By Jim Stanford on April 24, 2009
All at once the ghosts come back: Dave Matthews Band is one of the headliners for the festival's first weekend.
It’s that time again. JH Underground has made a much-needed change in latitude, on assignment at the 40th anniversary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Contemporary journalistic fashion dictates that I be Twittering and Flickring minute-by-minute as the festival unfolds. But that would be annoying, for you and me.
New Orleans is all about enjoying the moment. So I’m unplugging, mostly, for the next few days.
The Krewe of Bojon always stakes out prime turf.
People ask me, “Who are the headliners?” It doesn’t matter. Some of the artists I will come back talking about are ones I don’t even know I’ll be seeing yet.
To give you an idea of the lineup, Dave Matthews Band is closing the biggest stage on Sunday. But playing at the same time are soul legend Etta James, funk diva Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela and … disco kings Earth, Wind and Fire.
Really?
Which do I want to see? All of them.
Jazz Fest remains by far the best value of any music festival in America. For as little as $40, a general admission ticket gets you into a fairgrounds where the music flows continuously on eleven stages from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
It’s not too late to make plans for second weekend.
Jackson Hole will be well represented, with an emissary from KHOL and many of the usual suspects.
Jazz Fest isn’t so much a vacation as it is a spiritual pilgrimage. It’s time to dip into the well and recharge the soul.
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