Michael Allen Zell reviews Jazz Fest Day 3: Friday, April 26, 2025.
Armed with a Tap Truck Tangerine Yuzu Cherry mocktail and sunscreen on a steamy Saturday, it was off to catch the Festival Stage openers.
The Rumble, featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr., are a local musical treasure that’s evolved in recent years. With young heavy hitters including Ari Teitel and Aurélien Barnes, they are a group only beginning to rise. “Stories from the Battlefield,” from their eponymously-titled Grammy-nominated debut album, was the perfect caffeine jolt for the crowd.
Universal Love Jewelry, Photo: Michael Allen Zell
Universal Love Jewelry, found midway back alongside the Congo Square Stage, is one of Jazz Fest’s pioneer vendors. “I came in 1980 when they were just beginning to have Black people represented. The Afrikan-American Jazz Coalition demanded this. At that time the Koindu Marketplace was placed by the porta potties. Everybody brought drums, the crowd got bigger and bigger, and they demanded that we get a stage. That eventually became Congo Square and the rest is history. In Baba Adam’s family business it is mandatory that all 16 children make or sell jewelry. “In 1969, a friend showed me how to make a ring. I quit my job. I’m 81, and I can honestly say I’m living my way.”
Blackberry Freeze and Goi Cuon. Photo: Michael Allen Zell
On a hot sweaty day, cooling off with a Blackberry Breeze from Sunshine Concessions was the way to go. The only festival where they sell their drinks is Jazz Fest, and they’ve done so since 1977. The tea was perfectly paired with Ba Mien’s refreshing Goi Cuon (Spring Rolls).
Kyle Roussel spent his birthday thrilling the WWOZ Jazz Tent crowd. It was expected he would feature songs from his recent Church of New Orleans album, and the nimble and masterful pianist did not disappoint. From “African Gumbo” by James Booker/Melvin Lastie to “Pickles” by Allen Toussaint, and from Roussel’s own “Nothing Is Impossible” to his (with Quiana Lynell) “Close To You,” Roussel is both elegant and stylish and a bad, bad man. His band included vocalists Lynell and Tracci Lee Jordan as well as powerhouse drummer Peter Varnado.
Overheard and notable along an early afternoon Fair Grounds stroll were Rebirth Brass Band at the Festival Stage, Los Guiros at the Jazz & Heritage Stage, The Revelers at the Fais Do-Do Stage, and Rumba Buena at the Congo Square Stage.
Erica Falls. Photo: Michael Allen Zell
It was Soul Saturday for Erica Falls who kicked off the first of four shows today with a solo set at the Congo Square Stage, and would finish the day much later at Preservation Hall’s Midnight Preserves. No question her renditions of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “That’s The Way of the World” and William DeVaughn’s “Be Thanks for What You’ve Got” were killer, but her own “Up” is as strong a signature song as it gets.
Falls was also a key part of Davell Crawford’s tribute to Roberta Flack. Every song was a highlight, of course, including Tonya Boyd-Cannon on “Where Is The Love?” and Caren Green on The Closer I Get To You.” “Killing Me Softly,” featuring Big Freedia became an immediate Jazz Fest moment and closed out the set.
An annual standby is The Galley’s Fried Catfish Po Boy along with an Iced Coffee from nearby New Orleans Coffee Company, and both hit as expected.
Let it be said that Babyface puts on a classic R&B show of the type when the genre was still king. He was part of a five-man front line that moved and grooved with style. “Whip Appeal” got the Congo Square Stage crowd fired up, but the second half was when the fun went down. Babyface said, “This is my favorite part of the show,” as he launched into a staggering medley of hits he wrote or co-wrote for others. A few of those songs were “Breathe Again,” “Superwoman,” “Two Occasions,” “Rock Steady,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Every Little Step I Take,” “Can We Talk?,” and concluding with “End of the Road.” With that, everyone was left breathless and feeling the strength of how Babyface impacted the 80s and 90s. —Michael Allen Zell
