The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is an annual, multi-day music, food and cultural festival that is having a very special party in 2019. Celebrating its 50th year in that historic, 301-year-old city, it’s no surprise that hundreds of thousands fans from around the world descend on Jazz Fest (as it is commonly known) every year, with a few extra coming along for the legendary extravaganza of all sorts of music during this special celebration. The eight-day, 12-stage event occurs over two consecutive extended weekends, going each day from 11 a.m. to about 7 p.m. Jazz Fest is always the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May, regardless of the dates; this year’s fest runs April 25-28 and May 2-5. We attended the first weekend and had four days of amazing entertainment.
It Always Rains in New Orleans
Jazz Fest 50 kicked off with torrential rain on Thursday, April 25, which didn’t actually surprise locals or veteran festgoers, because as everyone knows, it always rains in New Orleans. So a downpour at Jazz Fest is a fairly common occurrence (why do you think we all have knee-high mud boots in our luggage?), but when hail and tornado warnings blow into town, things get dicey and the organizers have to be cautious. That’s what happened as Jazz Fest 50 opened – so it actually opened late, to allow some of those downpours to pass.
The festival takes place outside at the Fair Grounds Race Track, which is the horse track in New Orleans. The Fair Grounds property is set up with stages, tents, food courts and craft booths so any lightning or severe weather could be a big problem with crowds on site. Fortunately, heavy rains were the worst of the conditions that forced a briefly delayed opening of the festival. Of course, the fields were somewhat soggy and muddy, but that didn’t stop fans ready to roll from coming out.
While Jazz Fest is primarily known for pop and rock headliners, it’s roots are based in jazz, blues and regional music. We opened our journey with some excellent modern jazz performed by drummer Jason Marsalis’ band in the Jazz tent. That member of the famous New Orleans musical family led a talented group that included trumpeter Eric Bloom from funk powerhouse Lettuce.
We got soaked moving over to the Blues tent for a set by Meschiya Lake & The Little Big Horns. The chanteuse and her band played old-school, jazz-infused blues to a packed house of soggy attendees who stayed dry as more rain hit; experienced Jazz Fest goers know that the Blues, Gospel and Jazz tents are always dry (and kind of humid) respites from a storm. Later in the late afternoon, The Doobie Brothers (the marquee act of the day) hit the Acura stage, and the skies cleared for a sunny second half of their hit-filled set.
Earth Wind & Fire closed the Acura stage. The legendary funk and soul band led by original members Verdine White, Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson played crowd-pleasing hits with passion and precision. Philip Bailey’s vocals are still incredible after all these years and the thousands of fans at the show joined in to sing many of the hits along with the talented singer with the four-octave range.
Sunny Days, Happy Jazz Fest Revelers
As the fest really got rolling, beautifully sunny weather arrived and stayed all weekend. On Friday, April 26, we started with New Orleans Suspects, a group consisting of New Orleans royalty from the Neville Brothers, Dirty Dozen Brass Band and James Brown’s band. Regional blues guitar legend Tab Benoit followed on the Acura stage and blew away the crowd with his great vocals, fret work and foot-stomping tunes.
We moved over to the Congo stage for jam scene veterans Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. Denson and his band got people dancing and sweating under the blazing sun. Back at the Acura stage, we caught a local “super group” called Foundation of Funk. Original Meters rhythm section – George Porter Jr. and Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste – gave the backbone to the sounds of Ivan Neville, Ian Neville and Tony Hall from Dumpstaphunk for a classic funk clinic.
We moved back to the Congo stage for Dirty Dozen Brass Band, one of the oldest and most celebrated brass bands in the city. The final acts of the day included The Robert Cray Band in the Blues tent and The Revivalists at the Gentilly Stage, but we had to go to the Acura stage for Santana. The band has played Jazz Fest several times over the years and was one of the acts at Woodstock fifty years ago.
With both festivals celebrating 50 years, we knew Santana would make the day memorable. Guitar wizard Carlos Santana, his wife and the band’s drummer Cindy Blackman Santana and the rest of the fantastic Latin-influenced rock group put on a great, hit-filled show. At the end, they paid tribute to New Orleans as Carlos Santana introduced the city’s shining star, Trombone Shorty, who came out to play his horn on a couple of songs. It was an epic ending to a great day.
On Saturday, April 27, we got in quite a bit of leg work. We moved from the big Acura stage, where we saw local Louisiana French band Sweet Crude, over to the Blues tent for a piano tribute celebrating the music of Professor Longhair, James Booker, Jellyroll Morton, Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint and Dr. John. We then moved across the track to the Gentilly stage for amazing, funky vocals by Erica Falls. She performed with her own band at Jazz Fest and has also been the featured singer with Galactic for the past three years.
We went back to the packed Blues tent for Mississippi’s dynamic guitar player Mr. Sipp. Over at the Congo stage, Rebirth Brass Band, another legendary group of fantastic horn players, kept the crowd bouncing. The last sets of the day included Boz Scaggs in the Blues tent, Katy Perry at the Acura Stage and Leon Bridges on the Gentilly Stage. Each set drew rabid fans who enjoyed the performances, despite some purists grumbling that Katy Perry was a bit too “pop princess” for Jazz Fest, but her young fans spoke with their wallets and cheered with love as she did her hits, all accompanied with her signature rapid wardrobe changes.
Sunday, April 28 dawned sunny again, as the last day of the first weekend of Jazz Fest brought out big crowds, decorated umbrellas and a fantastic assortment of sun hats and shades. Early in the day, the Acura stage featured an inspired tribute to Dave Bartholomew and Fats Domino with special guests Bonnie Raitt, Irma Thomas, Davell Crawford, Jon Cleary and Al “Lil Fats” Jackson supported by the Fats Domino Orchestra. Irma Thomas and Bonnie Raitt each had terrific, crowd-pleasing sets once the tribute show concluded on that big Acura main stage. During Raitt’s set, Boz Scaggs came out and joined her for a song.
The Congo stage had a tribute to Aretha Franklin with The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and a few fine vocalists doing their best to honor Franklin. The O’Jays performed after the Franklin tribute and they were followed by closing performer and legendary soul singer and preacher Al Green. Green was in fine form and voice. He offered a medley of hits that had the crowd singing along.
At the Acura stage, Van Morrison closed the first Jazz Fest weekend. Always leaning toward jazz, Morrison sang some of his hits with jazzier arrangements. He also displayed his impressive saxophone skills. The crowd was fired up for the show but really engaged during a cover of Muddy Waters’ “Got My Mojo Working” and Morrison’s “Wild Night” and “Gloria.”
More Music Coming Soon
Weekend two of Jazz Fest starts Thursday, May 3, and we’ll be on the scene, unless those tornado warnings return. The weekend lost the Rolling Stones when Mick Jagger took ill, but the headliners still make for a music-lover’s lineup, ranging from Widespread Panic, Ziggy Marley and Tom Jones to Chris Stapleton, Diana Ross, Pitbull, Herbie Hancock, Buddy Guy and the Dave Mathews Band. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue with the Nevilles close out this milestone fest late on Sunday afternoon with a homegrown set from the top musicians that call NOLA home. Watch this space for a recap with photos after it concludes and keep an eye out for our coverage of some of the non-fest shows happening in the clubs, parks and other venues around the city of New Orleans as the citywide celebration of 50 years of Jazz Fest rolls on.
Live photos courtesy of Andy J. Gordon ©2019.
