Reviews from Brett Milano & Michael Allen Zell Jazz Fest Day 6: Friday, May 2, 2025
Fabulous Thunderbirds
Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Photo: OffBeat / Kim Welsh
Kim Wilson claimed in our OffBeat interview that the current lineup of the Fabulous Thunderbirds is the best there’s ever been—which is the sort of thing that you always expect bandleaders to say. But they were decidedly no slouch, with two lead guitarists (one doubling on keys) who holds their own against the heavy hitters who went before. They also have a recent album (Struck Down) that sold well and got a couple of Grammy nominations (“We shoulda won,” said Wilson onstage), so they didn’t have to rely too much on the old crowd pleasers. Wilson disdains the idea of “blues rock,” feeling that you need to play one or the other—so they got deep into the blues with Slim Harpo’s “Baby Scratch My Back” and rocked out on the new album’s “Payback Time,” one of the best things ZZ Top never did (Billy Gibbons is on the studio version). And their closing one-two punch of “Tuff Enuff” and “Twist of the Knife” may be this year’s Fest’s best use of the old “Play the big hit, then slam into something that takes it up another notch” gambit.
Amanda Shaw. Photo: Kim Welsh
Amanda Shaw
The first killer tune I heard on Sunday was Amanda Shaw’s “Pot Hole Mouth,” a funny lyrical putdown that marks a rare fusion of Cajun fiddle with Mardi Gras Indian funk; the forthcoming studio version was recorded with Cha Wa—whose frontman Honey Banister showed up in full regalia to add vocals. She also covered a Dolly Parton tune, “More Where That Came From,” getting remarkably close to Parton’s voicing. Shaw remains an exuberant performer (she wore a dayglo red and yellow dress for the occasion), and the Cute Guys have grown into the most rocking of Cajun bands going full speed into the instrumentals with Shaw leading on fiddle. She looked like a national star waiting to happen when her Rounder album Pretty Runs Out was released in 2008; and I’ll say it again now.
007
Vinyl crate diggers are inherently my kind of people, especially that they know about great records that I don’t. That’s part of the appeal of an 007 set: Every song they play is a should-be classic rocksteady single, and the only songs I recognized in the whole hour were “Summer Breeze,” “Fortune Teller” and “Wasted Days & Wasted Nights” (though I’m clueless as to who did the Jamaican versions). The other appeal is just watching these guys play: Leader Jeffrey Clemens demonstrates that rocksteady drumming is largely about what you don’t play and the gaps you leave in the right places; he and Joe Cabral (making a rare turn on bass from the Iguanas) could have passed for Kingston studio cats. Guitarist Jonathan Freilich and Alex McMurray likewise got to play a bunch of tasty stuff that they can’t do in their myriad other bands.—Brett Milano
On an overcast breezy Friday, what better way to kick off Jazz Fest than the classic Crawfish Monica from Big River Foods and a Watermelon Coconut mocktail from Tap Truck.
Owolabi Ayodele photo by Michael Allen Zell
Owolabi Ayodele
Walking around before the music started, it was great to see painter Owolabi Ayodele set up with his tent. Ayodele was one of the artists in the incredible Lagos, Nigeria exhibition that came to Xavier University in 2019. He stayed in New Orleans and has become one of the most talented and prolific artists around. Ayodele can be found most days at his gallery on Royal Street and nights at the Frenchmen Street Art Market.
Wesli
Wesli from Haiti was a breath of fresh air. At the core, he writes folk songs, but they’re fleshed out with a great tapestry of sound. He kicked off things in style at the Congo Square Stage in the first of two shows.
Guitar Slim Jr.
Typically, that first drink wasn’t happening until later in the day, but Guitar Slim Jr. was lifting the roof at the Blues Tent, so Mr. Jerome at the Blues Bar made the perfect margarita right on time. Slim had a standing room crowd that extended outside the big tent, and he was on fire vocally, soulfully, and wielding his guitar like he meant business. No one who left after he finished off with Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Pride and Joy” will forget that set.
Alexey Marti
Next door at the WWOZ Jazz Tent, Maestro Alexey Marti was holding court with a high-level band that turned his “I Know What You Want” into a powerhouse jam and “I Don’t Wanna Give Up” into a staggering ballad. Vocalist Mecca Notes expertly lifted both songs. When Marti queried the crowd, “Are we moving in the right direction?” he was met with a resounding “Yes!”
Big Sam’s Funky Nation
Let it be said that Big Sam’s Funky Nation is full truth in advertising. Sam, along with a band that included Alfred Jordan on drums and Zahria Sims on saxophone, was a funk beast that got the party started, going, and leaving the crowd sweaty from dancing and thrilled from the group leaving it all on stage. Andrea Peoples Dance Theater heightened the energy as they do with any context they bless.
The Wailers
Continuing on the Congo Square Stage, headliner The Wailers with Julian Marley was an expected highlight of the day. It was my first time seeing them, and even before Marley took the stage, it was a real thrill to hear the psychedelic elements come to the fore. With a set filled with songs like “Stir It Up,” “Waiting in Vain,” “Running Away,” and “Lively Up Yourself,” the crowd has known well for over 40 years, it was a singalong and vibealong as good as it gets. As expected, “No Woman, No Cry” got the crowd especially fired up in multiple ways.—Michael Allen Zell
