Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers to perform Thursday By Joslyn Art Museum
Omaha, Nebraska – For the 23rd consecutive year, Joslyn Art Museum presents Jazz on the Green, a free concert series bringing the best in jazz ? from mainstream and fusion to swing, big band, Latin, and, this year, New Orleans-style jazz and Cajun/Zydeco music ? to the Joslyn grounds. Recognized as one of the most popular free summer events in Omaha, drawing tens of thousands for eight exhilarating performances annually, Jazz on the Green presents concerts on consecutive Thursdays through August 23.
Jazz on the Green is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, ConAgra Foods, KETV, Midwest Airlines, Omaha Steaks International?, Oriental Trading Company, and U.S. Cellular.
The eight-week series will feature some of the best local, regional, and national jazz musicians in two-hour concerts held on Joslyn's east lawn and the grand staircase leading to the Museum's main entrance. This year, in celebration of the special exhibition Spared from the Storm: Masterworks from the New Orleans Museum of Art, two Zydeco bands, from Texas and New Orleans, are joining the line-up, July 12 and August 23, as well as other national bands from Chicago and California. All concerts begin at 7 pm (the lawn opens to concert-goers at 4 pm and closes at approx. 9:30 pm). Beverages and picnic food will be available for purchase outdoors.
Joslyn's Dodge Street entrance drive is closed due to construction for a sculpture garden through early July. The 24th Street entrance drive and north parking lot will be closed early July through September 7, also due to sculpture garden construction. Parking is available ($5 per car) in Joslyn's north parking lot through early July and then in the new Parking Garden northeast of the Museum ($5 per car; use new Dodge Street entrance drive) beginning early July. Free parking is available on the street and in surrounding lots.
Joslyn's permanent collection galleries will close at 4 pm, re-opening at 5 pm through intermission (approx. 8 pm) with free admission from 5-8 pm. The special exhibition Spared from the Storm: Masterworks from the New Orleans Museum of Art will be open from 4-8 pm on Jazz on the Green Thursdays with tickets discounted to just $3 for the general public and free for Joslyn members (read more about this exhibition at the end of this release).
The 2007 Jazz on the Green concert series concludes August 23 with Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers.
Dwayne (Dopsie) Rubin is the son of the "King of Zydeco," Alton Rubin Sr. (aka Rockin' Dopsie). Raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, Dwayne grew up listening to and playing Zydeco music. He began joining his dad on stage, playing washboard, at the age of six and learned the accordion at seven. After high school, he continued performing with his father's band, making appearances on the Dolly Parton Show and Super Bowl Saturday Night. In 1999, Dwayne won the title"Hottest Accordianist in America" at a Branson, Missouri, competition and formed his band, the Zydeco Hellraisers. When not on tour, the group performs at their home base of Club La Strada in the 500 block of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. This Zydeco "show band," encourages audience participation and dancing, performing original, not "new wave," Zydeco music that has audiences jumping to their feet.