Tag: louisiana

New Album: Long Way to Go

Long Way To Go is a collection of original songs written by Katy and friends (Ted Lindsay, Noah Slater, Dave Ray), the album explores themes of the solo traveler longing for adventure and new horizons, the ups and downs of relationships and moving on. A rocking, upbeat country vibe featuring lots of electric guitar drives the music forward. Jack Miele leads production and his Dream Team form the backbone of musicianship. Check out the terrific review in OffBeat Magazine.
Long Way to Go was produced and engineered by Jack Miele and recorded at JMP Studios, New Orleans and Studio In The Country, Bogalusa, La. Additional Engineers: Kassie Netherland, Graham Robinson, Jay Wesley, John Fohl. Mixed by Jack Miele. Mastered by Joe Causey for Voyager Mastering.
Musicians
Jack Miele – Guitar, Bass, Piano, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Kassie Netherland – Backing Vocals
John Fohl – Guitars
Graham Robinson – Guitars, Rhodes, Mandolin
Sean Carey – Bass, Harmonica
Jimmy Messa – Bass
Doug Belote – Drums
Woody Dantagnan – Drums
Darrin Triay – Drums
Emily Zeisler – Cello
Order the Digital Version at https://katyhobgood.hearnow.com/
Storytime: The Mardi Gras Tree by Melinda Taliancich Falgoust
Happy Mardi Gras, everybody!
Wherever you’re watching the parades– whether it’s out in the parishes, Slidell, Metairie or along beautiful St. Charles Avenue–chances are you will need some shade and respite after a long day of truck floats. Find a tree, have a rest, look around, and enjoy the show. And keep your eyes peeled for the Mardi Gras trees! You know the ones… they glitter like rainbows, dedicated as bead catchers by the people passing by.
In this episode of Confetti park, we hear the whimsical tale of The Mardi Gras Tree by Melinda Taliancich Falgoust.
“Laissez bon temps rouler! – let the good times roll! It’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans and everyone’s excited – including the little acorn who just can’t WAIT to grow into a great live oak and watch high over the parades. But as the Great Oak says, it’s not always about being the biggest or the best. “Whatever tree you grow to be, just be the best that you can be.” An endearing tale of growth and self-worth set against the colorful backdrop of one of New Orleans’ biggest celebrations.
You can order the book at https://www.waggingtalespress.com/picture-books
Melinda, thanks for sharing your story and your wonderful talent with Confetti Park!
A Mardi Gras Tree on the campus of Tulane University. Photo by Mary Cross
New Album: I Dream of Water

Folk Rock/Americana album is cowritten by Katy and husband Dave Ray.
I Dream of Water, a collection of original songs written by Katy Hobgood Ray and Dave Ray, is now available on the Out Of The Past Label. Inspired by events in coastal regions and cities along the great rivers of the USA, the album is both social commentary and personal reflection on how increasingly intense storms and rising waters are affecting daily life, futures, hopes, and dreams.
Produced by Greg Spradlin and recorded at Fellowship Hall Sound in Little Rock and Marigny Studios in New Orleans, the album incorporates elements from the Delta blues, gospel, country, and jazz.
Order the Album
About Katy & Dave
Dave and Katy met in 2001 at a songwriter’s night in Shreveport, Louisiana—their hometown. Both write songs in the Americana/folk rock/country vein. In 2003, the couple moved to New Orleans, and over the years they’ve continued to perform at coffeeshops and small venues, collaborating in various bands.
Dave and Katy are members of Friends of Leadbelly, a group of musicians dedicated to promoting the legacy of north Louisiana songwriter Huddie Ledbetter. And over the last few years, Katy has become known for her work in children’s music with Confetti Park, and has performed at numerous festivals including French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest.
Katy also sings with Steve Howell & the Mighty Men out of the Ark-La-Tex area, who perform country blues and early jazz standards. This musical friendship was first established in 2002. (Both Dave and Katy sing on their album Good As I Been to You.) These are the musicians behind the new release, I Dream of Water.
In 2018, Dave and Katy took jobs based in Memphis, and are currently living between Memphis and New Orleans. They wrote this album with perspective and reflection on their experiences in their beloved Louisiana.
I Dream of Water is Katy & Dave’s first official release together.
About the Album
About the Album

