The annual French Quarter Festival kicks off bright and early tomorrow morning, 4/7, with a second line parade through the old city beginning at 10 AM. TVD is happy to report that we are sponsors of the event for the fifth year in a row. Here are our picks for Thursday. The full lineup is here.
Thursday, also known as Locals Day, is packed with talent on the five stages that are up and running. The inimitable Deacon John gets things rockin’ at 11 AM on the Abita Beer stage. Moore is a legend in these parts and he never fails to deliver an outstanding set.
The next time slot is packed with hometown favorites including vocalist John Boutte, Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers, and the Joe Krown Trio featuring Walter “Wolfman” Washington and Russell Batiste. But since French Quarter Fest is a sort of warm up to the Jazz Fest, the granddaddy of local fests, why not check out someone relatively new to the scene?
Bassist Charlie Wooten (pictured above) has occasionally been subbing for Reggie Scanlan when the New Orleans Suspects hit the road. His own project features stellar musicians across the board. They hit at 12:30 PM on the Big River stage. The Suspects play later in the day at 3:45 PM on the Abita stage.
OffBeat magazine cover boy and one of the world’s most formidable slide guitarists, Sonny Landreth, tears it up at 3:50 PM. Meanwhile Cha Wa, the latest Mardi Gras Indian band on the scene, are hitting at close to the same time. They recently debuted their new album on TVD, but then you knew that.
While most of the bands I have mentioned fall under roots and/or rock categories, modern jazz has a small, but inspired footprint at the French Quarter Fest. Pianist Ellis Marsalis and his trombone-playing son Delfeayo (pictured above) and his Uptown Jazz Orchestra perform back to back on the Jackson Square stage. So if genteel surroundings and stellar jazz is more your thing, head there to end the day. Tomorrow—Friday’s picks.
