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"Dressed in blue and playing high-energy folk rock that's perfect for a house party, The Blue Party is possibly the 'funnest' band on Earth." - Arts Council of New Orleans

"The Blue Party blends sounds as if they were making a jambalaya out of good times. With equal parts rock, folk and dance, they stir up a musical dish that really suits their home of New Orleans." - wellthatscool.com (Tuscaloosa, AL)

"Underneath the hyperactive, road tested party antics of this six-piece lies a level of sheer musical virtuosity not found in many groups stomping around town" - Barryfest.com (New Orleans, LA)

"The Blue Party ushered in the evening with a set of springy, sunny early 20s anthems. Uniting soul- searching travelogues (“Honduras”) and hip party chorales (“Homeless”), they showed why they are quickly becoming favorites with the campus crowd – plus, it’s kind of hard not to get behind a band with a bouzouki." - Groovescapes.com (New Orleans, LA)

"The Blue Party got the crowd in such a happy, dancing mood that a visit from Starkville Police with an order to turn the volume down did not even phase the energy level in the backyard...this party was one for Starkville's history books" - The Mississippi State Reflector (Starkville, MS)

"They effortlessly mix musical styles to create a sound that is all their own." - The Vignette (Kansas City, MO)

"The Blue Party first played in Hays in September 2010. When The Blue Party returned to Hays in April, the band drew on Wednesday night and had the crowd singing their lyrics." - The Hays Daily News (Hays, KS)

"As soon as the first chord was struck, a dance party broke out. With the members dancing with audience members and everyone having an awesome time to their up-tempo tunes, you couldn’t help but watch this band play and crack a smile." - Music Makers (Starkville, MS)

"With their fun, yet heartfelt lyrics and sound, the Blue Party will make sure everyone who listens to them will have a great time." - Scout66

Partisans,

Writing to you live from 2012 after our last blast from the past came over 2 months ago, we would like to tell you that this is due to a hella bad New Year’s hangover (which we had), but in reality, we have been working our tails off in 2012 like it’s our last year here.

Here’s an update Greetings friends,

Writing to you live from 2012 after our last blast from the past came over 2 months ago, we would like to tell you that this is due to a hella bad New Year’s hangover (which we had), but in reality, we have been working our tails off in 2012 like it’s our last year here.

Here’s an update on what we have in store for everyone this year:

We kicked off 2012 in Starkvegas, MS at Dave’s Darkhorse Tavern with 300 of our closest friends. This was our first show with new friends Star and Micey (@StarandMicey) from Memphis whom you will be sure to see more of soon.

This weekend we’ll be playing in Lake Charles with our good friends Mississippi Rail Company (@missrailco) for a good old fashioned Saturday night throwdown.

This past week the band has been holed up in The Music Shed (@MusicShed) recording the new EP which we can not wait to finish and hand over to you.

And finally, how could we forget, the gran-daddy of them all, Mardi Gras. The Blue Party will be kicking off Carnival season Feb 4th on Frenchmen Street to celebrate Krewe du Vieux with Big History (@BigHistoryMusic) at The Maison. This show is FREE purely because we know you will be saving up for Mardi Gras libations.

Then, to cap off the wonderful phenomenon that is Mardi Gras, we will be playing Cafe Prytania (@CafePrytania) Feb 19th with old pals The Revivalists (@therevivalists) and folk super-stars Star and Micey.

From there, recovery will commence, and we will be back on the road shortly after. We hope to see all your beautiful faces somewhere down the line, but until then, fuck yeah.

@theblueparty
#FuckYeah #MardiGras what we have in store for everyone this year:

We kicked off 2012 in Starkvegas, MS at Dave’s Darkhorse Tavern with 300 of our closest friends. This was our first show with new friends Star and Micey (@StarandMicey) from Memphis whom you will be sure to see more of soon.

This weekend we’ll be playing in Lake Charles with our good friends Mississippi Rail Company (@missrailco) for a good old fashioned Saturday night throwdown.

This past week the band has been holed up in The Music Shed (@MusicShed) recording a new crop of tunes which we can not wait to finish and hand over to you.

