Music is only part of the story at Jazz Fest, which is part of why covering it is so interesting. It’s a business story, so one thing that has to be taken into account in pieces that praised Katy Perry’s show—which was fine and did as much spectacle as she could manage under the circumstances—was that the number two name on the festival’s initial lineup release was a soft draw, particularly of young people. The folding chair village was full, but there was a lot of standing room on the track-side of the stage.

Bands have been trying for years to do what Moonlight Benjamin made seem effortless. Starting with The Gun Club, countless American bands have tried to find the place where the blues and Voodoo-inflected spirituality meet. In fact, Moonlight Benjamin do more than that, but the Haitian singer and the rock band accompanying her started there with “Papa Legba” in the Blues Tent Friday at Jazz Fest.

Alynda Segarra’s Hurray for the Riff Raff experience has been one of constant change. The movement from folk, country and blues on 2014’s Small Town Heroes to a more New York-specific blend on 2017’s The Navigator seemed like a big one, but she’d made musical changes before.

While the question of how to get paid in the streaming era constantly animates musicians and music fans on Facebook, a second question gets asked less often. How do musicians get people to notice their releases at all? One thing’s clear—the old model of releasing an album every year or so clearly doesn’t work in the current environment. That absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder theory suited record labels better than artists as it forced fans who wanted new music from an artist to buy the album that was out because that was all they were going to get for next 12 months.

Alynda Lee Segarra’s work as Hurray for the Riff Raff has carried an air of significance. Even My Dearest Darkest Neighbor feels ambitious despite being a covers album because she doesn’t waste time on trifling writers.

Recently, Hurray for the Riff Raff released the band’s new album, The Navigator, and as usual, it presents an act in transition. The only constant in the group is singer and songwriter Alynda Lee Segarra, and although she’s a New Orleans resident, it’s very much an album focused on the New York City that she grew up in.

In my story on Hurray for the Riff Raff for American Songwriter after the release of their Small Town Heroes, I wrote:

Two of the biggest stories in New Orleans this year were Hurray for the Riff Raff and Benjamin Booker. When Hurray for the Riff Raff's Small Town Heroes was released this spring, we talked about the album and the song "The Body Electric" for American Songwriter.

All the Cat Powers When Alison Fensterstock wrote about Hurray for the Riff Raff’s appearance on Late Night with David Letterman, a commenter at Nola.com wrote, “One of the most overrated groups out there (how many Cat Power-lite singers are too many?), but this is admittedly a nice arrangement.” I’ll take all the Cat Power-lite singers who can write songs as bold as “The Body Electric.” Americana bands rarely suffer from a surplus of nerve, and fewer ask a ce

My Spilt Milk picks our favorites for the week, including Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks, a Dr. John tribute, Say Hi, M. Ward and an acoustic show at First Presbyterian Church.