THROUGH THE LENS: The Pure Joy of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

New Orleans, Louisiana, is not just a city. Its name alone conjures up a scintillating and singular representation of the confluence of French, African, and American cultures. From buskers on what seems to be every street corner in the French Quarter to the parades and street parties of Mardi Gras, the city is the embodiment of a round-the-clock nightlife, vibrant live music scene, and spicy cuisine that reflects its melting pot history. Born in 1970, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (most folks call it “Jazz Fest”) has become an integral part of that history. A brief overview of the festival can be found here.

This year’s edition, its 53rd, was held on two successive four-day weekends from April 25  to May 5. With 12 stages strategically located around the the city’s Fair Grounds Race Course, Jazz Fest is one of the most prestigious and all-encompassing festivals, roots or otherwise, in the world. While its centerpiece is a celebration of local music and culture, it has also attracted well-known artists such as Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, and Joni Mitchell. This year’s biggest-name draw was The Rolling Stones.

We are most fortunate to have had two veteran ND photographers on the grounds: Jim Brock, who celebrated his 20th year at Jazz Fest, and Mary Andrews, who’s attended every year since Hurricane Katrina. Mary shared with me that she was visiting New Orleans when the hurricane hit. Her return each year is her way of supporting and giving back to the community. Their photos are featured in the gallery below.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival by Jim Brock 

With nearly 600 performances over its eight days, FOMO (fear of missing out) is always in the air at Jazz Fest. But the day before it kicked off a friend corrected me: It’s not about FOMO, it’s about JOMO — the joy of missing out. Be it Mardi Gras Indian colors that fill your eyes and ears passing by the Jazz & Heritage Stage, or the sounds of the Gospel or Blues Tents that pull you in like a tractor beam as you were on your way to somewhere else, you are in the midst of sheer joy. Because wherever you are on the Fair Grounds, no matter how painstakingly you curated your schedule, wherever you are is exactly where you should be.

Many who come to Jazz Fest do not stray far. They’ll find their favorite seat in a tent or spot near a stage and stay there all day, every day. But I’m a wanderer and I encourage others to do the same. It is the most diverse musical experience you’ll ever encounter in one place. Jazz Fest is the hard choices and no regrets. If you’re hearing something really good, but your highlighted schedule has you on the other side of the Fair Grounds, stay put. Roll with your ears, not what’s between them. It can make for a beautiful mashup, too, as I experienced when I bounced between Rhiannon Giddens and Samara Joy, because the stages they played were next to each other.

Jazz Fest, like the New Orleans musical culture it is steeped in, reaches across time, both in the music itself and through generations. It is not uncommon to find three, sometimes four generations of families sharing the stage, whether in full Mardi Gras headdress or with stringed instruments in hand. It is also a celebration of loss and renewal. Strutting revelers in jazz funerals for Jimmy Buffett and New Orleans drummer Russell Batiste were rolling parties led by brass and high-stepping social aid and pleasure clubs that are such a signature of the community.

Much was made of Jazz Fest landing The Rolling Stones this year, after two cancellations in previous years (one for Mick Jagger’s heart surgery, the other due to the Fest being scrapped because of COVID). Some unprecedented adjustments were made to accommodate the occasion. Ticket sales were capped at 40,000 for the day they played, and all other stages went dark after 3:30 p.m. so that Ivan Neville and Dumpstaphunk could prep the crowd for the Stones. 

The third time was clearly charmed as the most recognizable band on the planet met the moment and the moment met them. With guests that included Irma Thomas, “the Soul Queen of New Orleans,” on “Time Is On My Side” and Dwayne “Rocking” Dopsie’s zydeco accordion on “Let It Bleed,” it was a matinee set in the raw, grounded by the elation of every hit and how that made us, and still makes us, feel.

But Jazz Fest is much bigger than even the Stones. It’s going from Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway’s bluegrass take on “Ramblin’ Man” (honoring the recent passing of Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts) to the sublime sounds of saxophonist/flautist/multi-instrumentalist Charles Lloyd and his brilliant quartet. Musical transformations of equally wondrous proportions are always only steps away. 

Jazz Fest is also Trumpet Mafia filling the Jazz Tent stage with 16 trumpets, five saxes, four trombones, two keyboards, and a full percussion section. It’s the same stage where Allison Russell, Amy Helm, Leyla McCalla, Béla Fleck, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Nickel Creek all sat comfortably alongside Vampire Weekend, The Killers, Juvenile, and Queen Latifah on the daily schedule. It’s also the same stage that spotlights a different cultural/national traditon woven into the musical mélange every year. This year it was Columbia.

Now that Jazz Fest 53 is in the books, I plan on much more JOMO in my life. And so should you. At Jazz Fest 54 or wherever you might be.

Click on any photo below to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow.