January was another solid month for music in NOLA.  Here’s a photoblog that recaps many of January’s highlights.  Some of the pics were included in our articles, but this photoblog will allow you to get the full visual experience of the shows covered on Groovescapes.  Featured in this post are Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters, Jimmy Carpenter, Big Chief Alfred Doucette, the Joe Krown Trio, Brint Anderson, Camile Baudoin, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Zachary Quinn, Nik Richard, Starfish h.q., Enharmonic Souls, Head Trip Conception, The Tomatoes, Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights, and JJ Grey & Mofro.

With 2009 just getting under way, I thought that I’d devote my first show of the year to catching my favorite act of 2008, Walter “Wolfman” Washington.  Whether he’s rolling with his band, the Roadmasters, or knocking around with his friends, Joe Krown and Russell Batiste, there’s absolutely no comparison to the Wolfman’s tight, funky rhythm & blues.  From French Quarter Fest to Jazzfest to VooDoo Fest to the release of Doin’ the Funky Thing (with the Roadmasters) and Live at the Maple Leaf (with Krown and Batiste), arguably, there isn’t another New Orleans musician who has had as impressive and enjoyable a year as Mr. Washington.  Many of my favorite memories from 2008 came with the Wolfman on the stage.  So I set out Friday, January 2nd for none other than the Maple Leaf, a place Walter completely owns, to settle into 2009 with him and his Roadmasters.