Thursday’s announcement made a lot about the 2021 Jazz Fest in October clearer, starting with tickets and who will perform.

Those who hoped for a more local Jazz Fest this year will get it. In recent years, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell has featured 14 or so performers from outside Louisiana each day; this year, that number is in the single digits for most if not all days. That is in part because there doesn’t appear to be an International Pavilion at this point, based on the talent lineup released on Thursday. That makes sense considering the challenges to international travel during the pandemic, but there are also fewer national acts. If you’re like me, you instinctively look a third of the way down the list of names to find an Americana treasure, and this year you won’t find many in the daily talent breakdown, nor will you see more than a day or two where two national acts close a stage, a phenomenon that has happened with increased regularity in recent years. 

If the list of artists for each day looks shorter than in previous years, that’s because it is. This year’s festival will be an hour shorter each day, running from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. not 7 according to a festival spokesperson, because the sun will be down by 7 in October. To accommodate the shorter days, it looks like promoters have shaved an act off of each stage. 

The Who have not reappeared on the lineup as hoped. They were scheduled for 2020 and announced during the pandemic that they planned to return to touring in 2021 and hoped to kick off the American leg in New Orleans at Jazz Fest. Those plans have yet to materialize though, reportedly because Pete Townshend remains unsure about international touring. Considering the surge of the Delta variant of COVID-19, that’s not likely to change, and if we’re going to see The Who again at Jazz Fest, it will more likely be in 2022.

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Much of the news in Thursday’s announcement is in the ticket department. The Early-Bird Weekend Pass is still on sale for $200. There is a limited quantity of those, and when they run out, the Advance Weekend Pass is $225. The weekend passes are wristbands that are weekend-specific and non-transferable.

Single-day general admission tickets are also now on sale at the Early Bird price of $75 while supplies last. There’s no word on how big the supply is, but when they run out, Advance general admission single-day tickets will jump to $80, and tickets at the gate will be $90 “if available,” according to the press release. That caveat jumps out because it hasn’t appeared in conjunction with Jazz Fest tickets in the past. That doesn’t mean there is a maximum capacity this year, but it means there could be. 

The press release reads, “Jazz Fest is working closely with city and state officials to make sure the event is safe for all attendees and participants. The festival will be presented in accordance with applicable COVID-19 public health guidelines at the time of the event.” If setting a capacity is deemed necessary by the city, Jazz Fest has left itself an out. Enforcing it would be a logistical nightmare since tickets are sold for weekends and not specific days, and it’s very possible that more people than the capacity would allow could show up on a day holding valid tickets. What would happen then? I’m sure Festival Productions has an idea, but I’m equally sure they don’t want to have to implement it. 

The other news in the ticket department is the return of Locals day. When Jazz Fest rolled out the first details for this year’s festival, there was no mention of a Locals day. This year has no Thursdays, and Locals Day has traditionally been the Thursday that starts the second weekend. Still, Thursday’s announcement said that there would be a Locals Friday Discount on October 15 with $50 tickets at the gate for Louisiana residents with valid ID. Each resident can purchase up to two tickets. 

Here’s the daily breakdown followed by notes and slotting predictions:

Friday, October 8

The Black Crowes, Brandi Carlile, Ziggy Marley: Songs of Bob Marley, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Chris Isaak, Arturo Sandoval, Honey Island Swamp Band, Lil Ed & the Blues Imperials, David Shaw, Cowboy Mouth, Ranky Tanky, Flow Tribe, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Wayne Toups, Glen David Andrews, CJ Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Eric Lindell & The Natural Mystics, Little Freddie King Blues Band, Stanton Moore, Mia Borders, Big Chief Donald Harrison, Jr., Dawn Richards, Astral Project, Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue, Gregg Martinez & the Delta Kings with guests TK Hulin and Johnnie Allan, Johnny Sansone Band, Black Lodge Singers, Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys, Erica Falls, Northside Skull & Bone Gang, Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors, Tribute to Jabbo Smith featuring Jamil Sharif, Michael Ward, Quiana Lynell, Higher Heights Reggae, Cedric Watson et Bijou Creole, The John Mahoney Big Band, New Orleans Jazz Vipers, The Legendary Rocks Of Harmony, Paulin Brothers Brass Band, Les Frѐres Michot, Golden Sioux Mardi Gras Indians, Doreen's Jazz New Orleans, Mid-City Aces, Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band, The Johnson Extension, Da Truth Brass Band, Pocket Aces Brass Band, Josh Kagler & Harmonistic Praise Crusade, Jamie Lynn Vessels, Betty Winn & One A-Chord, Ted Hefko & The Thousandaires, The Betty Shirley Band, Michael Skinkus and Moyuba, Sons of Jazz Brass Band, Kid Simmons' Local International Allstars, New Wave Brass Band, OperaCréole, Gina Forsyth & Friends, Pastor Tyrone Jefferson, The Jones Sisters, Black Seminoles, Black Mohawk and Black Flame Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Scene Boosters, Uptown Swingers, and We Are One Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Ladies of Unity, The Trio Plus One, Free Spirit Brass Band, Wild Apaches and Wild Mohicans Mardi Gras Indians, Adella Adella the Storyteller, The Swing Setters, Big Nine, Go Getters, and Keep n It Real Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Brasshearts Brass Band, ISL Circus Arts Kids…