Musicians:
Chuck Dodson – piano, organs
Scott Frock – trumpet
Dave Hoffpauir – drums
Vikki McGee – background vocals
Katy Hobgood Ray – vocals
Dave Ray – vocals
Greg Spradlin – guitar, background vocals
Dylan Turner – percussion
Brad Walker – saxophone
Jason Weinheimer – bass, percussion

Produced by Greg Spradlin

Engineered by Zachariah Reeves and Jason Weinheimer at Fellowship Hall Sound, Little Rock, Arkansas
Horns recorded at Marigny Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana, by Paul McDonald
Mixed and Mastered by Jason Weinheimer at Fellowship Hall Sound, Little Rock, Arkansas
Storytime: The Opossum’s Tale – A folk tale narrated by Janneke van der Molen

A Native American foltale narrated by Janneke van der Molen
In this episode of Confetti Park, we hear a traditional folk tale interpreted and narrated by Janneke van der Molen of New Orleans.
Janneke is originally from the Netherlands, but has called New Orleans home for two decades. She has a deep love of the culture of South Louisiana and her adopted city of New Orleans.
Enjoy her interpretation of this strange Native American myth about why opossums have pouches.
Opossums are marsupials— do you know what a marsupial is? It is a kind of animal that carries its babies in a pouch outside its belly, after the babies are born. They continue to grow and eat until they are big enough to travel on their own. Most opossums live in the South Pacific in countries like Australia and New Guinea. Can you name some other animals that are marsupials?
The only marsupials living in the United States are different kinds of opossums.
You will have to listen to this story to learn the reason the opossum has a pouch—that is, according to Native Americans!
The Confetti Park podcast and radio program, hosted by Katy Hobgood Ray, features music and stories that families will love listening to together. We explore songs of Louisiana, the Mississippi Delta and beyond. Sparkling interviews, in-studio performances, delightful music medleys, jokes, local author storytime, and a little surprise lagniappe make for an entertaining show!
Confetti Park is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University.
Music Medley: Snow Bank

Let the holiday music commence!

It’s the most magical time of the year…and we are feeling the holiday magic in Confetti Park! I hope you enjoy the culture I’m sharing from Louisiana, the Mississippi Delta, and beyond.

The Confetti Park radio show is a weekly 30-minute program that streams online and airs in cities across the United States, made available for free to all community radio stations on the Pacifica Network. We’re going to enjoy the music of the season all this month on every episode. There will be Christmas carols, Hanukkah songs of light, and children’s favorites all month long here in Confetti Park, as well as sweet stories to make you smile. Thanks for joining me, your host, Katy Hobgood Ray!

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer – Fats Domino
Joke of the Day – Snow Bank
Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) – Elvis Presley
Christmas in Tennessee – Amy Grant and Kid Pan Alley
Christmas in New Orleans – Louis Armstrong
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear – Michael Doucet
Blue Christmas – Linnzi Zaorkski
Mele Kalikimaka – Debbie Davis & Matt Perrine

All about the music

On this episode, Snow Bank, we start off with the delightful Fats Domino, singing about everyone’s favorite reindeer.

The we hear from the one and only Elvis Presley, singing “Here Comes Santa Claus.” I bet kids of all ages, even young ones today know that voice… Now, while I still call New Orleans home, I recently took a wonderful job at St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. That’s where Elvis lived and first recorded!

So let’s hear another song from the Volunteer State… enjoy Amy Grant and Kid Pan Alley with “Christmas in Tennessee,” followed by the great jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong with “Christmas in New Orleans.” How fun to compare the lyrics! They both begin with verses about the distinctive trees of the regions.

Christmas in Tennessee
The leaves are changing colors, they’re falling off the trees
I know it won’t be long now till it’s Christmas in Tennessee.
I hope somewhere that Santa Claus is thinking about you and me.
He’s gonna bring us lots of toys when it’s Christmas in Tennessee.

