Now an award-winning musician, Robin Barnes is aptly named “The Songbird of New Orleans.” Her repertoire spans the soft and soulful to the powerful and electrifying. A commanding stage presence, she can be heard singing R&B, funk, soul, and jazz, to mention a few. Her high-energy soul funk band, the Fiya Birds, regularly appears with her at festivals. 

She came to the Ella Project after she was asked to license a song for television. It was her friend Bethany Paulsen who pointed her in the right direction. “And I never looked back!” Barnes says. “I cannot imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t have the Ella Project.”

The Crescendo program is more of a conversation than a lecture. Musicians’ stories and actual situations are used to present the information. The combination of Whetstone’s and Hill’s perspectives is what makes the series so dynamic. 

 Whetstone’s advice centers on the legalities of the industry — and watching out for red flags. Hill’s guidance centers more on the strategies and processes of the music business. 

 “We want to make the material relatable,” Whetstone said. Now in its sixth year, the series is available virtually in Louisiana and in-person at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. Although participants can pick and choose which sessions to attend, the series is designed to build a body of knowledge in sequential order. 

 Knowing how important it is to have good legal advice and representation, Williams says, "I've recommended the Ella Project to all my friends who have brokered deals and needed legal counsel, whether it’s management, sync or publishing.

Little did Candice “Divine” Henderson know when she put in a contract on 917 North Tonti Street that it would turn into the project it has become. A first-time homebuyer, Henderson had looked at 30-plus properties and made offers on three. As she had the inspection on the Tonti Street house, the realtor asked if she knew that it was a historic house with a significant place in the Civil Rights Movement. She didn’t.

In 2021, while still in the pandemic era, Villanova re-located to Harahan. He wanted to have a positive effect in his new place of residence, so he used music to do just that. “I had worked at Jazz Fest for years promoting other artists,” said Villanova, “and I thought, “why can’t we do something like Jazz Fest here in Harahan?”

It’s hard to keep up with all the cultural activities of Anita Oubre. You might see her dancing in a Carnival parade, in a second-line or with the Baby Dolls, alongside Black Masking Indians.

Louisiana music and culture has found its way to the Western New York region, thanks to The Big Easy in Buffalo. The nonprofit organization, formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is the brainchild of Tod A. Kniazuk.

The Big Easy in Buffalo presents live performances with New Orleans musicians, and provides music education and professional development to musicians, students and the community.

More than a year ago, he met a workshop instructor at a networking event for the music industry who told him about the Ella Project. “I was just amazed that this service even existed, and that it was available to musicians!” Rosa said. “One of the most expensive things for a small business, or especially a solo musician, is legal services…”

In her 20+ year career, Cole Williams has frequently worked as a songwriter and studio musician. Early on she learned the importance of clear agreements before embarking on creative projects. Cole's belief that being ready, so you don’t have to get ready, ensured that she always prioritized handling split sheets and formalizing other agreements before initiating any studio work.

As this singer, songwriter and guitar master is promoting his new album, “The Deep and the Dirty,” he gives credit to the Ella Project – which he heard about through word-of-mouth – for always looking after his best interests in the process of contracts and other music industry business.

“It’s such a valuable thing,” he said of the Ella Project’s services. “In this industry, usually the person or company giving you the contract has a lot more resources, so being able to access sound legal advice makes all the difference.”

In the more than 30 years New Orleans artist Jamar Pierre has been creating murals, none has compared to the scope of the project he is working on now. His current undertaking, known formally as the “Tchoupitoulas Art Corridor,” reflects a lifetime of his work in visual arts, arts education and community service. Pierre is turning a mile-plus section of the Mississippi River floodwall into a sequential mural showcasing New Orleans history….

Over the years, The Ella Project’s intellectual property lawyer Ashlye Keaton has counseled Mr. Johnson regarding his rights as an artist to support himself as a working musician in New Orleans. We believe that artists should get paid for their work. Mr. Johnson also just registered a selection of songs from his 60+ year catalog with the nonprofit Mechanical Licensing Collective in order to collect royalties from streaming services.

Big Chief Shaka Zulu of the Golden Feather Hunter nation is a New Orleans Black Masking Indian Craftsman, stilt dancer, musician, entrepreneur, and most recently – a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) National Heritage Fellow. Throughout his life, Zulu has successfully merged artist, culture bearer, and production roles, prioritizing African diasporic traditions. As an Ella Project client, he has participated in music industry workshops and received legal counsel to protect his intellectual property…

Lou Hill is a musician and music/media entrepreneur born and based in New Orleans. You may know him as the drummer, vocalist, and songwriter of the local Billboard-charting funk band Water Seed, his current and long-term project. A true multi-hyphenate artist-entrepreneur, Hill sustains his music career in roles of songwriter, performer, producer, tour manager, and has created opportunities for other musicians as well. Lou is also a lead presenter of The Ella Project’s Crescendo music business intensive program.

Leroy Hill and The Ella Project were initially connected by a mutual friend in the music industry. Leroy wanted to publish an album featuring his brother’s recordings from 2015, which was originally intended as the debut of Leroy’s label, Black Trumpet Productions. As the flagship artist of the label, Leroy’s brother - gifted young musician Travis Hill, aka “Trumpet Black”, had already achieved success with international tours and prestige when he died suddenly…

Local cultural advocates received some good news recently with the City Of New Orleans bringing in Howie Kaplan to manage the City’s new Nighttime Economy Office. Success has a thousand parents, and along with Jan Ramsey of OffBeat, Micharel Bracy of Music Policy Forum, and Former Councilmember Kristen Palmer, The Ella Project has been deeply engaged in this issue for five years, (see the slide deck of our 2019 presentation to the New Orleans City Council), and we’re thrilled to see this positive step to protect and grow both our neighborhoods and our live music scene. This started with the idea that night time businesses are simply different, and we have an entire system of regulation that’s set up for daytime businesses. Code enforcers at City Hall aren’t expected to answer the phone at 2:00 a.m. But you know who does? NOPD, and they are neither trained code enforcers, nor people with a lot of spare time to dive into noise disputes or street buskers. The results of this have been predictable, and we’re excited to see our city try a new approach.

In early childhood Barriane already knew that she was an artist, describing herself as self-taught prior to kindergarten. Relying on YouTube tutorials and art books gifted by her supportive parents, Barriane became acquainted with drawing. Primary education focused on academics, and she later explored painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, and media arts at NOCCA….

Sullivan Dabney is a professional drummer and vocalist born, trained, and based in New Orleans. For five decades-plus, he has performed in bandleader and support roles, debuting his first band during high school, The Orientals, and starting his long-term project, Sullivan Dabney Muzik Jazz Band, in 1972.

It all begCathy Anderson is a New Orleans-based harpist who performs in both music venues and healing environments. As a freelance musician adaptable to a wide range of performance, Cathy has worked with outfits including the New Orleans Opera, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre and Saenger Theatre productions. ins with an idea.