IRMA THOMAS IN CONCERT:
As the legendary ìSoul Queen of New Orleansî, Irma Thomas has been serving up pure rhythm and blues fire for more than half a century. In concert she lives up to her larger-than-life reputation, delivering passionate performances that showcase her rich, powerful voice and radiant personality. Thomas is a prodigiously gifted singer, and she surrounds herself with only the finest talentóher backing band is a razor-sharp group of jazz and blues virtuosos who expertly strike a balance between respectful restraint and unbridled gusto as they kick out groovy basslines, scorching horns, and funky beats. Ticket buyers looking to witness a soul legend in her prime wonít want to miss the iconic Thomas and her incredible band any time they work their magic in concert.
BACKGROUND SNAPSHOT:
Louisiana-born Irma Thomas grew up singing in a Baptist church choir before landing a gig singing with New Orleans bandleader Tommy Ridgley. After scoring a deal with local label Ron Records, a 19 year-old Thomas released her 1960 debut single ì(You Can Have My Husband but) Donít Mess with My Man)î. The song was a hit, cracking the Top 40 on the R&B charts and paving the way for a string of successful mid-ë60s singles including ìWish Someone Would Careî and ìTime Is on My Sideî. Thomas relocated to California in the ë70s and released singles on various local labels, and in the early ë80s she returned to New Orleans and opened her club the Lionís Den (a NOLA institution until it was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina in 2005). She earned GRAMMY nominations in 1991 for the album Live! Simply the Best and in 1999 for the bluesy Sing It!, and in 2007 she took home the win for Best Contemporary Blues Album GRAMMY for her critically acclaimed LP After the Rain. Since then sheís been inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, wowed fans with several appearances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and won two Blues Music Awards.
Two legendary women in a legendary venue! Ms Thomas was engaging and her voice is pure and strong! Her band were true Professionals. Marcia Ball was high-energy and gave a moving, generous welcome back to Austin to her “sister from another mister.” Venue is awesome (naturally) and staff brought out cold water as we waited in line.
Love the intimacy of the venue Antones. Irma & Marcia sounded great and the bands were smokin'. Venue has no tables/chairs so we were standing for almost 3 hours at the stage-right. Great view from there but hard to muscle through the crowd to the bar for a beverage.
Irma Thomas showed us why she earned the title “Soul Queen of New Orleans”! She was phenomenal! What a great show with great energy and so incredible this 82 year old still sounds just as good (could I even say better!) than when I saw her back in the 80s! Thank you Irma!
Loved Irma 50 years ago and love her still! Hope to see her again!
Best performance I’ve seen in a long time. Great Venue. I am hoping that the Golden Nugget will have her again soon. An hour and a half of pure pleasure
Can that lady still sing!!!! She is amazing and her voice is as if she were still in her 30’s!! She is a great entertainer as well as a singer. It was such a fun show. Love that woman!!!
As usual, Irma put on a show! She was excellent. She looks good and sounds good. The crowd loved her too. Irma included the audience in her Second Line and everybody was getting down.
The Irma Thomas, Blind Boy's of Alabama and Preservation Hall Legacy Band show at the Peabody was out standing. My only complaint was that it was not long enough. Preservation Hall Quintet started the show minus a tuba player which was a first for me. They rocked for the first thirty minutes and the Blind Boy's sat in with them for the next thirty. Blind Boy's gave way to Irma and after about 20 minutes she brought them back out to accompany her on a couple of songs. The music was lively for the most part with a few gospel tunes thrown in. There was not a slow moment in the hour and a half set. Irma's voice is as good as ever and the Blind Boy's never missed a note. I have loaded pictures form the concert on my FaceBook page "WFCF Crescent City Connection". Check it out and check out our show on WFCF 88.5 fm Flagler College Radio and on iHeart Radio Thursday's 3-5pm est.
Great night, sings as good as ever, sang a lot of her hits.
MY FAMILY REALLY ENJOYED THE SHOW. MS.THOMAS SOUNDS BETTER THAN EVER SHE GIVES THE CROWED WHAT THEY WANT,HER MUSIC IS THE BEST I LOVE EVERY SONG AND SHE PUTS ON A HELL OF A SHOW.I WOULD RECOMMED EVERYONE TO SEE HER JUST ONCE.
