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Jean Knight,
the late New Orleans rhythm and blues vocalist whose 1971 hit, “Mr. Big Stuff,” reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts, was recently honored by the New Orleans City Council with a street renaming. The intersection of Frenchmen Street and N. Claiborne Avenue, near Knight’s home, will soon be known as The Jean Knight Honorary Intersection. Knight died in 2023 at the age of 80.
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Dawn DeDeaux and Demond Melancon
have been invited to participate in the prestigious Venice Biennale. The two New Orleans artists are among 111 artists selected to take part in the Biennale’s central group show, titled “In Minor Keys,” which opens in May. DeDeaux is a contemporary artist who often builds installation pieces. And Melancon, the big chief of the Young Seminole Hunters, draws from Black Masking Indian culture for his pieces made with beads, needle and thread.
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Gov. Jeff Landry…