Chaz Fest 2013

photos by Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee

text by Ryan Sparks

Chaz Fest is a backyard barbecue expanded to a city block scale. The fest goes down on the Truck Farm, a hideaway grove of shacks and shady trees just off of St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans’ Bywater neighborhood. Washboard Chaz, Alex McMurray, and friends host a low-key, mid-week festival where visitors spend the day drinking cocktails, dodging eye-level branches, and singing along with local bands who represent varied genres. Tucked away on a Wednesday, surrounded by neighborhood chatter and the warm blasts of a tuba, guided by colorful, hand-painted signs, Chaz Fest attendees get separated from the urban landscape and share in the more natural side of the city.

Music Provided by The Tin Men, Valpariso Men's Chorus, and The Tintypes