Christmas in New Orleans
Magnolia trees at night, Sparkling bright,
Fields of cotton look wintery white
When it’s Christmas time in New Orleans
A barefoot choir in prayer fills the air,
Mississippi folks are gathering there,
‘Cuz it’s Christmas time in New Orleans.

Next we hear from the marvelous Cajun musician Michael Doucet with “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, followed by a jazzy version of “Blue Christmas” by Louisiana chanteuse Linnzi Zaorkski (who was raised in Alexandria and Shreveport and now calls Bush, Louisiana home). Last we hear a Hawaiian Christmas song, “Mele Kalikimaka,” performed by singer Debbie Davis & sousaphonist Matt Perrine, a married couple who are busy musicians in New Orleans (as are their musical kids).

Also featured in this episode are two delighted holiday stories. One is a fun little tale from Justin Wilson, an old Cajun cook from Roseland, with “Santa Claus and the Mouse.” And we hear “The Kitty at the Manger” told by Mary Jean Chester of Des Allemands, Louisiana.

The Confetti Park radio show and podcast is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University.

Thanks for listening. Remember to look for the magic in every day!
Storytime: Panorama by Gypsy Damaris Boston

This is a road trip from North Louisiana to South Louisiana, represented in an essay called “Panorama” by Gypsy Damaris Boston, and narrated by her granddaughter, Katy Hobgood Ray. The essay is from her collection of published nature observations, Dear Louisiana, Love Gypsy.

Gypsy’s mantra has always been, “Stop, look and listen…. Nature is at work for you.” Some excerpts from this essay:

From the pine-covered red clay hills of north Louisiana, to the moss-draped live oaks of the black and coffee grounds-land of south Louisiana, I watched Nature’s pageant of beauty and look at our state with pride and delight.

….

The rains that caused so much trouble made everything lush and green. The water hyacinths are beautiful!

….

Young boys tell of filling sandbags to protect the levee. When the water would wash the sand out of the bags, bags of shells were used to slow the water and the sand bags were placed behind them. An additional problem developed when the continuing winds pushed the tides inland on the bayous and would not permit rainwater to drain anywhere.

….

I look at a small pirogue hewn out of a cypress log. I am surprised to see it painted…It is shallow, slightly pointed at the end, and the smooth walls look no thicker than a bread board. There is a trick to paddling a pirogue.

——

I eat seafood gumbo cooked as the French do and served with French bread. The loaf weighs only eight ounces but it is over 30 inches long.

The Confetti Park radio show and podcast is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University.
Music Medley: A Pirate’s High C’s
Ahoy!!!! Welcome to Confetti Park, a magical place full of music and stories for children. Aye, You’ll hear lots of songs from the Mississippi delta and beyond as we hear an amazing variety of American music for scurvy buccaneers! This week we are celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day! It’s held on September 19… avast… that’s right around the corner!

Here are some songs of the piratical nature for ye to enjoy:
- Sensible Life of a Pirate – Imagination Movers
- Talk Like a Pirate – Jake & the NeverLand Pirates
- Watch out for the Pirates – Confetti Park Players
- Down by the Bay – Andrew Best
- A Sailor Went to Sea – Johnette Downing
- Allons a Lafayette – Feufollet
- The Big Blue Sea – Danny O’Flaherty and Khaetidawne Quirk
- Sri Lanka Fisherman’s Chant – Katherine Dines
In this episode, first we have that grand kids band, the Imagination Movers of New Orleans, with “Sensible Life of a Pirate.” And then a sensible lesson in Pirate talk for ya, as featured on that brigand show, Jake & the Never Land Pirates. How about those Confetti Park Players, the cutest pirates in all the land, with Watch out for the Pirates! (Enjoy this music video featuring the Confetti Park Players and the NOLA Pyrate Society, shot on location in Pirate’s Alley in the French quarters of New Orleans.)