- That looks like The Black Crowes on Acura, Brandi Carlile on Gentilly, and Ziggy Marley on Congo Square. It would be exciting to see Preservation Hall in the Economy Hall Tent, but more likely they’ll play on Acura in front of The Black Crowes and Chris Isaak will close the Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do Stage. Arturo Sandoval should close the WWOZ Jazz Tent, and Lil Ed & the Blues Imperials have closed the Blues Tent before and will likely do so again. 

- Friday has a few gems deeper in the thicket of names. Ranky Tanky from Charleston, South Carolina draws on the Gullah culture that originated among the descendants of enslaved people of color in Southeast, and although the recordings are a little too clean for my tastes, they could be compelling live. Dawn Richard was the subject of a New York Times profile after the former Danity Kane singer moved to New Orleans. The music she has made while living here takes steps in more idiosyncratic directions.

Saturday, October 9

Dead & Company, Demi Lovato, Wu-Tang Clan featuring The Soul Rebels, Galactic, Charlie Musselwhite, Tab Benoit, Walter Wolfman Washington & the Roadmasters, The Gospel Soul of Irma Thomas, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Boyfriend, Hot 8 Brass Band, Partners-N-Crime, Doug Kershaw, Lost Bayou Ramblers, The Cookers feat. Billy Harper, Eddie Henderson, Donald Harrison, David Weiss, George Cables, Cecil McBee and Billy Hart, Jerron 'Blind Boy' Paxton, Martha Redbone Roots Project, Bonerama, Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs, Germaine Bazzle, Kinfolk Brass Band, Charmaine Neville Band, Gregg Stafford's Jazz Hounds, Tribute to Bessie Smith featuring Meschiya Lake, Barbara Shorts, and Jolynda “Kiki” Chapman with Lars Edegran, Gerald French & The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, Maggie Koerner, Alexey Marti, 79rs Gang Music Group, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, John "Papa" Gros, Tim Laughlin, Bill Kirchen, Water Seed, The Rayo Brothers, Javier Olondo and AsheSon, Corey Ledet Zydeco, Jambalaya Cajun Band, Trumpet Mafia, Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble, David L. Harris, Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders, Mo' Fess, The New Orleans Guitar Masters: John Rankin, Jimmy Robinson, and Cranston Clements, Michael Doucet avec Lacher Prise featuring Sarah Quintana and Chad Viator, Free Agents Brass Band, Black Lodge Singers, Clive Wilson's New Orleans Serenaders, Voices of Peter Claver, Pastor Terry Gullage & Kingdom Sound, Baby Boyz Brass Band, Fermín Ceballos + Merengue4FOUR, Big Chief Bird & The Young Hunters, Washitaw Nation, and Young Cherokee Mardi Gras Indians, Sisters of Change, Sisters of Unity, Lady Prince of Wales, and Women of Class Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Kumbuka African Drum & Dance Collective, Apache Hunters, Black Hawk Hunters and Wild Red Flame Mardi Gras Indians, New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Rhythm Section, Young Fellaz Brass Band, Terry Huval and Friends, Grupo Sensacion Nola, Otis Wimberly Sr. & the Wimberly Family Gospel Singers, Arthur and Friends Community Choir, All for One Brass Band, DJ RO, Black Magic Drumline, Glenn Hartman and the Earthtones, Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church Mass Choir, Young Guardians of the Flame, Devastation, Single Men, Nine Times, and Single Ladies Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, The Knockaz Brass Band, The Showers, Lady Tambourine, Dancing Grounds Elite Feet Dance Krewe & Youth Company, Muggivan School of Irish Dance…

- The Soul Rebels look to be the only New Orleans act to headline a Big 3 stage—Acura, Gentilly, Congo Square—and that happens on the strength of the collaboration with Wu-Tang Clan, I expect. That’s a disappointing development. They will likely headline Congo Square Stage, with Dead & Company at Acura and Demi Lovato at Gentilly. If Hurray for the Riff Raff plays before Lovato, that could be a very interesting combination. 

