Wisdom from the mouths of alt-rock cowboys

Published May 9, 2024 10:13pm ET



Amid all the campus rebellions across the country, during which students are expressing anger and hate, a hard-rocking New Orleans musician at the city’s annual Jazz and Heritage Festival this month yelled out a better idea.

The musician is Fred LeBlanc of the band Cowboy Mouth, which plays a unique fusion of different genres of music that LeBlanc once described as what would happen “if the Neville Brothers and The Clash had a baby.” That still doesn’t capture its overall vibe, though, because, to the R&B-infused, punkish-alt-rock sound, Cowboy Mouth adds a heavy dose of what sounds something like gospel revivalism. One of its most popular songs, “I Believe,” features these lyrics:

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