If you'd like to give New Orleans' own Mac Rebennack a/k/a Dr. John a proper sendoff before his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, come to his SoulFire benefit concert on Sunday, Feb. 27, at the Howlin Wolf. Proceeds will help Native American elders from around the country travel to the Gulf on April 8 to 10 for healing prayer and ceremonies.
A long-time environmentalist and advocate of Voice of the Wetlands, the cause has been close to Dr. John's heart. He often describes Louisiana's disappearing wetlands, something his father was talking about in the '50s when he traveled into the bayou for his radio repair business. The BP oil spill made the problem even worse.
With the oil spill anniversary approaching, awareness is once again picking up nationally. Dr. John told Mz Imani of SoulFire that he hopes, "We can start to recover and make this place not such a horrible, terrible place. This Deepwater Horizon Disaster and the craziness of British Petroleum has taken this fragile ecological place of beauty and life and killed it in a cruel and unusual way. Scientists' cameras have shown how amazingly dead everything is there. Poisoning everything around it, it may never be the same, maybe in 10 years 20 years it will recover, maybe not."
Dr. John was inspired to invite the elders, and says, "I gotta sing a redemption song and ask for ceremony for the people, the land and the waters of the Gulf. I am asking people to help me raise money so I can bring some Grandmothers and Elders that are kind enough to come and help me."
He acknowledges empathy from individuals around the world, telling Imani: "I know that many people pray for us already, and we are grateful. Don't get me wrong. We need help every day, please keep praying. I just feel like we need some Grandmothers and Elders to lead us in some prayer to sit together and encourage the rest of the people on the planet to pray for us here in the Gulf."
Dr. John and his Mystickel Majickel Mystery Band will expound further on this at Sunday's show, which should be packed. Donations to the SoulFire gathering may also be made to host charity Turtle Women Rising.