And finally, how could we forget, the gran-daddy of them all, Mardi Gras. The Blue Party will be kicking off Carnival season Feb 4th on Frenchmen Street to celebrate Krewe du Vieux with Big History (@BigHistoryMusic) at The Maison. This show is FREE purely because we know you will be saving up for Mardi Gras libations.

Then, to cap off the wonderful phenomenon that is Mardi Gras, we will be playing Cafe Prytania (@CafePrytania) Feb 19th with old pals The Revivalists (@therevivalists) and folk super-stars, Star and Micey.

From there, recovery will commence, and we will be back on the road to the Midwest shortly after. We hope to see all your beautiful faces somewhere down the line, but until then, fuck yeah.

@theblueparty
#FuckYeah #MardiGras

Our old drum-banger, Ross McIntire, is back behind the kit for us for the forseeable future. We played the Maison on Frenchmen Street with him Saturday night, and it couldn’t have gone better. John Paul of Mississippi Rail Co. was on the scene shooting video. Check out some of his clips from the show here.  We’ll have full songs on YouTube next week.

Ross originally left to pursue a jazz career in New Orleans.  He’s definitely still doing that but wants to get back to some touring and The Blue Party is always doing that.  Chris Cousins is 100% still in the family.  He’s heading to law school and subbing on gigs when needed.  We wish him the absolute best.

We’re headed to Nashville today for a show at the Five Spot and a little rock and roll vacation.  We’ll start posting our 2012 dates soon on our tour page, so stay tuned!

It’s 3:46 in the morning and way past my bedtime.  However, since I’m still up, I figured I’d post some video I just got from our Nov. 5 show at Maison.  The quality is so-so, but these are some newer tunes, so I figured I’d post em to the blog. Enjoy.

Neutral Ground:

I Only Leave So That I Can Come Back:

Our video-making bass player, Al T. Small, whipped up a little video of our exploits over the last few weeks.  Check it out below:

Blue Party in America

No, that^ is not a band name.  Barryfest is the hippest blog in New Orleans and The Saint is the hippest dive bar.   On a recent Monday night, we joined forces with the two aforementioned parties for a raucous and well-documented show.  Despite being 99% worn out, we summoned the energy we had left after 3 sleepless weeks on the road.  The good people at Barryfest took some great pictures and wrote a nice little review of the show.  Our favorite quote?.. “if there’s one thing undeniable about the Blue Party, it’s that they aren’t half-assing it.”

Howdy Partisans,

May is over, which means we’re taking a month off! (From playing shows that is).  We recently got some pictures of our Tipitina’s show from a good man named Josh Brasted (he’s the man), so I figured I’d share.

Also, before the pics, we got some press from the show too: Offbeat, Nola Defender, and Barryfest.  Thanks for the shoutouts guys!!

Now, back to those pictures…

One of the biggest highlights of the night was Natalie’s take on the Gospel tune, Death Came a-Knockin’, by Ruthie Foster.  She was accompanied by Chris on drums, Rob from The Revivalists on saxophone, and former Blue Party drummer, Ross McIntire on percussion.  It was simple, and it was absolutely awesome.  I’m sure we’ll do it again.  Here’s Natalie singing the tune and playing the floor tom at the same time:

Rob took a solo halfway through that totally rocked.  (BTW, The Revivalists played in Lafayette Square yesterday in NOLA.  Mad Props.)

It was awesome to have Ross back on stage with us again as well.  He is definitely one of the best drummers/percussionists in New Orleans.  Hands down.

In other news, George kept the Thor-mask streak alive and showed the world that he is still the weirdest/coolest member of The Blue Party.  

In other fashion-related news, Alex shaved the mustache and sported “The Lincoln” for the show:

Al and Chris started the night in suits and managed to stealthily change into their “Tampa” outfits while I was talking.  It was the first planned Blue Party costume change and they pulled it off without telling anyone else in the band.  Well done Gents.  Al suited:

Chris dressed for the beach:

And Natalie thinks I need a haircut:

That’s it for now.  I’m going to the library to book our next tour(s).  Unfortunately, my ADD does not allow me to get anything done at my own house.