Sea Shanties

Argh, Mateys I hope you enjoy the song about sailors, too, by Louisiana pied piper Johnette Downing, and the camp favorite “Down by the Bay” by Memphis children’s performer Andrew Best.

Then we go dancing, “Allons a Lafayette,” by the Cajun band Feufollet, who started performing together as young buccaneers and are still traveling the high seas today. We also hear a song about that Big Blue Sea from Danny O’Flaherty, an Irishman who relocated to New Orleans (as many a good pirate will do), and then the beautiful “Sri Lanka Fisherman’s Chant,” performed by Katherine Dines, a fine fellow of the Children’s Music Network.

This episode’s Storytime feature is a delightful piratical tale from Bill Harley, the “Ballad of Dirty Joe.”

I hope ye join me again — yer Mate Katy Hobgood Ray — for more wonderful children’s music from Confetti Park…. and remember to look for the magic in every day!

More about Confetti Park

The Confetti Park radio show streams online and airs in cities across the United States, made available to all community radio stations on the Pacifica Network. Check to see if your local community radio station carries it, and ask! Support for Confetti Park comes from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University.
Storytime: Lafitte’s Restless Ghost narrated by Ted Lindsay

You’ve heard of Pirate Jean Lafitte, a French pirate who gained infamy in the bays and swamps off the Gulf of Mexico. He lived from 17080-1823. He is often featured in tales of treasure hunters and is part of many legends from Louisiana and Texas.

Here is one that takes place in Laport, off the coast of Galveston Bay… in the 1800s, many years after Lafitte;s death. We learn thatt he ghost of the smuggler continually wanders the earth searching for a worthy inheritor. Only when he finds a person who is worthy can he at last rest.

The story is narrated for you by Ted Lindsay of Mooringsport, La.

We begin with a weary travel who is approaching an abandoned house at dusk, and he enters it to take shelter from the cold wind. He can hear the waves tearing at the bluffs of Galveston Bay…. After stabling his tired horse, he enters the old house and builds a fire for comfort.

He wakes to find a strange man standing over him, who beckons him to follow. The weary traveler, in a stupor, is so commanded by the presence and entreaty in the eyes of the stranger that he does….

The strange man says to him,

“Here more gold lies buried than is good for any man. All you have to do is dig, and it is yours. You can use it; I cannot. However, it must only be applied purposes of highest beneficence. Not one penny may be evilly or selfishly spent. Do you understand?”

I said “Yes.”

Then the visitant was gone, and I was shivering with cold.

What happens next? Listen to the full story as featured on Confetti Park!
Music Medley: Cows Go Moo
Welcome to Confetti Park, a radio show out of New Orleans, Louisiana. We play lots of songs and stories from the Bayou State and from the Mississippi Delta region. This is a music medley of songs, poems, and jump rope jingles featured on a recent episode.
- Louisiana’s Alphabet Song – Kristen Cole and Daniel Morgan
- Joke of the Day: Cows Go Moo
- Hey Diddle Diddle – Wee Sing
- Rock Paper Scissors – Ph Fred
- The Itsy Bitsy Spider – Jeremy Lyons
- Do Your Ears Hang Low? – Johnette Downing
- Music Memory from David Phy
- Lovely Little Ladybug – Confetti Park Players Children’s ChorusConfetti Park Players
- Tit Cochon Roti – Girard Dole
- Kukuriku – Judy Caplan Ginsburgh
- This Little Light of Mine – Kermit Ruffins
- Quarter Past Purple – a poem by Carlos Colon
- Butterflies – a poem by Lily Bell
- The Coast of Louisiana – a poem by Hrilina Ramrakhiani
- Chien Jaune et Chien Caille – Girard Dole
- When You’re in Love, You’ll Understand – Jim Cummings: The Princess & the Frog
- Cinderella – a poem by Manele Anika
- Warehouse Mouse – Imagination Movers
This episode, “Cows Go Moo,” the show begins with a song showcasing the Louisiana state bird, the state insect, the state flower… and so on. This is “Louisiana’s Alphabet Song,” featuring Kristen Cole and Daniel Morgan. The old nursery rhyme favorite “Itsy Bitsy Spider” is performed by Jeremy Lyons, from his DeltaBilly style Silly Goose Music. And PhFred leads a group with Rock Paper Scissors. What a great song!