- Guitarist Bill Kirchen is another name from the thicket, but he has played Jazz Fest before and is always excellent. His claim to fame is as the picker on Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen’s “Hot Rod Lincoln,” but since then he has established himself as an Americana hero with a love of honky tonk twang and classic rock ’n’ roll with a healthy sense of humor to match. 

Sunday, October 10

Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Ludacris, The Revivalists, Randy Newman, El Gran Combo, Cyril Neville, Tank and The Bangas, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbeque Swingers, Anders Osborne, Leo Nocentelli, David Sanborn, Ricky Skaggs, The New Orleans Classic Recording Legends featuring The Dixie Cups, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Wanda Rouzan, and Al "Carnival Time" Johnson with Bobby Cure & The Poppa Stoppas, The Soul Rebels featuring Cimafunk, Lena Prima, Deacon John, Kathy Taylor and Favor, Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers, Original Pinettes Brass Band, Sweet Crude, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & The Golden Eagles, Jazz Funeral honoring Ellis Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, Jeremy Davenport, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Jason Marsalis, Seratones, Kenny Neal, Bruce Daigrepoint Band, Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars, Helen Gillet, Storyville Stompers Brass Band, Tommy McLain + CC Adcock, The Headhunters featuring Bill Summers, Mike Clark, Donald Harrison, and Chris Severin, Big Chief Juan & Jockimo's Groove, Joe Krown & Jason Ricci featuring Walter Wolfman Washington, Jesse McBride Big Band, Spencer Bohren Remembered featuring Dave Malone, Andre Bohren, Paul Sanchez, Alex McMurray, Jim McCormick, David Pomerleau, Aurora Nealand, and John Magnie, Lulu and the Broadsides, Kim Carson, Troy Turner Blues Band, Washboard Chaz Blues Trio, Tribute to Kid Ory featuring Dr. Michael White, Don Vappie, and Maynard Chatters, George French & the New Orleans Storyville Jazz Band, Jason Neville FunkySoul Band, Palmetto Bug Stompers, Julio y Cesar Band, Furious Five, New Look, and Untouchables Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Young Men Olympian Jr. Benevolent Association, Black Lodge Singers, New Orleans Gospel Soul Children, New Orleans Spiritualettes, New Birth Brass Band, Johnny Sansone, Leroy Jones & New Orleans' Finest, The Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble, Nineveh Baptist Church Mass Choir, Debbie Davis with Josh Paxton, Paky Saavedra Quartet, Dayna Kurtz and Robert Maché, Kim Che're, 21st Century Brass Band, Papo y Son Mandao, Black Foot Hunters, Shining Star Hunters, and Big Chief Trouble & Trouble Nation Mardi Gras Indians, The Chosen Ones Brass Band, Tyronne Foster and The Arc Singers, Val & Love Alive, The RRAAMS, Versailles Lion Dance Team, Mestre Curtis Pierre “The Samba Man” with the Samba Kids, Brazos Huval's Student Showcase, Uptown Warriors, Young Brave Hunters, and Young Seminole Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Calliope Puppets, Big Steppers, Divine Ladies, Dumaine Gang, Family Ties, and First Division Rollers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Semolian Warriors Mardi Gras Indians…

- The end of Sunday is the hardest to read of any so far. Foo Fighters played the Acura Stage last time they played Jazz Fest, but that would mean moving long-time Acura performer Randy Newman to Gentilly. Lizzo will top the Congo Square Stage bill with Ludacris in front of her—a two-out-of-towner top. The Revivalists headlined Gentilly in 2019, but it looks like they’ll open for Foo Fighters this year. 

- In 2019, I expressed concern that the long-time Adult Contemporary label Verve Forecast was going to be a tough home for Tank and the Bangas, who needed to be heard by young people. The band has gone a long way toward reaching their peers, and if they’re booked in front of the audience that will spend the day waiting for Lizzo, they could do themselves some real good. Looking at this lineup, that’s the most logical slot for them.

- Hip-hop is unusually well represented this weekend with Wu-Tang, Partners-N-Crime, Ludacris, and hip-hop-adjacent artists Lizzo, Tank and the Bangas, and Dawn Richard.  

