2022 Cutting Edge Lifetime Achievement Award to Irma Thomas Presentation: July 8 @8:00 PM Location: Historic Carver Theater
Free Admission, RSVP HERE
“Irma Thomas, A Soul Queen Far Beyond New Orleans” -The New York Times, Giovanni Russonello, 2/16/22?
Of course, here in New Orleans, we know that; we don’t say it enough, “Irma Thomas Is the Soul Queen of New Orleans” and Beyond. Maybe we don’t do it because she is ours; she was the neighbor of my best friends whose house we drove by weekly. She is the performer who, with her band The Professionals, gave the absolute best show in New Orleans weekly on the Riverboat USS President. We went to her husband, Mr. Emile’s bar, and ordered gin and tonic with a twist of lime because we felt it was the kind of place our fathers would drink.
Everyone we respected in the New Orleans music scene (Allen Toussaint, Cosimo Matassa, Dr. John, Willie “Tee” Turbinton, Larry McKinley, Deacon John Moore, Tommy Ridgeley) spoke with reverence of Irma Thomas and her ability to command a stage.
Strong-minded, quick-witted, funny, someone who won’t suffer fools lightly, she is a strong, enduring music professional. We are proud to award her the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award for a life well lived in the music culture of New Orleans.
RSVP