Who doesn’t love a Silly Song performed by New Orleans kids’ favorite, Johnette Downing? Sing along and play along with “Do Your Ears Hang Low?” You’ll hear “Lovely Little Ladybug” performed by the Confetti Park Players, a kids chorus in New Orleans, and “Kukuriku, the Rooster’s Song,” sung by Judy Caplan Gibsburgh of Alexandria, La. Rabbi Judy has been performing music for kids since the 1980s! Check out her website at judymusic.com

Other songs featured: a hand-clapping version of the Sunday school classic “This Little Light of Mine,” by New Orleans trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and his children; the Imagination Movers with “Warehouse Mouse” and “When You’re in Love, You’ll Understand” featuring Jim Cummings, who played Ray, the lightning bug of the Princess & the Frog…. a beautiful Disney movie set in the swamps of Louisiana.

Sprinkled throughout are many terrific poems by Louisiana creators, of all ages. Also featured on this episode is a Music Memory from trombonist David Phy and a folk tale called the Beaver’s Tale of Greed, narrated by Iran Martin of Bossier City.

The Confetti Park radio show streams online and airs in cities across the United States, made available to all community radio stations on the Pacifica Network. Check to see if your local community radio station carries it, and ask! Support for Confetti Park comes from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University.
Look for Katy & the Confetti Park Players at Jazz Fest!

Photo of Katy and the Confetti Park Players at Jazz Fest, by Sally Asher (those are her feet in the foreground)

Katy Hobgood Ray and the band and some of the Confetti Park Players will be performing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival this year! We perform at the Kids Tent on Thursday, May 3, 2018 at 3 p.m. SCHEDULE

This year Katy is leading a smaller troupe of Confetti Park Players in an interactive music set in the Kids Tent. We will do some of our favorites like “Roman Candy Man,” “Snoball,” “Watch Out for the Pirates,” and lots of Lead Belly songs. We will also do a special tribute to our dearly departed Mr. Okra. And of course you can expect a lively performance of our theme song, “We’re Going to Confetti Park!”

The Kids Area is a lovely zone where you can relax and enjoy a spacious safe area and special kid-oriented foods (still delicious and unique to Jazz Fest), arts & craft areas and discovery centers. and wonderful shade under the tents! There are some WONDERFUL people working and performing in the kids area on May 3!

Our own Algiers Point-based Calliope Puppets and the International School of Louisiana Circus Arts Kids are all performing on the same day as the Confetti Park Players? How cool is that? Algiers Point represents!

Also on May 3 are performers from Ecole Bilingue de la Nouvelle Orleans and the fabulous Micaela y Fiesta Flamenca and OperaCreole!

We are thrilled that the local media has given us some wonderful coverage surrounding our Jazz Fest performance. Hopefully people will be curious about our music and check out the Confetti Park Players CD, which every kid should have!

Enjoy these articles that appeared this week.

New Orleans Advocate: Confetti Park Players offer a colorful take on Louisiana music

Tulane New Wave: Tulane takes Jazz Fest

Da Cubes! Jazz Fest May 3, 2018, when Katy Hobgood Ray and some of the Confetti Park Players perform at the Kids Tent at 3 p.m.
Storytime: The Adventures Of The Swamp Kids – A Dog Named Cat By Leif Pedersen

A Dog Named Cat by Leif Pedersen

There is something special about a Catahoula Leopard Dog! What a strange and magical breed…It’s the state dog of Louisiana. And it’s celebrated in the cute children’s book by Leif Pedersen. Leif narrates the fun-filled adventure in A Dog Named Cat, the fourth book in The Adventures of The Swamp Kids series, for Confetti Park.

