Voice Of The Wetlands All Stars - Box Of Pictures (2011)

They are some of the most accomplished, influential, and legendary musicians from Louisiana. In 2004 Tab Benoit, Cyril Neville, Dr. John, Anders Osborne, George Porter Jr., Johnny Vidacovich, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Sansone, and Waylon Thibodeaux formed the Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars as an extension of Benoit’s organization Voice of the Wetlands. The idea was to forge a musical plea for Louisiana’s fragile eco-system that is disappearing at a rapid rate, as well as use the stage as a platform to educate and gain support from the national public. What was created was a brilliant group of musicians united as one – in music and in mission.
For people around the U.S., the Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars is a crash course in Louisiana’s rich musical history. An eclectic mix of soulful blues, New Orleans funk, hoodoo rhythms, Cajun Zydeco, and gritty rock-n-roll, the band takes listeners through every genre of music that has enriched southern Louisiana for decades. The full effect of what can be done when talents this sizeable come together reveals itself in their new album, Box of Pictures.
The band’s first, self-titled album was deemed a premonition of hurricane Katrina, which struck eight months following the album’s release. The chorus of the otherwise savory, funk-charged opener “Bayou Breeze”, “Don’t let the water, wash us away…” became a haunting unheeded warning of the devastation wrought by the storm. The All-Stars follow-up album, Box of Pictures, is a response to what southern Louisiana endured since, and before, hurricane Katrina. The album is riddled with emotion and the harsh realities experienced in the months following the storm. Box of Pictures is an illustration of Louisiana’s resilience, a love story of survival, hope, and inspiration. It is also a message that attaining justice is a daily battle, and that saving and preserving New Orleans, Louisiana’s wetlands, and the region’s unique culture are the major challenges of this lifetime.