Rabadash Records recording artist singer-songwriter Serabee combines the vibrance of New Orleans with the Mardi Gras season on her new song “Back to New Orleans,” out on 2/17th. The song was recorded at Rabadash Studios with legendary drummer Russell Batiste, his Uncle bass player Michael Batiste (Jon Batiste’s father), and Dave Easley (Ruthie Foster, Shannon McNally) on pedal steel guitar. Other players that lent their talents are Mark Levron on Trumpet , Joe Krown on Hammond B3 Organ , and a male-voiced quartet featuring Russell Batiste, Anthony Rejiv, Charles Carter, and Michael Batiste, giving it that soulful and gospel feel. Recorded in one take with Marc Hewitt engineering, Serabee at the piano and the band following along live, gives this song a very organic and earthy vibe that will stir your soul. It has become a new favorite in the setlist during her live shows.
Written on the plane from Miami, after a cold spell in Chicago on her way back to New Orleans, Sera felt being out of town gave her the energy to come home and finish Hummingbird Tea which released in the fall of 22. She got a new lease on life after being cooped up for a couple of years due to the Covid pandemic. “Back to New Orleans” is a homecoming song as she pines for the New Orleans culture that is unique with its food, sounds, smells, and people. The words here are more about the entire New Orleans experience, Mardi Gras season and the feeling she always had when coming back home from music biz trips, when her parents would meet her at the Louis Armstrong Airport and immediately go to Cafe Du Monde to fatten her up!
Sera felt it could also be a holiday song and released an earlier version last Christmas with a little bit of songwriting magic. She tweaked it a bit to acknowledge the holiday season, but she wanted to let the world hear the original version, especially just in time for Carnival season
“... sounds like she’s surfing her muse on a wave-powered by the likes of Bonnie Raitt and Shemekia Copeland with a touch of a feminine yin to Waylon Jennings’ yang." – American Blues Scene said of the album Hummingbird Tea.
- The upcoming video will show off footage of her band live in a recent concert at Ground Zero Blues Club in Biloxi and scenes from the actual recording in the studio in Mandeville at Rabadash Records with additional festive scenes of her and friends celebrating at the local bars in their Mardi Gras glitz glam with her pulling up to the Party in an antique Bentley. The video is being directed by Jorge Crespo and produced by Meagan Ginter along with with executive producer B.J. Bennett.
Sera wanted to give her local fans and family something special where every day of the year felt like Carnival time and the holidays as she felt this song should bring people back together, maybe those who had lost touch, or get the festivities up and celebrating. So get your creole Trinity brewing and put some Red Beans on, Can you smell the creole Gumbo in the salty Air, and turn up “ Back to New Orleans” let it take you home.