10 Bands, 10 Hours Indies vie for hometown respect

Take 10 local bands, all original material, presented over 10 hours free and you’ve got the first of what the Houma Regional Arts Council hopes is a regular affair: Houmapalooza.

The full day of music kicks off at just before noon April 16 on the lawn of the Houma Courthouse. The bands will have roughly an hour to perform.

Arts council staffer Rusty Bouvier said festival-goers will be treated to a vast genre, from pop to alternative songs.

“These are all aggressive indies,” Bouvier said of the lineup. “We looked at what was happening on the local scene. All of these groups are popular and have established a strong following. And all of them have either recorded an album or are in the process of recording original stuff.”

For Armand Cheramie, of Houma’s C&M Music and a member of Don Puebla and The Shawls, one of the groups slated to play, the showcase is ideal for reaching a broader audience.

“Our sound is kind of quirky but has a lot of roots in folk music,” Cheramie said. “This should be a great, open air event. Anybody can come in and listen for a few hours or all day and hear distinct, original bands from all different genres.”

Houmapalooza is intended to spotlight local talent as well as generate funds for the Houma Regional Arts Council, executive director Glenda Toups said.

“The day’s music is free and we’ll be selling beer, drinks and food,” she said. Proceeds will benefit the council, which serves six parishes, including Terrebonne and Lafourche.

“Our mission is to promote and provide cultural activities across the region,” Toups said. “We regrant money back to organizations and provide seed money to tons of others in support of the arts.”

Houmapalooza differs from previous local musical events in that its focus is on original material, not cover bands.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with cover bands, we host a number of programs featuring bands that do cover material,” Toups explained. “We picked smaller bands that have not necessarily been exposed to a large part of the community to give them an opportunity to be heard.”

Word of mouth among musicians who belong to the arts council helped land several Houmapalooza acts. The lineup includes Ben Labat & The Happy Devil, The TaTa Destroyers, Secret Society in Smaller Lies, The AutoPilots, The Artisans, Barnaby Bastille, Arguing Semantics, The Glassbeard and Guns of the Seneca, as well as Don Pueblo and The Shawls.

“Once we put the word out, double the [10 selected] wanted to be a part of it,” Toups said. That was encouraging news, given the long-term hope is to make Houmapalooza a regular calendar event.

“Based on the number of people, bands and musicians who have volunteered their support of the event, I would definitely like to see this held annually,” she said. “Right now, we’re just testing the waters.”

“It should be an ideal outdoor venue, and people can come out and hear all this great music in one place for free,” Bouvier said. “It’s a good thing for the community and a reminder just how much talent we have right here. It should be a great day to hear what’s happening musically in our area.”