The 2008 Fourth of July

Star-Spangled Celebration

Repeat Offenders in '08: The Chris LeBlanc Band is Back!!!

"Take one part reckless blues and one part polished pop, stir slowly 'til party is to taste."

That's how 225 Magazine has described the Chris LeBlanc Band and like a fine wine, time only makes it better.  The band took home Best Original Music and Best Singer honors in 2006 as voted by readers of the magazine and has rocked the Baton Rouge and South Louisiana music scene since the early 1990s.

Chris LeBlanc

LeBlanc and company have sold over 14,000 copies to date of their first two CDs, the self-titled Chris LeBlanc Band (1995) and the follow-up Talent Show (1998).  The impressive  thing about this is that it

was done on their own without a major label.  A solo album, Son of the South, followed in 2001.  The band is promoting their latest album, Starshine.  All four albums have been released to rave reviews.

Newcomers Westbound Train open the show this year at 2:00 p.m.  Developing from the local Weekend Warriors program sponsored annually by Zeagler Music, these local musicians cover everything from rock and pop to country music favorites.  The band features on lead vocals Anita LeBlanc, a former band member of Star-Spangled Celebration alumnists Tuesday At 6:00.

Westbound Train

featuring Anita LeBlanc

Van Broussard

& the Bayou Boogie Band

A legendary music artist in South Louisiana, Van Broussard returns with his Bayou Boogie Band to keep your toes tapping.  Van's playlist has run the gambit from Dixieland to R&B to swamp pop.  Fans will remember him for such popular singles as Lord, I Need Somebody Bad Tonight and Feed The Flame.  He will be performing these along with new material from his November 2007 release, entitled Back On Track, which featured his sister, Grace Broussard of Dale & Grace fame.  Van was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame as a member in 1997.

Na Na Sha

One of the hottest show bands currently performing in the South is Na Na Sha.  Formed in 1984, this band's music is rife with blue suede shoes, pompadours, and shoo bop.  Local favorites hailing from Gonzales, Louisiana, these fun-loving musicians always promise a lively evening of dancing the night away to the tunes of the 50s, 60s, and 70s.  Join Bee Bop, Bowzer Wowzer, Pat the Cat, and the rest of the gang and relive the glory days of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, Elvis Presley, and the birth of rock n' roll.

G.G. Shinn

The Floyd Brown Band returns to the riverfront.  Floyd will be performing such classics as Kiss Me Just One More Time, I Can't Sleep If I Can't Sleep With You, and Strokin'.  Additionally, he will be joined on stage by singer, horn player, and dynamic artist G.G. Shinn, famous for his tune You Can Never Keep A Good Man Down.  Shinn can often be found

Floyd Brown

these days performing on his own stage in Alexandria hot spot The G.G. Shinn Club, as well as local festivals throughout the state.  These veterans performers will keep you dancing right up to through the six o'clock hour.

The Baton Rouge Concert Band

Rounding out the night's performances will be the Baton Rouge Concert Band, conducted by Ms. Sheily Bell.  A volunteer community band that performs several free concerts around the area each year, the band laid down their first recording since the 1980s in March of 2006, entitled The Baton Rouge Concert Band presents "The Sound of American Music."  The CD was released at their 2007 Labor Day Concert.  For this year's Fourth of July festivities, the band will be performing sterling renditions of everyone's favorite patriotic tunes.

Check Out Some of Our Featured Acts on the World-Wide Web at:

Chris LeBlanc Band -- www.chrisleblancband.com

Na Na Sha -- www.nanasha.com

Baton Rouge Concert Band -- www.batonrougeconcertband.org

HOW DO I GET THERE?  WHERE DO I PARK?

The parking garages listed below will be open on July 4^th at the times listed.  For more information on parking downtown, visit the Downtown Development District website.

**Copyright 1997-2008 by Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission**