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John Leopold

@superleopold.bsky.social
202 followers 266 following 128 posts

Executive Producer of Tribute To The King Of Zydeco, Director of Central Coast K-16 Regional Collaborative, Former Managing Director of Arhoolie Foundation and former Santa Cruz County Supervisor

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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Proud to have made a record with Valcour.
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Much gratitude to all who helped us make our GRAMMY award winning record. We are so proud of our effort to shine the light on the legendary Clifton Chenier.
Executive Producer John Leopold dressed in a handmade red suit and Producer Joel Savoy hold their Grammy for A Tribute To The King Of Zydeco.
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Our record A Tribute To The King of Zydeco is up for the Regional Roots Grammy award. If you are interested in seeing the awards ceremony that will include the Regional Roots Award you can watch it online.
live.grammy.com
The 2026 GRAMMYS nominations are live on live.GRAMMY.com. The 2026 GRAMMYS take place Sunday, Feb. 1. | GRAMMY.com
The 2026 GRAMMYS nominations are live on live.GRAMMY.com. The 2026 GRAMMYS take place Sunday, Feb. 1. | GRAMMY.com
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Molly Knight @mollyknight.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
If the ring leader of a massive cheating scandal that stole a World Series is allowed into the Hall of Fame then the steroid guys should be in, too. Let’s be consistent! Put Bonds in!
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jesse jarnow @bourgwick.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
60 years ago tonight, the merry pranksters' 1st informal acid test, held at ken babbs's place outside santa cruz, where the grateful dead did not play (& all purported flyers are almost certainly fake). below text from dennis mcnally's bio.
he larger world. The first of those special parties was at Ken
Babbs’s place in Soquel, near Santa Cruz, on the coast south
of Palo Alto, on November 27, 1965. Such public notice as
there was of the event came through a posting at Lee Quarn-
strom and Peter Dema’s Hip Pocket Bookstore in Soquel. The
Pranksters were joined by Allen Ginsberg and his lover, Peter
Orlovsky, and Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Sue Swanson, and Connie
Bonner among others, and the night basically involved hang-
ing out and tripping together.

Lesh would always recall the capsules they took that night,
completely transparent except for the tiniest of scratches on
the inner surface that marked the LSD that was their trans-
port to another world. He spent much of the evening staring
at the stars with Swanson, but at length decided that he’d
like to play the electric guitar that Kesey was banging on.Kesey didn’t want to give it up, but Phil was not dissuaded,
and learned one of his early lessons in the subtleties of trip-
ping. He proceeded to gluehiseyesonKesey, and in a while
Ken got up and shoved the guitar at him. “Here.” Weir, on
the other hand, had another sort of adventure. Although he
had read “Howl,” he did not recognize Allen Ginsberg, and
saw only that he “was pretty damned amazing, the stuff he
would say and do. So I figure, okay, I'm gonna sit next to this
guy. Which was okay with him”—if not with Peter Orlovsky,
who would be cautiously jealous of the utterly hetero Weir in
the future.

