With so many amazing moments from the first weekend of the 47th New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (aka Jazz Fest) including members of Red Hot Chili Peppers joining Pearl Jam’s headlining set and iconic Crescent City musicians, The Meters, joining the Chili Peppers’ headlining set it almost makes you wonder if the second weekend, today through Sunday, will be able to meet up to those standards and surpass them.
Forget Fat Tuesday. Fat chance that won’t happen.
New Orleans oozes with so much music that late night shows on each night of Jazz Fest plus a secondary fest, NOLA Crawfish Festival, which ran April 25-27 and featured local musicians, isn’t enough to feed a hungry live music fan.
Jazz Fest’s lineup for this weekend includes headliners Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder and Neil Young & Promise of the Real along with My Morning Jacket, Beck, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Los Lobos perform “La Pistola Y El Corazon,” Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Arlo Guthrie for Alice's Restaurant 50th Anniversary, Mavis Staples, The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald and Ernie lsley, Snoop Dogg, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Chris Botti, Punch Brothers Tribute to B.B.King hosted by the B.B.King Blues Band with special guests, Arturo Sandoval, Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Lone Bellow and Elvin Bishop.
Of course the stages will also be filled with the sounds by nationally-known area artists including Dr. John & The Nite Trippers, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, Aaron Neville, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk with special guest Art Neville, Tribute to Allen Toussaint hosted by the Allen Toussaint Band with special guests, Bonerama, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Revivalists, Ellis Marsalis, The Gospel Soul of Irma Thomas, Zigaboo Modeliste's Funk Revue, Marcia Ball, Rockin' Dopsie & the Zydeco Twisters, The Band Courtbouillon featuring Wayne Toups, Steve Riley, Jon Batiste and Stay Human, Rebirth Brass Band, Big Freedia, Kermit Ruffins' Tribute to Louis Armstrong, The Soul Rebels, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Cha, Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Roy Rogers & the Delta Rhythm Kings, Cyril Neville's Royal Southern Brotherhood, New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, Wayne Toups, John Mooney & Bluesiana, Cash Box Kings, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, Irwin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Creole String Beans with special guest T.K. Hulin and C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band
For those who can’t make it to Jazz Fest, you can listen online athttp://www.wwoz.org/programs/streams.
For more information on Jazz Fest, go to http://www.nojazzfest.com/.