Saturdays at the Fairgrounds during Jazz Fest have become the biggest days mostly by design by the fest’s organizers. Today is no exception with Phish, Robert Plant, Robin Thicke, Branford Marsalis (pictured at top), and Boz Scaggs crowding the biggest stages. Get there early to get ahead of the critical mass.
Stay off the beaten track and check out some of the lesser known artists and first time performers from Brazil. But also consider heading by the Book Tent at 1 PM. Yours truly will be signing his latest tome—Not Just Another Thursday Night: Kermit Ruffins and Vaughan’s Lounge.
Forroteria plays a style of music from Brazil—Forro—that bears an unmistaken similarity to the zydeco music of Southwestern Louisiana. So it’s fitting that their first appearance at Jazz Fest will be on the Fais Do Do stage, which is the traditional home of local zydeco bands.
Want to check out a Brazilian act that has no similarities that I know of to New Orleans and Louisiana music? Head over to the Jazz and Heritage stage at 1:50 PM for Ginga Mundo Capoeira of Bahia. Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art developed by slaves and disguised as a dance to fool the slave masters. It is performed with musical accompaniment. If this group is anything like the experts I saw in Bahia, prepare to be amazed.
Hip Hop rarely gets a spot in the middle of day at Jazz Fest. But Bounce music pioneer Big Freedia is not just any performer. With a Fuse network reality show and a rising star, he brings twerking to Congo Square stage right before the main act.
Riccardo Crespo is an honorary New Orleanian based on his years in the city. But he is from Brazil and plays and interesting amalgamation of music from his home in the south of that massive country. His band Sol Brasil features New Orleans musicians backing him as plays guitar and harmonica and sings with a feeling of saudade for his home country.
Kick off your first Sunday at the Jazz Fest with the Golden Star Hunters Mardi Gras Indian tribe. Their big chief, Larry Bannock, has been suffering from a variety of medical maladies. But he is one of the true legends, a native of the Gert Town neighborhood who is a direct link to the mid-twentieth century Indians known for changing the culture from battle to art.
The newly christened Samsung Galaxy stage hosts two indie rock bands today. Royal Teeth may not be as well known as Vampire Weekend, the closers, but this young band brings tons of energy to the stage. Fronted by a romantic couple, they bounce around like manic tots while their dressed down guitarist lays down serious riffs.
If you haven’t had a chance to pass by the Casa Do Brasil (The House of Brazil) yet this weekend, made sure you do because the cast of characters populating this unique feature of the Jazz Fest will change next weekend. At 2:40 PM, Afoxé Omô Nilê Ogunjá leads a parade from the Jazz and Heritage stage to the Casa Do Brasil.
At 2:30 PM, a new band I am super psyched about hits on the Lagniappe stage. LosOtros is a local supergroup of sorts, which mines the deep earth of Brazilian music. Led by bassist Sam Price (Honey Island Swamp Band, Otra), the group features vocalist Christina Friis-Nielsen, keyboardist Eduardo Tozzatto, saxophonist Brad Walker, and percussionist Michael Skinkus among others.
John Hiatt used to play in New Orleans all the time. But the roots rocker seems to have fallen off the radar of local clubs. He performs at the Jazz Fest for the first time in a while on the intimate Fais Do Do stage. This guy is one of the most underrated songwriters out there. People like Bonnie Raitt have covered his tunes.
The one two punch of New Orleans funk pioneers Chocolate Milk and Gap band singer Charlie Wilson are reason enough to settle down in the back of the Congo Square stage for the rest of the afternoon. You deserve to take a load off-it’s been a long weekend and there are four more days of the fest ahead next weekend.
PHOTO: LIFESLICEZ MEDIA/STEVE MORAN