A day or two later there was a Prankster meeting at La
Honda attended by Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, representing the
Dead. They sat around Kesey’s kitchen table and planned a
somewhat larger party for the following Saturday in San Jose,
one that would include the music of the Grateful Dead. They
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
Our Clifton Chenier tribute record got nominated for a GRAMMY! Here’s hoping for the Year of Chenier continues with a win in February.
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
So it happened yesterday. I said goodbye to 1200 GD+ cassette tapes that I had amassed from 1981-1999. Glad they are in the tape decks of Head Terry Rudy. Hope the tunes continue to fill the air. The tapes are spinning and you can’t slow down…
John Leopold stands with Terry Rudy and John’s 1200 Grateful Dead tapes. Tape covers from John Leopold’s Grateful Dead tape collection. Terry Rudy’s blue VW van loaded with eight file boxes of cassette tapes.
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
Last night Tedeschi Trucks Band celebrated Jerry Garcia’s birthday with the debut of Franklin’s Tower to open their show at Red Rocks. Extra bonus, Derek Trucks was playing Jerry’s Travis Bean guitar! A great night of music.
Derek Trucks plays Jerry Garcia’s Travis Bean guitar to open his show with Franklin’s Tower.
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
A great write up about our Tribute To The King of Zydeco in a Louisiana paper. How it came together and what were the motivations behind it.
thecurrentla.com
How a family legacy sparked a tribute to the King of Zydeco
Following a show in California, someone approached Cajun musician Joel Savoy with an unexpected proposition. The roots behind the request stretch back decades.
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
Tommy McLain, Swamp Pop legend, has left us. So many great songs. Honored that he appeared on our Tribute To The King Of Zydeco record.
Tommy McLain sings with C.C. Adcock, Sir Bob Geldof and Steve Riley at the Blue Moon Saloon in October 2023.
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
A wonderful Cajun super group last night at the Ashkenaz in Berkeley. The Brothers Savoy with Steve Riley and Ed Littlefield on pedal steel. Father and son John and Vidrine also part of the ensemble. Everyone but Ed played almost every instrument.
The Brothers Savoy and Steve Riley with Ed Littlefield on pedal steel guitar and John and Jo Vidrine backing them up.
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Great review of our record in @nodepression.bsky.social
nodepression.org
ALBUM REVIEW: 'A Tribute To The King Of Zydeco,' Stellar Array of Artists Pay Tribute to Clifton Chenier
It's about time. Clifton Chenier finally got the biggest birthday gift of his life. For what would have been his 100th birthday, Louisiana based independent label Valcour Records, who specialize in bo...
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Time to celebrate the 100th birthday of the undisputed King of Zydeco!
youtu.be
Zydeco Sont Pas Salés
YouTube video by The Rolling Stones - Topic
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bobsjazz.bsky.social @bobsjazz.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
Friday was my first day out at Jazz Fest 2025. The Clifton Chenier Centennial was one of the best sets I’ve heard in all my years at the fest. CJ Chenier, Marcia Ball, Sonny Landreth, Roddie Romero, David Hildago, and Curly Taylor played a show for the ages to honor the King of Zydeco. #jazzfest
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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 16/06/2025
Clifton Chenier changed music history. On the centennial of his birth, musicians from across genres are paying homage to the King of Zydeco, Reya Hart writes:
bit.ly
The Rolling Stones Play Zydeco
How the legendary rock band discovered the music of Clifton Chenier
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
Mick gets why Clifton is such a big deal. Tribute record comes out on Friday.
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
goodtimes.sc
Even the Crawfish Got Soul | Good Times
Good Times writer DNA covers the tribute album dedicated to zydeco legend Clifton Chenier.
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Today we released the second single from our upcoming Clifton Chenier tribute. Featuring Taj Mahal and Keith Frank, “Hey ‘Tite Fille” will have you dancing in no time. youtu.be/yutLrEyLrRA?... #NewOrleans #louisiana #accordion #blues #zydeco
Taj Mahal
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jesse jarnow @bourgwick.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
today’s deadcast features a rare appearance by both of the leopold twins, @superleopold.bsky.social & @davidnleopold.bsky.social, including the story of dave’s sweet tour book page from landover ’82. www.dead.net/deadcast/enj... /2
Dave & John Leopold present Mickey Hart with Grateful Dead Day proclamationhand drawn setlist page by David Leopold
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Two and half years after we started working on it, our Clifton Chenier tribute record is coming out soon. I have had the pleasure of serving as the Executive Producer with co-producers Steve Berlin and Joel Savoy and so many great artists. apnews.com/article/clif...
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
We had quite a day at the Faquetaigue Courir de Mardi Gras. Incredible tradition supported by wonderful people. We ran, chased chickens, rolled on the ground, begged, sang and recognized those who came before us. Thanks to my wife for her work is creating our costumes — we looked good.
The Leopold brothers in costume at the Faquetaigue Courir de Mardi Gras (Cajun Mardi Gras Run) outside Eunice, Louisiana.Revelers at the Faquetaigue Courir de Mardi Gras (Cajun Mardi Gras Run) outside Eunice, Louisiana.Revelers at the Faquetaigue Courir de Mardi Gras (Cajun Mardi Gras Run) outside Eunice, Louisiana.Revelers at the Faquetaigue Courir de Mardi Gras (Cajun Mardi Gras Run) outside Eunice, Louisiana.
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Getting into the Mardi Gras spirit with the Pine Leaf Boys last night in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The Pone Lead Boys play to a packed dance floor at the Hideaway on Lee in Lafayette, Louisiana.
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Brian A. Anderson @thebanderson.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
A whole bunch of certified decommissioned Wall of Sound gear—many pieces from the collection of former longtime Dead roadie Bill “Kidd” Candelario—just went up for auction through Analogr. analogr.com/l/dark-star-...
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John Leopold @superleopold.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
I was cleaning out my garage and found several high quality VHS tapes. Is anyone interested in having these? I will send them to you. Bob Dylan - Hard Rain (1976 film) professional Dub Jerry Garcia - Coffee & Cigarettes - professional dub
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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 08/11/2024
At last, there's a searchable directory of Bluesky starter packs, courtesy of @mubashariqbal.com! Just one more way third-party developers are helping to make this place better. Search starter packs by keyword, and sort by "Uses" to see which ones people are finding the most helpful
blueskydirectory.com
All - Bluesky Directory
A curated collection of all things relating to the Blue Sky social media platform.
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Rachel Holliday Smith @rachelholliday.bsky.social · 05/03/2024
I could CRY!!!
evgrieve.com
Veselka looks to ease back into a 24/7 schedule starting with weekends first
EV Grieve is the leading news, entertainment and lifestyle blog about the East Village of New York City.
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 19/02/2024
one modest healthcare reform that fixed like a third of the problems set against a major macro botch and extending the Bush security state. not great
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Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · 11/10/2023
My heart has really been broken by how many people on the left have celebrated or minimized the murder of over 1000 Jewish people. Naomi Klein does a beautiful job of explaining how unwise and unkind it is to celebrate Jewish death. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Why are some of the left celebrating the killings of Israeli Jews? | Naomi Klein
Some continue to minimize massacres of Israeli civilians, and some even seem to celebrate them – this only fuels militant Zionism
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