Loyola University Partners with NOCCA to Showcase Student Talent at NOLA Funk Fest

NEW ORLEANS- Students in Loyola's School of Music and Theatre Professions will share a stage with their counterparts from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) at the second annual NOLA Funk Fest, set to take place Oct. 18-20 at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. Loyola and NOCCA are sponsoring the "Passing the Torch" stage, which provides a platform for young, local musicians to perform and highlights the importance of music education, said Jonathan McHugh, Hilton-Baldridge Eminent Scholar/Chair in Music Industry Studies at Loyola. More than a dozen musical acts from Loyola will appear at NOLA Funk Fest: Ja Fearce, flow mvnny, Azure Skyz, Tuller, Dizzy, Montey, Aaniyah Anderson, Kai De Lua, Royale, Surco, Tired Eyes, Hypo Nun, Bread for Sale, Uncle Jessica, and Kissing Disease will perform sets of music spanning genres from funk to jazz to hip-hop and R&B.

NOCCA, the city's foremost arts training high school, will offer its own musical acts, and Loyola and NOCCA will join forces on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. for a set featuring the best musicians from both schools, McHugh said.

"We are excited to have Loyola partner with NOCCA and Funk Fest to curate the 'Passing the Torch' stage again this year," McHugh said. "This is an amazing opportunity for our students to play on a festival stage, perhaps for the first time. One of the goals of our program is to have all our students tap into the local culture, and Funk Fest did that brilliantly in its first year."

Chris Beary, the founder of NOLA Funk Fest, said creating the "Passing the Torch" stage fulfills the festival's mission to educate and inspire by giving Loyola and NOCCA students the opportunity to play a festival and obtain the street credit for having done so.

"Loyola's participation in NOLA Funk Fest is a partnership that will grow as we both develop, and which fosters respect, education and experience to inspire and encourage the future of music," Beary said.

Beary created NOLA Funk Fest to help promote the plans for the forthcoming Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience, a museum dedicated to the preservation of state's rich musical history.

The festival, which showcases the city's and the nation's best funk acts for three days on two stages, aims to draw attention to the museum and help make it a reality, Beary said. The headliners for the 2024 festival include Big Freedia, Tank and the Bangas, Marcia Ball, George Porter Jr., Leo Nocentelli, Stanton Moore, Ivan Neville, Jon Cleary, Soul Rebels and Dumpstaphunk.

For more information about NOLA Funk Fest or to purchase tickets, visit nolafunkfest.com. For more information about the Louisiana Heritage & Music Experience, visit lmhe.live.

About the College of Music and Media

The College of Music and Media is comprised of two schools - the School of Music and Theatre Professions and the School of Communication and Design. Students who choose to study in the college prepare for careers in music, theatre, music industry, design, fine art, filmmaking, strategy, mass media and more.