For many, April in Louisiana represents the pinnacle of the outdoor musical experience. The weather starts to warm, the trees have filled out their branches with leaves, and Louisianans are ready to party. Beginning in the last weekend of April and spanning the first weekend of May, the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival attracts music-lovers the world over. This year I have the distinct privilege of covering the second Saturday of the festival, April 30^th.
For first-timers to the festival, each musician or group plays in one of the numerous tents on the New Orleans Fairground. For the biggest name artists, stick close to the Acura and Gentilly stages, and the Congo Square, WWOZ Jazz, and Blues tents. The biggest name artists will be splitting time between these 5 areas, but if you’re looking for a surprise experience or local zydeco or gospel group, feel free to branch out to the smaller tents.
The Blues Tent boasts an impressive line-up for the day beginning with Henry Gray. Though only a 30 minute set, you won’t want to miss this Louisiana native who has played alongside Muddy Waters, the Rolling Stones, and Howlin’ Wolf. If you stick around afterwards, you’ll be in for a treat with the Lil’ Buck Sinegal Blues Band, followed by Cyril Neville’s Royal Southern Brotherhood. The headliner for the tent comes in the last set of the day: Buddy Guy. As one of the world’s best blues musicians, music-goers have a chance to witness history as, fresh from the Baton Rouge Blues Festival weeks early, Guy plays an 80 minute set.
Maybe you’re in for something a bit more contemporary. Have no fear: the Congo Square tent boasts an eclectic mix of artists throughout the day. Kicking off the day will be The Speakerbox Experiment and then moving into Sweet Pain, featuring a group of international musicians from Belize. Still around after that? The tent will take a 180 with their introduction of Big Freedia, New Orleans native, pioneer, and ambassador for ‘bounce music:’ a wholly New Orleanian concept of dance and party music. The Rebirth Brass Band plays their annual set afterwards, and then Snoop Dogg wraps the tent up with a 90 minute set.
If you came strictly for jazz, the WWOZ Jazz Tent has you covered. The day has a strong line-up of traditional concert-hall-esque jazz musicians including Germaine Bazzle, Jeremy Davenport, and arguably the best baritone singer of our time: Gregory Porter. But that isn’t all! The last set belongs to the Cuban trumpeter of the modern era, Arturo Sandoval, who was shaped and molded by his time with Dizzy Gillespie in the Afro-Cuban bebop era. Sandoval is perhaps best known for ‘screams’ on the trumpet: high pitched and high energy improvisation solos. You won’t want to miss this set.
If you’re looking to see the 2016 headliner for the entire festival, you might want to stake your place in front of the Acura Stage early in the day. If you get there early, you’ll see the New Orleans-based 8 piece brass ensemble, The Soul Rebels, followed by Jon Batiste and Stay Human – Stephen Colbert’s in-house band. Local favorite Dr. John & The Nite Trippers will follow and precede the one, the only, Stevie Wonder, who will be closing the day up with a 2 hour set. Stevie will surely be playing through his robust collection of hits for a “you-don’t-want-to-miss” experience.
Because the day is filled with so many great artists, you might ask yourself “Which artists can I not afford to miss,” as opposed to “Who do I want to see.” Unfortunately, the festival has Stevie Wonder, Beck, Snoop Dogg, Arturo Sandoval, and Buddy Guy all scheduled at the same time. My advice: map out your musicians and tents prior to arriving. You won’t want to miss out on these great sets.