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 Elvis Costello |
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Review and photos By Leslie Michele Derrough We’re Back! One thing about the New Orleans Jazz Fest, is that it never stopped believing it would come back and come back strong. After covid-19 knocked them out for two years, the festival, which marked it’s 50th anniversary in 2019, put together seven days over two weekends of stellar music that saw a tremendous influx of music and food fans walking onto the grounds of the racecourse with smiles on their faces.Weekend 2 was not perfect. Rain settled over the area on Thursday night bringing the steam and humidity on Friday that is well known down here in the Deep South, but was ultimately rectified by a cool Mango Freeze or a soft shell crab po’boy washed down with some of the infamous Rosemary Tea. Melissa Etheridge bowed out but was replaced by the legendary Mavis Staples; and Willie Nelson had to cancel due to a covid outbreak in his band so Zac Brown took his place closing out Jazz Fest on the Gentilly Stage. Speaking of stages, some fans like to hop from one to the other checking out the different genres of music. And Jazz Fest is famous for it’s variety of music all in one place. Fais Do Do is where you found bluegrass and Zydeco; Economy Hall hosted brass bands and swinging jazz; the Jazz & Heritage Stage was home to Mardi Gras Indians, mariachi & other rhythmic sounds from different cultures; on the Lagniappe Stage were the singer-songwriters and Congo Square pulsed with the vibrations of soul, rap and R&B; the Blues, Gospel and Jazz tents were self-explanatory; and then you had the Big 2: the Festival Stage where the main headliners performed and the Gentilly Stage where the artists were just as prominent. You had a lot to choose from. Headliners on the main Festival Stage, formally known as Acura, were country artist Luke Combs on Thursday, The Black Crowes on Friday, Stevie Nicks on Saturday and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue on Sunday. Highlights among the artists performing before them included red-hot Samantha Fish, The Revivalists, Mia Borders and New Orleans own beloved Irma Thomas. The Gentilly Stage gave the main stage a run for it’s money in terms of great music. Headliners included Billy Strings, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Lauren Daigle and Zac Brown Band. Highlights before them included a wonderfully smooth Chris Isaak, a rocking Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of the Real, a cool Rickie Lee Jones, former Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli and a tribute to Dave Bartholomew with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band featuring Elvis Costello. Congo Square headliners included Ziggy Marley, a very colorful Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. Other highlights were Erica Falls, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, Nigel Hall and Big Freedia. Fais Do Do highlights included the legendary Ricky Skaggs with his Kentucky Thunder band, Yvette Landry & The Jukes, Feufollet, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet and the Rayo Brothers. In the Blues Tent, Mavis Staples, Jonathon Long, Bettye LaVette, Sonny Landreth and the timeless Buddy Guy made the soul feel good. And in the Jazz Tent, it was the legendary David Sanborn, Nayo Jones, the NOCCA Jazz Ensemble and the sweet sounds of Norah Jones that made this tent a must-be place to sit and listen to music. There was so much good music happening during Weekend 2 that it was hard to leave one stage to go to another. But as with festivals, sets overlapped and getting from one side of the grounds to the other wasn’t always a quick journey, as distractions included the smell of good food and the numerous parades and funeral second lines caught your attention. Overall, Jazz Fest 2022 was a soaring success. The countdown has already begun for Jazz Fest 2023. You going to be there? |
 Elvis Costello |
 Lukas Nelson |
 Samantha Fish |
 Amanda Shaw |
 Trombone Shorty |
 Revivalists |
 Trombone Shorty |
 Chris Isaak |
 Lucas Combs |
 Revivalists |
 Lukas Nelson |
 Chris Isaak |
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