Friday, October 15

Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Beach Boys, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Boz Scaggs, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band's Tribute to Dave Bartholomew featuring Elvis Costello and Al "Lil Fats" Jackson, Samantha Fish, PJ Morton, Playing For Change Band, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, The Cowsills, Cha Wa, Leyla McCalla, Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science, Davell Crawford, The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Ronnie Lamarque, Rockin Dopsie Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters, Las Cafeteras, William Prince, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, Leah Chase, Treme Brass Band, Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, Paul Sanchez & the Rolling Road Show, Jonathon Long, Tribute to Lil Buck featuring Sonny Landreth, Carol Fran, and Lee Allen Zeno, James Rivers Movement, Dr. Brice Miller & Mahogany Brass Band, Uncle Nef, Wendell Brunious, Mr. Sipp, Alex McMurray and His Band, Andrew Duhon, Mikayla Braun, Lil' Nathan & The Zydeco Big Timers, Blodie's Jazz Jam, Tribute to Louis Armstrong's Allstars with Charlie Halloran, The Tropicales, Young Generation Mardi Gras Indians, Caesar Brothers FunkBox, High Steppers Brass Band, New Leviathan Oriental Fox-Trot Orchestra, Panorama Jazz Band, Zulu Gospel Male Ensemble, Native Nations Intertribal, Lane Mack, Caren Green, Connie & Dwight Fitch with St. Raymond and St. Leo the Great Music Ministry, Rick Trolsen's Neslorchestra, NOLA Reggae featuring Renard Poché, Big Chief Walter Cook & The Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians, Lyle Henderson & Emmanu-EL, Audrey Ferguson & The Voices of Distinction, Joy Clark, Grayhawk - Southeastern Native American stories and songs, Shades of Praise New Orleans Interracial Gospel Choir, Jackson Square All Star Brass Band, Lady & Men Rollers, Men of Class, Original Big Seven, and Original Four Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Pastor Jai Reed, Tonia Scott and the Anointed Voices, The Jelly Sisters, Tribute to The New Orleans Rhythm Kings featuring Steve Pistorius, Black Feathers, Golden Comanche, and 7th Ward Creole Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Jacye & Friends, One Mind Brass Band, Lady Tambourine, David & Roselyn & Arlee, Buffalo Hunters and Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indians, New Orleans Dance Collective, Square Dance NOLA, New Generation Brass Band, Young Audiences Performing Arts Showcase, VIP Ladies, The Perfect Gentlemen, and New Generation Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs…

- The Beach Boys have earned a fair amount of scorn because of Mike Love’s decades of behaving like Mike Love, but writing off the band as a cynical cash-in is too easy. The recent July 4 performance broadcast on CNN shows that Love may not have much left in the tank, but the other players and singers are very capable.

- I won’t be surprised if The Cowsills, making their first appearance at Jazz Fest, end up singing backing vocals with The Beach Boys because a) that’s what they do, and b) brother John is The Beach Boys’ drummer. 

- Each year I get grumpy that New Orleans’ improvised and more adventurous jazz community is poorly represented at Jazz Fest. It’s nice to see Rick Trolsen’s Neslorchestra get the nod this year. 

- I’m looking forward to the tribute to Lil Buck Sinegal, who passed away in 2019. He was an important part of the Ponderosa Stomp family and the South Louisiana blues and R&B community, and it will be nice to see him get his due. 

Saturday, October 16

Stevie Nicks, H.E.R., Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Irma Thomas, Jon Batiste, Keb' Mo', Big Freedia, Rickie Lee Jones, Rebirth Brass Band, Shovels & Rope, Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen A, Davell Crawford Tribute to James Booker, New Orleans Nightcrawlers, Sonny Landreth, The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra directed by Scotty Barnhart, Amanda Shaw & The Cute Guys, Puss N Boots, John Boutté, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, Banu Gibson, Jazz Funeral honoring Dr. John, Dr. Michael White's Original Liberty Jazz Band featuring Thais Clark, Luther Kent and the Big Band, TBC Brass Band, Walter Wolfman Washington Trio, John Mooney & Bluesiana, New Orleans Klezmer All Stars, Savoy Family Cajun Band, The Zion Harmonizers, The Roots of Music Marching Crusaders, Rumba Buena, Preservation Brass, The Pfister Sisters' Tribute to Andrews Sisters, Kristin Diable, Marc Stone, Creole String Beans, J. Monque'D Blues Band, Native Nations Intertribal, Boudreaux Family of Feathers, Muévelo, Batiste Fathers and Sons featuring David Sr., Russell, Ryan, Jamal, Damon Batiste & Guest, New Breed Brass Band, Bamboula 2000, Jermaine Landrum & The Abundant Praise Revival Choir, Mem Shannon & the Membership, Darcy Malone & the Tangle, Young Pinstripe Brass Band, Rich Collins, The Palm Court Jazz Band, Pardon My French, Creole Osceola Black Masking Indians, Young Eagles and Young Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians, Lawrence Sieberth and VooDooTek, Marlon Jordan, Jessica Harvey and The Difference, Tony Dagradi and Down Time, Mount Hermon Baptist Church Praise Delegation Choir, Hardhead Hunters, Comanche Hunters, and White Cloud Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Topsy Chapman & Solid Harmony, Electrifying Crown Seekers, Leo Jackson & The Melody Clouds, Susan Cowsill & Russ Broussard (SCRB), Jourdan Thibodeaux et les Rôdailleurs, Kerry Grombacher, Smitty Dee's Brass Band, Matt Lemmler presents “New Orleans in Stride”, 9th Ward Black Hatchet, Wild Squatoulas, and Big Chief Dow & the Timbuktu Warriors Mardi Gras Indians, Donald Lewis, Stephen Foster's Foster Family Programs, Original Nine Times Ladies, Original Pigeon Town Steppers, and The Sudan Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Big Dog Brass Band, Creative Arts Momentum, Archdiocese of New Orleans Gospel Choir, Kai Knight's Silhouette Dance Ensemble, Christian Unity Baptist Church Youth Choir, Undefeated Divas & Gents, Valley of Silent Men, Westbank Steppers, and Good Fellas Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs…

