City of New Orleans, LA

04/25/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/25/2024 13:47

New Orleans Recreation Development Commission Announces NOLA Idol Competition in Partnership with Artist in Residence Irvin Mayfield

April 25, 2024 | From City of New Orleans

New Orleans Recreation Development Commission Announces NOLA Idol Competition in Partnership with Artist in Residence Irvin Mayfield

NEW ORLEANS - On Wednesday, April 24, New Orleans Recreation Development (NORD) Commission CEO Larry Barabino, Jr. joined Artist in Residence Irvin Mayfield to announce the NOLA Idol competition. NOLA Idol is a citywide competitive showcase aimed at engaging communities to spotlight the exceptional vocal talent within New Orleans.

Led by Grammy Award winner Irvin Mayfield, NOLA IDOL is a "Call for Artists" for the entire community, as well as a chance to participate in creating a citywide choir and to further solidify New Orleans' standing as a "Singer's City."

"NOLA Idol is a unique opportunity for the city to directly engage with our incredible communities of talent across the entire town," said Barabino. "We've been working with Mr. Mayfield throughout his residency to develop a program that can truly showcase the wealth of creativity we have in town, so this is a very special launch."

The NOLA Idol competition will engage communities across three rounds of in-person and online auditions, celebrity coaching sessions, three semi-finalist performances and one culminating showcase where a panel of judges will select this year's NOLA Idol. The performances will be held at WYES' state-of-the-art Kormann Performance Studio, with the final showcase including performances by Mr. Mayfield alongside double platinum recording artist and American Idol finalist Haley Reinhart and four-time Grammy Award winner PJ Morton.

"One of our primary goals through this new suite of NORD programming is to promote the role that New Orleans plays in the world," said Mayfield. "As a people, we are cultural leaders that inspire and expand human potential. My hope is that this program will help unearth just how many leaders our town has."

At Wednesday's announcement, Barabino and Mayfield were also joined by local music legends David Batiste and Cyril Neville, who were honored as NORD "NOLA Idols."

For more information on NORD's NOLA Idol program, or to register, please click here.

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