Ladonna Batiste-Williams:
Ladonna is the ex-wife of wayward trombone player Antoine Batiste. Their marriage disolved, and she took the kids to live with her new husband. They fled to Baton Rouge before the storm the storm. She maintains her family’s New Orleans bar, however, and still is an active member of the community. Her brother was killed in the days following the storm, and lost in the interminable shuffle of inmates between harried police departments. Toni helped her find his body and finally put him to rest. Her trouble with the police wasn’t over, though. Ladonna was assaulted and raped one night while closing her bar, and was set to leave the Big Easy forever until she went to her bar and saw her assailant sitting free. A clerical mistake had him released early in error, and after making sure the mistake was righted, her husband knew that the only way to bring his wife back from the verge was to return to the city she longed to fight for and live in.
Antoine Batiste:
Everyone knows someone like Antoine Batiste. He never has money, barters with taxi drivers, and promises to pay back everyone later, but he’s got charisma and charm to get him through life. Gig to gig he makes just enough to stay alive. That is, until he sets up his own soul revival band and starts getting steady gigs. His new wife, however, is tired of his meandering and shuffling. She makes him go out for a job at the local school teaching band to children. Antoine thaws to the idea, and begins to take some kids under his wing, which eases the blow when his band falls to pieces around him. Suddenly he is paying his debts on time, becoming a better father to his kids with Ladonna, and a more faithful husband to his new wife. When last we see them, they are moving into a duplex together, finally getting out of their temporary housing.
Davis McAlary:
An uptown boy with a downtown soul, Davis is a staunch defender of the music and culture of his fair city. Davis DJs for a local radio station, though time and again he gets fired for treading too far outside the tried and true standards his station manager demands. Following a disastrous stint as a hotel receptionist, Davis starts a politically satirical band that becomes a satirical campaign to become a city councilman. He takes a literal “get out of jail free card” to stop, but bitten by the music bug he can’t help but start up a new band, though this time one that pays tribute to the musical traditions of the city while melding them with the new sounds emerging. However, his uptown roots betray him, and after making a star of his co-singer, to the detriment of his own fame, Davis goes out with a delightfully “white” sendup of James Brown’s ‘Sex Machine.’ He’s still looking forward to producing more music, though, and helping Annie get through her trauma any way he can.
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