We’re proud and completely happy to honor Irma Thomas as our “Ceaselessly Soul Queen” on this yr’s Jazz Fest Bible™ cowl. I believed lengthy and laborious about who would grace it, and I couldn’t consider a higher topic than our musical queen and icon, Irma Thomas Jackson—although Irma has graced our Jazz Fest challenge a number of instances (2003 and 2011).  Irma is the epitome of expertise, grace, intelligence and standing up for herself as a musician. She’s now in her mid-eighties and remains to be performing. I like all of our residing legacy musicians who’re persevering with to thrill audiences regionally, and worldwide. They’re all ageless to me, and I can not think about what my life would have been like, had I not turn out to be concerned in music activism and media some 40-plus years in the past. I’ve been privileged to fulfill, befriend, work and be taught from so many musicians, writers, artists and photographers, and artistic professionals and enterprise house owners over time by way of OffBeat—to say nothing of our employees by means of the years. It has been very humbling and actually an honor to work with them and to serve the music communities’ pursuits for nearly 40 years.

Jan Ramsey

Over time, OffBeat has grown and adjusted regardless of many setbacks. We received by means of Katrina. We received by means of COVID (barely). We produced a number of CDs (that historical format!) of Louisiana musicians that had been utilized by the Louisiana Workplace of Tourism to advertise Louisiana music. It was a pleasure to have the ability to honor musicians and music companies with OffBeat’s “Better of The Beat Awards.” Over the previous 25 years. OffBeat created the first-ever complete “Louisiana Music Listing” of musicians, bands and music companies all through the state of Louisiana, which was a useful instrument for the music business cohort to speak with one another and to let the “exterior world” know learn how to get in contact with nearly everybody in music and the music enterprise (it hasn’t but been replicated). At present New Orleans & Co. hosts a smaller database of musicians and bands. There’s an actual want for higher communication, not simply throughout the members of the music group, however for everybody. Social media—whereas supposedly connecting individuals higher—has not achieved what it initially promised. The truth is, it’s created concrete silos of like-minded people who find themselves caught there and who aren’t serious about experiencing something however what they really feel snug with in their very own little towers. How will you uncover new music and tradition if you happen to’re not keen to depart your consolation zone? I additionally concern for dwell music, with the profound adjustments in demographics, the impacts of tourism on music, and once more, inferior communication inside and to potential music audiences.

All good issues should come to an finish. Over the previous couple of years, I’ve tried to seek out the entity to take over OffBeat and to additional its legacy as media that was created purely as a assist and advertising mechanism for our native and regional musicians.

Nobody has stepped up: print media is in deep trouble—social media is killing it, and the associated fee to print nowadays is outrageous and should get so much worse with tariffs on gadgets you want (like paper). The way forward for OffBeat’s archives courting from Summer time 1988 by means of January 2025 can also be in jeopardy—as we shut the enterprise, we’ll not have the ability to host the web site or the archives. It’s a heartbreaking “C’est la vie” scenario. My pricey husband and accomplice Joseph, and I are 75 years previous and it’s time for us to retire.

So, it will my final Mojo Mouth—at the very least within the Jazz Fest Bible™. I’m eternally grateful that I type of “fell” into this enterprise and was in a position to assist our music group over the previous 37 years. Music is life, and don’t ever cease listening.

Thanks for studying and collaborating in OffBeat over these 40 years. We love and admire you.