Morning showers on Jazz Fest Day 6 gave way to a nice Friday afternoon at Jazz Fest.

Steel Pulse
Veteran reggae bands on Congo Square can be hit or miss—the last one I saw—Third World, was among the misses. Not the case with Steel Pulse this year. During their ’80s heyday this band always played tougher than the rest, as befits a band from an industrial city (Birmingham U.K.) with a strong punk element. That toughness remained even though the sound was much different: this edition of Steel Pulse includes a horn section, backup singers and a rock-based lead guitarist, who enhanced the rhythms instead of diluting them. Most of the politics in their early songs still held up (though alas, not all: they played the 1985 track “Wild Goose Chase” whose anti-abortion sentiments I still disagree with). But most of their message is righteous anti-racist, and at one point singer David Hinds stopped a song that referenced Rock Against Racism to say “Goddamn—I can’t believe we still have to do this after 40 years”). “Babylon Makes the Rules” was also still resonant, and the band represented its good-timey side with their one U.S. hit, “Steppin’ Out” and a surprising (but nice) cover of Roy Hamilton’s old R&B hit “Dont Let Go.”

Cyril Neville
You can’t really say that Cyril Neville has re-embraced his Wild Tchoupitoulas past, since he’s never un-embraced it. But he has returned to the music and overall vibe of that landmark album, which came out in 1976 and marked the Neville Brothers’ first work as a group. With a new group of Tchoupitoulas in full regalia, Neville devoted his Congo Square set to raising the spirits of Big Chief Jolly and all his partners, never failing to underline this tradition’s importance in New Orleans culture. And if that sounds dry, you’ve probably forgotten how sublimely funky this music always was. Most of the original album was complimented by a handful of newer songs, including the longtime Nevilles standard “Shake Your Tambourine” and the anthem he recently wrote with Aaron, “Don’t Wait ’Till I’m Gone.” The new Tchoupitoulas are partly a harmony group, with one singer doing some Aaron-like falsetto, and it was a pleasure to hear Cyril’s mighty voice in a mix that harked back to the Brothers.

Anders Osborne
One thing that’s kept Anders Osborne from being just another guitar slinger is his willingness to explore risky emotional territory in his songs. As usual he stretched out onstage more than he does on record, with a jam-friendly band including a couple familiar faces (sometime Neil Young collaborator Chad Cromwell on drums and former Black Crowe Jackie Greene on second guitar). One highlight of the set was “On the Road to Charlie Parker,” an unflinching song about addiction that’s practically a greatest hit by now. Another highlight was a new song, “Real Good Dirt” explicitly about depression: “You got therapy and long-ass walks, a couple of friends who don’t mind how much you need to talk.” These aren’t things people usually say while pounding out Crazy Horse-power chords, but it is a pretty good way to heal. The set ended with a gospel tune that was one of the weekend’s many Nick Daniels tributes.

Lulu & the Broadsides
Like the Continental Drifters with whom they share a member, Lulu & the Broadsides are a supergroup that’s more than the sum of its parts. Frontwoman Dayna Kurtz can be dark and moody as a solo act, but this band allows her to put her rock and blues side forward, along with her more mischievous side: You’d never think that PJ Havey’s tragic psychological study “Down By the Water” could work as zydeco. Or the Stooges’ “I Need Somebody” as a torchy blues—okay, that one’s less of a stretch, but her soul-tearing delivery was something else again. She’s also got a couple original tunes that celebrate her adopted home of New Orleans in non-obvious ways, with “Dear Rachel Carson” sounding an alarm on climate disaster. Drifters member Robert Maché remains equally fine at subtle textures and full-throttle solos, and hearing James Singleton play standup bass in a rock context is the icing on the proverbial cake.

—Brett Milano

 

Patrice Fisher
Light morning showers gave way to a nice Friday afternoon at Jazz Fest. Though Clesi’s is the spot for boiled crawfish, I went for a lower maintenance dish, their dirty rice. It accompanied me to the Lagniappe Stage where Patrice Fisher and a handful of Caribbean and local artists set a perfect tone to bless the day. You can’t go wrong with two harps, a range of instrumentation, and music such as a Martinique song by Ernest Lèardée.

Girls Play Trumpets Too
The Children’s Tent not only hosted the Charging Yaks Marching Band and the Blue Heat Dancers but also Girls Play Trumpets Too under the artistic direction of Troy Sawyer. Thirteen girls between the ages of eight and 19-years-old took the stage and played everything from a jazzy swinging theme song to “When The Saints Go Marching In.” The stated goal is to knock down the walls of gender bias. For an organization only in existence for around two years, it looks like they’re off to a good start.

Charlie Gabriel and Friends
A nearby walk to Economy Hall found a deep standing room-only crowd for Charlie Gabriel and Friends. What caliber of friends! Kyle Roussel on piano, Josh Starkman on guitar, Shannon Powell on drums, Ben Jaffe on stand-up bass, Kevin Louis on trumpet, Louis Ford on clarinet, and Craig Klein on trombone. “Come with me to New Orleans,” the legendary Gabriel sang, and everyone was ready to follow him.

