The 41st Annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival: Part 2

The 41st Annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
Saturday May 1 and Sunday May 2, 2010
 
Overwhelming. All of it. The sprawl of the 145 acre Fairgrounds Race Course on the outskirts of New Orleans, the hundred thousand plus size of the crowd each day, the scores of food concessions selling exotic southern food, the huge stages and music tents strategically placed around the vast grounds, the vendor stands selling arts, crafts, clothing, hats, shirts, boots, programs, and the wildest collection of people I’ve ever seen in one place. Even the hundreds of bright green port-a-potties strategically grouped around the perimeter were impressive.
 
The real deal blew away the hype. An ear to ear grin spread across my face and stayed plastered there until well after I left on each day. There were moments when I didn’t know whether to cry with joy or shout hallelujah or amen or right on or aaiiyyeee or just let my mouth stay agape at the monumentality of 12 stages featuring the sounds of jazz, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, blues, R&B, rock, funk, African, Latin, Caribbean, folk, and much more floating through the air.
 
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is the biggest music festival in the world as I know it. Some in the crowd have been coming here for years - some, like me, are here for the first time. One universal theme on all our minds as we leave – we will be here next year even if we have to be borne in by stretcher.
 
Music goes on from just before noon until about 7 pm each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday both weekends. Triage by the hour is what it feels like to choose who to see since there are so many great acts playing at the same time in different areas. No matter. You’ll hear fabulous music wherever you are. The list of acts is as wide a swath of the music universe as the Milky Way. 

 

The event is carefully orchestrated. Order is maintained as much by self-regulation as by blue-shirted agents of the law unobtrusively walking the grounds. I didn't witness one incident of loutish or drunken behavior. Demonstrations of unfettered joy, however, erupted like roman candles. In front of the big stages, the area closest to the stage is for standing room and the huge expanse beyond is designated for people to set up chairs and blankets.
 
Thousands do what we did. Plunk down a chair near your favorite stage by noon and use it as a base of operations. The chair, plus your umbrella, poncho, cooler, picnic basket will be there when you return. No matter how packed the area gets (think of Jones Beach with music), there’s always a kind soul pointing out a path for you to get back to the little piece of territory you staked out.
 
Video crews project terrific crystal-clear images of the performers onto billboard sized screens next to the stages. Roaming crews project video of people having fun in the crowd. pt at large and the twenty-three year old daughter of his dancing partner got a couple of their fifteen minutes of fame as their cool dancing was projected to the multitude while they styled to the music of Clarence “Frogman” Henry.

For a music lover, going to The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is like stomping your foot down on warp drive and shooting into another dimension. It’s a gumbo of fabulous food, friendly people, good vibrations, volcanic energy and the best music on the planet. There are moments during this weekend when you think if someone lit a match the whole place would explode with joy.

Photo top  of page: Rebirth Brass Band rocks the crowd.

 

Where's the Gospel Tent?

  Aaron Neville sings in the Blues Tent.

 

Bird's eye view of the Fairgrounds Race Track  

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Comments

[Joni]

We saw Aaron Neville here in a small venue last fall. Amazing.
You do neato things, Mr. Tamburello.

[pt]

And another of the neato things I'd love to do is witness one of your plays...it's on my list!

[Barbara]

Such enthusiasm! Needs to be on everyone's "bucket list". I'll bet many people would love to attend a future festival --- how about leading a field trip? Looking to sign up, Babs

[pt]

Here's a good link to pick out a festival. Have bag, will travel!
http://www.nola.com/festivals/

[pt]

Barbara, what a grand idea. Everyone gets a program guide, highlights the musicians he/she want to hear, and heads for the correct stage. Dancing optional but recommended. Late lunch back at the Pecan Catfish concession and meet at the Gentilly Gate at 7 pm or so and head for Snug Harbor in Faubourg Marigney on Frenchman Street, not far from the French Quarter.

[Bonnie]

The Threadheads have a name for everything NOLA-related, including that ear-to-ear grin you referred to that we all have while at JazzFest: it's called a Permagrin! Check out the message board under the Forum tab at the JazzFest website www.nojazzfest.com