There’s a good chance that Paul Simon will perform at Jazz Fest in 2016.
Keith Spera of the New Orleans Advocate reports that the famed singer-songwriter let the information slip during last night’s Paul Simon & Friends tribute to Allen Toussaint at Le Petit Theatre. The show, a benefit for Toussaint’s charity New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness, saw Simon team up with Cyril Neville, John Boutte, Erica Falls, Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes and many more.
Evidently, the singer let the cat out of the bag between his renditions of “The Boxer” and “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” when he exclaimed, “I love New Orleans..I’m coming back down for Jazz Fest!”
Simon last performed at Jazz Fest in 2010, when Simon & Garfunkel headlined the Acura Stage with their first concert in six years. Simon also performed on the Acura Stage in 2006, when his set preceded a closing show from Lionel Richie (who ended up replacing Fats Domino after the New Orleans legend cancelled at the last minute).
The 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival will return to the Fair Grounds April 22 through May 1.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Paul Simon was wearing a t-shirt that read, “I love New Orleans.” The singer-songwriter said “I love New Orleans” before adding, “I’m coming back down for Jazz Fest!”