One of the big-gest musical events in the world, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, is celebrating a milestone this year, and a woman that calls Pearl River County home will be a part of the festivities.

Carriere’s Lynn Drury and her new band the Tipsy Chicks will open the Lagniappe stage Saturday at 11:20 at the Fairgrounds. This is the 40th anniversary of Jazz Fest, and Drury, an accomplished singer and songwriter in her own right, will be enjoying a homecoming of sorts with her show.

“It’s awesome to be back at Jazz Fest, it’s been too long since I’ve played there,” Drury who spent all of her school days in the Pearl River Central system, said. “In the past few years I have been playing shows around the fest, but it’s not the same. It’s gratifying professionally to be back again. It’s exciting.”

Drury played Jazz Fest with her band at that time in 2003, and also played solo in the singer/songwriter program of the event a few times as well but hasn’t been included in the line-up since 2005.

Also, her return to the event will be with the Tipsy Chicks, an obvious play on the name of the very successful country music group. The Tipsy Chicks include Drury on vocals and lead guitar, Kim Carson on vocals and bass, Jan Clements on keyboards and Nancy Buchan on fiddle.

Drury describes the sound of her side project as old country and western music with a mix of honky tonk and blues. “Nancy says the it’s more of a description than a name,” Drury laughed. “We started it in September and it’s something I have really enjoyed being a part of.”

Drury, who won several awards in New Orleans music circles pre Hurricane Katrina for her “twang and groove” style of music, was displaced after the killer storm to Memphis. She has been living for most of the past year in Europe, and touring not only with the Tipsy Chicks but also as a duo with her boyfriend as well.

“It’s been a real interesting year,” Drury, whose family including her mom Sandra still lives in Picayune, said. “I am going to be back in the states for a couple of months and I am going to do some solo stuff as well as starting to put my band back together and work on some new stuff.”

Drury and the Tipsy Chicks will be a part of a first weekend line-up at Jazz Fest that includes the likes of Joe Cocker, James Taylor, Dave Matthews, Etta James, the Drive by Truckers with Booker T, Earth Wind and Fire and Hugh Masakela.

To find out more about Drury and her career, check her out on MySpace, Facebook or at lynndrury.com.