New music is up on Crescent City Sounds, the Library’s locally-focused streaming service. 

The platform launched last fall with music from 30 New Orleans artists. The Library held a second submission round this spring and a new class featuring an additional 50 albums is live now.

The collection was built by a team of curators made up of Library staff and more established players in New Orleans’ music community, including Josh Smith, the Library staff member leading Crescent City Sounds. This year’s curation team also included Renard Bridgewater –– a local hip-hop performer known as Slangston Hughes who works with the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans –– and Bryan Funck, owner of record store Sister in Christ and vocalist for local metal band, Thou.

Bridgewater, who also has a radio show on WWOZ, said helping curate this year’s Crescent City Sounds artists was an honor.

“As a on-air DJ, live music enthusiast and performer myself, Crescent City Sounds provided me with a wonderful opportunity to listen to and review a myriad of different artists, soundscapes, bands and musical genres showcasing both the diversity and talent that the New Orleans music community has to offer and is known for across the world for,” Bridgewater said.

Over 100 artists applied to be a part of Crescent City Sounds during this submission round, and Smith said paring it down to 50 albums was not an easy tasks.

“I was amazed by the amount and quality of submissions for this round and we had to make a lot of hard decisions while selecting this class,” Smith said. “I wish we could host everyone, but I really hope this new round inspires even more varied artists to submit next time.”

In addition to being featured on the platform, all Crescent City Sounds artists receive a $250 honorarium for their work.

“There is no better feeling than getting the music out to the community and some paychecks to the artists,” Smith said. “Interacting with the musicians is a really wonderful aspect of this project. This city is full of creative and lovely people.”

Smith called the curatorial team the “backbone of this project,” noting that “their expertise in rounding up submissions and jurying the collection cannot be beat.”

Among the new music Time Will Tell by Sozi, a Chicago native and Dillard University graduate.

“I am thankful and appreciative to the New Orleans Public Library for choosing my album to be a part of the Crescent City Sounds collection,” he said. “ This means a lot to me because just like I was able to find some of my favorite artists, somebody will find this album, listen to it, and my music could become the soundtrack to their life.”

The Library plans to add new artists to Crescent City Sounds every year, aiming to be truly representative of the New Orleans music scene. The platform already features a diverse range of genres, including rap, punk, brass bands, jazz, and children’s music.

“Each round teaches lessons for the next round and all the other ways that this project can touch the community. I have big ideas for the future and I am excited to see where this path leads,” Smith said.

Check out the new collection at crescentcitysounds.org.