Cyril Neville
It’s the 50th anniversary of The Wild Tchoupitoulas album, and Cyril Neville hit the Congo Square Stage feeling it and ready to remind the audience how good that record is. The wall-to-wall crowd heard a funk beast band and saw a master at work. Neville wore a hat with a feather nearly as long as his drums, and he was fired up. Maybe it was due to Steel Pulse playing later, but the reggae vibe in Neville’s songs seemed even more integral than usual.

Galactic
Over at the Festival Stage, Galactic was moving and grooving for a packed lawn. Singer Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph sang “Trying to make it real” with urgency and also added great vocal coloring to the Allen Toussaint standard “Yes We Can Can” sung by guest Ivan Neville. Galactic is as crisp as it gets, and it is particularly striking watching both the two drummers and two-man horn section perform together as duos and in the service of the songs for the band.

Terence Blanchard
Terence Blanchard is must-see whatever the incarnation. His group E-Collective along with the Turtle Island String Quartet did not disappoint at the WWOZ Jazz Tent. Blanchard announced that as his album Flow, produced by Herbie Hancock, was celebrating its 20th anniversary, they would be performing three compositions from it. The strings shimmered, added necessary texture, and the crowd couldn’t get enough. Blanchard’s way is one of casual sophistication, but even his low key way in the world can’t mask his active mind and ultra-talent.

The Soul Rebels
The Soul Rebels were perfectly positioned between Cyril Neville and Steel Pulse at the Congo Square Stage and they realized it, focusing on songs with a reggae vibe. They certainly checked their Jamaican passport with this set, and the crowd loved it. They are without doubt the most versatile brass band working today.

The nearby Bennachin food booth features one of the best deals at Jazz Fest, the combo plate with chicken on a skewer, fried plantains, and jama jama (spinach). It was also perfect to enjoy while headliner Steel Pulse both brought a good vibe and also spoke out about injustice. The show was a dance party in front, and killer picnic in back, and with both the island vibe was a great capper on the day.

—Michael Allen Zell

 

Duwayne Burnside
Duwayne Burnside tore it up at the Blues Tent, starting Friday off right. Burnside was in kind of a surprising timeslot, being that he is Mississippi blues royalty—and not just because of his last name. (Later that night, at the Broadside, I was told that Cedric Burnside hadn’t even known his uncle was appearing that day at the Fest until belatedly looking up the schedule). I hadn’t noticed either, scrambled to rearrange my morning to make it. When I popped into the tent, almost every seat was taken, even though the gates had barely been open for half an hour. Burnside woke us all up with “Goin’ Down South,” made famous by his father, R.L. Burnside, now practically a requirement in any Burnside family setlist. (It’s like seeing the Nevilles—any Nevilles—and not hearing “Fire on the Bayou.”) Duwayne, a member of the famed North Mississippi Allstars, told jokes between songs, too, but it seemed that only the band could follow. At least they—and the crowd—could follow the music and lyrics perfectly.

Andrew Duhon
Speaking of jokes, Andrew Duhon is one of the funniest deadpan banterers in town. During his show on the Fais Do-Do stage, he mentioned how thankful he was that the stage was packed in the rain, with so many “better” options out there. Duhon, a local, was backed by a band that rendered his arresting voice and folk songs as Cajun zydeco. Just across the road in the Rhythympourium, the RamBull Rompers were stunning with their perfect harmonies and musical synchronization on a wide array of Americana-folk songs, including covers of Irma Thomas and Lucinda Williams. It was the first Fest appearance for the local duo and will likely be a staple of the Fest for years to come.

Anders Osborne
I prefer the Anders Osborne of “Tracking My Roots” and the entire Coming Down record to the hard-blues-rocker who usually appears in Osborne’s Festival Stage timeslots each year, but this one was something special. Osborne almost went into that overkill mode on rock songs like “On the Road to Charlie Parker,” but he also did a strong version of “Lafayette,” one of the standouts from his underappreciated 2016 record Spacedust and Ocean Views. His unidentified, half-dozen women backup singers charmed, too, keeping things wry and more level, melodically, even as Osborne’s vocals were overly loud in the mix. Osborne dedicated “Lafayette” and the slow closer “Higher Ground” to Chris Stafford, the Feufollet bandleader who died Thursday following a car crash and who was due to play the Fest this weekend. It was a poignant, stunning end to an excellent precursor to the Foo Fighters set a few hours later.

Allison Russel
The biggest show of the 4 p.m. timeslot was unquestionably Allison Russell at the Blues Tent. All seats were taken moments after the previous act ended, although one man who snagged one turned to me and asked if I thought Russell was supposed to be “good.” In fact, the Montreal-born singer-songwriter, whom Joni Mitchell calls “the most beautiful clarinet player ever” drew them in not because of her looks but on the strength of last year’s brilliant The Returner, Russell’s second album, which won her first Grammy (out of eight nominations!). She got the crowd of diehard fans and newbies alike singing the word “demon” back to her from 2023s “Demons,” and earned herself a standing ovation when she brought out Hozier, who has the number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, to close with their duet, “Requiem.” It was a stunning performance of a stunning song, and inspired many to race over to the Gentilly stage an hour later for Hozier’s headline set, during which Russell returned the favor, duetting on their song “Wildflower and Barley,” from Hozier’s new EP.

—Brian Fairbanks