The Swamp Kids travel to a nearby animal shelter in hopes of finding a new pet they can adopt and bring home. They find a Louisiana Catahoula Cur puppy and learn all about him. (This podcast features “Sunbonnet Sue” performed by the Hackberry Ramblers.) Listen!

….They’re called “catahoulas,”
and raised up the bayou a bit.
They’re really good herders,
and faster than lightning.
At home he will be a big hit!

So now what to name their new furry friend? Lots of smiles come from this great book for animal lovers, not least the brightly colored illustrations of the swamp critters by artist Tim Banfell. Also included in the book is a Lagniappe Lesson written by WWL-TV and Radio personality Angela Hill, a dedicated animal lover respected for her journalistic talents and her unwavering commitment to animals. Angela offers kids tips on the care and responsibility involved with pet ownership.

Want to hear more? Listen to The Missing Chord by Leif Pedersen, the very first Swamp Kids book in the series. The Swamp Kids have many adventures you can enjoy… Visit www.theswampkids.com for puzzles, plush toys, activity sheets of teachers, and more!

The Catahoula Cur is an American dog breed named after Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, United States. Also known as the Catahoula Leopard Dog or Louisiana Catahoula, it became the state dog of Louisiana in 1979.
Music Medley: Gummy Bears (A Mardi Gras Mix)
Confetti Park: A Mardi Gras music medley!

Hello from Confetti Park in New Orleans where we are celebrating Mardi Gras ! The most magical time of the year. If you listen to this show regularly, you know that at Confetti Park we celebrate the magic you find in everyday, in the beats on the street, the clapping of children, and the laughter and musical sounds of life! But Mardi Gras… it’s something special. There is a feeling in the air of joie de vivre…

We’re going to celebrate with some of our most beloved Mardi Gras music today! Songs included in this episode:

Mardi Gras Mambo – The Hawkettes
Joke of the Day – Gummy Bear
Second Line – Charmaine Neville
Bourbon Street Parade – Santo Pecora and his New Orleans Rhythm Kings
ZuZu the Praline Man
Throw Me Somethin’ Mista – Jazzy Ash
If Ever I Cease to Love – Confetti Park Players ftg. AJ Loria
Iko Iko – Buckwheat Zydeco
South Rampart Street Parade – Rene Netto & The Sounds of New Orleans

This episode also features Coming Up Cajun by Carrie Delatte at Storytime.

About Confetti Park

The Confetti Park podcast and radio program, hosted by Katy Hobgood Ray, features music and stories spun in Louisiana. It showcases songs that kids love, songs created for kids, and songs created by kids. Sparkling interviews, in-studio performances, delightful music medleys, jokes, local author storytime, and a little surprise lagniappe make for an entertaining show!

Subscribe on iTunes

The radio program version launched on April 4, 2015 in New Orleans on WHIV FM and is supported by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University.

Current broadcast schedule:
- KVOY 104.5 FM Norman OK, every weekday between 3-4 p.m.
- KCEI 90.1 FM Red River/Taos, NM every Saturday between 7-8 a.m.
- KXCJ-LP 105.7 FM Cave Junction, OR every Saturday at 7:30 a.m.
- WRFA 107.9 FM Jamestown, NY every Saturday at 8 a.m.
- KFZR 93.3FM Frazier Park, CA every Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m.
- KLQS 96.7FM Agua Dulce, CA every Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m.
- WHIV 102.3 FM New Orleans every Saturday at 12 p.m.
- KWRK 90.9 FM Fairbanks, AK every Sunday at 7 a.m.
- KPNW-DB Pacific Northwest Radio Bellingham, WA every Sunday at 9 a.m.
- WHYR 96.9 FM Baton Rouge every Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
- KSLU 90.9 FM Hammond every Sunday at 12 p.m.
- WHPW 97.3 FM Harpswell Center, ME various times
Coming soon to KBOG 97.9 FM Bandon Community Radio in Bandon, OR. Stay tuned!

SEE MAP

A full list of Confetti Park stations (and a map) is available at https://confettipark.com/podcast/

Community radio stations, interested in carrying Confetti Park? Contact Katy Ray.