The Promised Land
For those who wonder how it is that so much great music seems to emanate like mist from the swamps of Louisiana, The Promised Land provides a convincing, amusing and sometimes moving cinematic treatise on the subject. Films about making music must, by definition, include performance. Watching the sometimes casual, sometimes intense creative process of these ragin' Cajuns is nothing less than captivating. This is a film you don't want to end. In fact, where's their next gig? I'll fly, I'll drive, I'll walk.
-- Ron Maxwell, writer-director Gettysburg


A Swamp Thing
What: Premiere of The Promised Land—A Swamp Pop Journey and after-party.
Where: Tribeca Grand Hotel and Sweet and Vicious, New York City.
Who: Hostess Rebecca Guinness, producer of the documentary (and swamp-pop pioneer) C. C. Adcock, Kirsten Dunst, model Theodora Richards, artist Hope Atherton, rock ’n’ roll photographer Mick Rock, Phantom Planet’s Alex Greenwald, socialite/photographer Poppy de Villeneuve, sculptor Conrad Shawcross, drummer Tennessee Thomas, Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze of the Big Pink, Rivington Arms gallery owner Mirabelle Marden, actress Tarajia Morrell, photographer Nikolai von Bismarck, and Mary Charteris.
Why: Because The Promised Land is an insider’s look into the vibrant but largely unrecognized southern-Louisiana swamp pop-music scene.
Talking Point: Cross-cultures. Brit “It” kids swarmed the after-party, giving the vibe an Anglo-Cajun flavor.
--Vanity Fair


Promised Land, The: A Swamp Pop Journey
"It's just fun to know that something called 'swamp pop' exists."
--Jay Seaver, E Film Critic


Of The Lil' Band O' Gold live performances
'Lil' Band O' Gold delivered a virtuoso performance that highlighted the richness and diversity of the state's musical riches.'
--Chicago Tribune


'Lil' Band O' Gold tore the place up in an hourlong, yet too short set...Pianist David Egan matched Storm for deep pathos...An all-star group of guys... Lil' Band O' Gold rocked as if their lives depended on it ...'
--Austin Chronicle


'Even though I have seen them perform four shows in the last year, it still shocks me to hear how singularly impressive this Superband really is'
--Offbeat

'A bayou version of the Traveling Wilburys'
--Blues Revue


'busting-at-the-seems energy that makes the music sound urgent again.'
--The Washington Post


'His bandmates were clearly in awe of Storm, a simply volcanic singer. When he sang '7 Letters', Adcock and Riley both gravitated to him and stood smiling as he tore down the house.'
--Austin Chronicle


The New York Times reporting on the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
'One reason Louisiana has such a distinct musical legacy is that it contains two of the most important catalysts for invention: a diverse supply of ingredients and a compulsion to mix them in combinations.
These factors are encoded not just in the regions' history, with African Caribbean, European and Acadian cultures colliding, but also in its present, with schoolchildren weaned on hip-hip taking up brass instruments in hopes of playing street parades. Much of the excitement this year came from watching contemporary musicians escape the homogenization impulse in favor of experimentation.
The best example was a performance on Friday by the group Lil' Band O' Gold. Even in a region where the word gumbo is applied to music almost as often as it is to food, this nine piece band stood out as a bizarre combination.
There was Warren Storm, a regional star of the 50s known for his crooning swamp-pop ballads, on drums. At the opposite end of the spectrum was Steve Riley, the accordion prodigy who remains one of the biggest draws in Cajun music ...
Though the musicians hail from Lafayette, La, none of them ever thought they would end up together. "When you are growing up in Lafayette, there's no difference between Warren Storm and Rod Stewart because they're both on the radio all the time," Mr. Adcock said ...'
--Neill Strauss-New York Times

'…Of the music films, my favourite was, of course, The Promised Land, about Lil’ Band O’ Gold and the recording of their new album (due soon). I love the fact that the veteran musos in the band just cannot even envisage doing anything else with their lives. It is inspiring. Warren Storm is one of the great characters of the modern music scene.'
--Brian Wise editor Rhythms Magazine, Australia.