Emerging Big Easy heroes Big Sam’s Funky Nation will kick off Carnival season this evening with a show at New Orleans’ Blue Nile with Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes this evening. The gig is one of several Mardi Gras performances the group has scheduled in the coming days, including an encore appearance at the Blue Nile this Sunday with the Rebirth Brass Band and a free Lundi Gras performance at the Republic this Monday. The latter show is scheduled to begin right after Orpheus has made its way through the streets. Looking ahead, Big Sam will spend Leap Day up north at Hoboken, NJ’s Maxwell’s.