Until next time,

Reid

We had an outrageously awesome time this past weekend in Starkville and Shreveport.  In what might now be our biggest market, we got down with hundreds of folks in Starkville at yet another epic night at The Garden Center (Update: And the newspaper wrote an awesome article about it!)  It was our 3rd time playing there and it just gets better everytime.  Can’t wait to do it again in the Fall.  The next night we hit up Fatty Arbuckles in Shreveport.  That venue is doing a hell of job of basically becoming New Orleans North.  We started at 2 AM.  The sun was out when I went to bed.  Late night gig = awesome.  Early morning drive = not awesome.

Next Friday, we leave for the Midwest.  If you are anywhere in a 1-state radius of Kansas, I suggest you tell your boss now that you’re not going to be at work on April 21, so you can come to our 4/20 show at Chuck’s.  We’ll also be going to Nebraska for the first time, with stops in Lincoln and Omaha. Go Huskers.

See you on the road,

Reid

Apparently people in Alabama check our website.  How do I know?  Because, during our encore at a house party in Tuscaloosa this past Saturday, I got iced with a 24 oz smirnoff.  Not pleasant.  Interestingly enough, I first got iced by The Revivalists in Tuscaloosa 3 months ago.  Now audience members are doing it us.  This could get dangerous.

Aside from that, the show was an absolute blast.  It was our first house party in a loooong time.  I almost forgot how fun they are to play.  I tried to stand on the monitor at one point and completely ass-planted into the crowd and knocked over all the beer onstage.  Natalie gave me an ear-full after the show about putting her fiddle in danger.  Whoopsidaisy.

This Friday should be another completely outrageous night as we are playing a costume ball at Blue Nile on Frenchmen Street with Mississippi Rail Company and Stathakula.  We go on at midnight.  If you wear a costume, you automatically are entered into a raffle to win $75.  Woooo!! Hopefully, Natalie wears her awesome Duff-man (from the Simpsons) costume again.  See you Friday!

- Reid

PS – Audiences everywhere, if you are going to ice a member of The Blue Party onstage, ice George.

Man it feels so good to be back in the groove. So many weeks of a collective funk. Apathy. Languor. One part pent up emotions, two parts misused time, garnished with low energy. The neurasthenia (it’s my word of the day) experienced when creative souls lay idle can’t be put into words. We (let “we” mean “I”) begrudgingly spent all too much time focusing on things that, in retrospect, we shouldn’t have. Some within our control, some far beyond our grasp, but all much less important and ultimately less fun than playing music.

We love to play music. That’s why we do this whole thing. We deeply love music as it kneads the dough that founds the golden-brown, buttery, flakey apple pie crust known as this life we live. The audible experiences we gain nightly by creating art together not only give us a deeper understanding of each other, but they undoubtedly improve our quality of life. We see the world through the filter of creativity. We see past race sex and creed, past status, and past bias because of the binding power of music. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Too often in this short off-period have we been all-too concerned with who to contact, where we can get our money from, keeping all receipts, making spreadsheets, what to do in certain towns, how to expand markets new and old, how people will respond, and, of course, how we can monetize it all. What we forgot in the wake of the Blue Party Business Yacht was the music.

The underlying theme of everything is the love of the game. With the two shows over the last weekend, and the three in two nights this weekend we have a new energy about us that feels so spiritually refreshing. We feel this positive outlook will carry us through this whole tour (which won’t be hard considering we co-headline the entire thing with the Revivalists) and the rest of this long upcoming year. It’s the kind of feeling you get when you bring out all your summer clothes as soon as the first great day of spring happens, which is to say, it’s very, very nice.

There’s a certain prostratic-like imbalance that engulfs an artist if there isn’t a consistent outlet. It’s hard to describe, as is the spiritual enlightenment you experience when you realize that you get to do what you love for a living. A wise man once said, “Do what you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life,” and we’re all glad that for us, that means music again.

- T.

Welcome to Blue Party 2.0 gang.  We will be tending to this website with great care moving forward.  For all those interested in the blogging days that were Blue Party 1.0, check out our old tumblr complete with posts from our wee college days.  Now, we’re starving musicians that have to take ourselves mildly seriously.  The post below is the last post from our old site.