The Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans is a rockin' alternative to the city's better-known Jazz & Heritage fest.
The Stomp started as a backyard party held by friends increasingly concerned that these “forgotten" acts were being squeezed out by JazzFest's turn to big-draw headliners. Now it's a name brand itself, a nonprofit enterprise with a foundation to help artists and music education, an associated conference, spinoff shows that have been held in New York and Chicago (with talk of Tokyo in the future) and this year, for the first time, even a showcase Ponderosa Stomp Revue slot at JazzFest proper.
It's an event for people to whom such names as Roy Head, Jay Chevalier, Guitar Lightning and Tammy Lynn mean more than the Billy Joels, Stevie Wonders and Tim McGraws headlining this year's JazzFest, and Padnos says that as many as 60% of the people who come to Ponderosa don't even bother with the bigger festival.
