Hutz, the lead singer of Gogol Bordello, has signed on to close the Festival. He shares Ukrainian roots with Sallie Ann Glassman, co-founding co-chair of the Healing Center and co-founder of the Festival with Sean Johnson, Erik Shwarz, and Nancy Murray. “When Sallie Ann Glassman calls, we take a detour for NOLA. Not only do we take a detour but we do it for free! We have been deeply connected to all of the people of New Orleans in our hearts. It is an honor and privilege to roll into town, and hang with the Vodou Priestess herself!” says Hutz.
I reached Chuck Perkins, poet and spoken-word artist, owner of Cafe Istanbul in the Healing Center, radio host, and gracious host to Justice and Beyond on Monday nights. He was in Rome, dining with his wife and daughters. Chuck will MC the Festival. He’s excited about doing that when he returns from his world travels in a few days.
If you want more information contact Cheyanne Daunoy at 504-940-1130 cheyanne@neworleanshealingcenter.org.
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Publisher — Black Source Media
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of Executive Appraisers Louisiana, an MBE-certified real estate appraisal firm, and EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu