Fats Domino has returned to public performance for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the blues legend's home city of New Orleans. As previously reported, the 79 year old musician had to be rescued by boat from the flooding that overtook the city back in August of 2005.
Domino last performed in public three months prior to the events of that month, in which he lost his home, gold and platinum records and his pianos. His latest gig, which took place on Saturday, was staged by The Tiptina's Foundation, a not for profit organisation which has also put together a Domino tribute record featuring artists such as Elton John, Paul McCartney and Lenny Kravitz to raise money to help musicians recover from the after-effects of Katrina, as well as providing the city's schools with musical instruments.
Quint Davis, of the city's Jazz And Heritage Festival, said of Domino's performance: "It was emotional. There were a lot of people crying. It wasn't that the music was living again for us. It wasn't about us. It was about Fats. Fats himself got to experience it again".
Fellow musician Art Neville added: "He's been through so much, like a lot of us. It was great to see him out there. It really was".