A series of live performances, visuals, readings and discussions curated and moderated by John Swenson, author of New Atlantis: Musicians Battle for the Survival of New Orleans
Presented by G. F. Newland

New Orleans is under siege from a lethal combination of natural and man-made disasters. The effects of the flood which depopulated the city after the massive levee failures following hurricane Katrina in 2005 are still being felt throughout New Orleans, while the rapid destruction of the south Louisiana wetlands that protect the city from hurricane surges brings the threat of future inundations.

Musicians have been in the forefront of efforts to educate the public about how to combat this threat even before Katrina. Musicians have also led the economic recovery of New Orleans after the flood by returning quickly to restore the city’s cultural identity. New Atlantis: Musicians Battle for the Survival of New Orleans (Oxford University Press) details the struggle musicians have undertaken to rebuild New Orleans and speak out for its future. New Atlantis 2020 is a series of multi-media presentations about the ongoing recovery of New Orleans including live performances by key musicians covered in the book along with visuals, readings and discussions moderated by author John Swenson. More on John Swenson and his work can be found at http://johnswenson.net.

Featured performers:

July 23 — Andy J. Forest, musician, songwriter and author of Life In Hell.

Sept. 19 — Helen Gillet, cellist, songwriter and singer.

October 14th — Blake Leyh, musical supervisor for the HBO series Treme and The Wire. Blake will screen excerpts his favorite episodes of Treme, and will talk with John about the music and musicians featured in Treme and in New Atlantis.

TBA — Davis Rogan, singer/songwriter and model for “Davis” played by Steve Zahn on the HBO series, Treme. Davis will perform songs from his latest album, “The Real Davis”, and talk with John about his experience as a writer, consultant and musical composer for Treme.