- H.E.R. positioned to finish on the Congo Square Stage likely means that Big Freedia will remain a bridesmaid, playing again in front of the headliner but never headlining. 

- This is another day where the last acts could go a few ways. I think we’ll see Irma Thomas before Stevie Nicks on Acura and Jon Batiste in front of Elvis Costello, and the Count Basie Orchestra closing the WWOZ Jazz Tent, but in theory, Batiste could play the Jazz Tent too. Since his last two Jazz Fest performances were on the Acura and Gentilly stages, the Jazz Tent seems less likely. Does Rickie Lee Jones go in front of Nicks and Irma Thomas headline the Blues Tent with Keb’ Mo’ in front of her? That would be inspired, and a great way to present Thomas, but if I were betting, I’d put money on Thomas in front of Nicks.

Sunday, October 17

Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band, Norah Jones, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Melissa Etheridge, The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald & Ernie Isley, Brittany Howard, Ledisi, The Radiators, Tower of Power, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, Asleep at the Wheel, Tribute to Dr. John featuring Jon Cleary, Irma Thomas, Davell Crawford, John Boutté, and John "Papa" Gros, Marcia Ball, Big Sam's Funky Nation, George Porter Jr. & Runnin' Pardners, The Campbell Brothers, Kermit Ruffins’ Tribute to Louis Armstrong, Terence Blanchard featuring The E-Collective & Turtle Island Quartet, Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots, James Andrews & the Crescent City All-Stars, Pine Leaf Boys, “In Memory of Ellis Marsalis” featuring the Ellis Marsalis Band with guests, Lars Edegran & the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, Tuba Skinny, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns, The Iguanas, J & The Causeways, Sweet Cecilia, Stooges Brass Band, Tom McDermott , Bon Bon Vivant, Charlie Gabriel and Friends, Mariachi Jalisco, SOUL Brass Band, Vivaz!, Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr. & the Wild Magnolias, Herbert McCarver & The Pin Stripe Brass Band, Yvette Landry & the Jukes, Herlin Riley, The Revelers, Mark Braud’s New Orleans Jazz Giants, Big Chief Kevin Goodman & the Flaming Arrows Mardi Gras Indians, Amina Figarova Sextet, Gregg Stafford & His Young Tuxedo Brass Band, Aurora Nealand presents The Monocle, Brother Tyrone & the Mindbenders, The Davell Crawford Singers “The Tribute”, Daria & The Hip Drops, Original New Orleans Lady Buckjumpers, Prince of Wales, and Revolution Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Da Souljas Brass Band, The City of Love Music & Worship Arts Choir, DJ Captain Charles, .AM., Native Nations Intertribal, Cynthia Girtley, Cheyenne, Mohawk Hunters, and Monogram Hunter Mardi Gras Indians, E'Dana, Jonté Mayon, Ryan Foret & Foret Tradition, Johnette Downing and Scott Billington, The Baby Dolls of New Orleans, Dynamic Smooth Family of Slidell, The Bester Gospel Singers, Sporty's Brass Band, Don "Moose" Jamison Heritage School of Music, Craig Adams & Higher Dimensions of Praise, Rising Dragon Lion Dance Team, Old & Nu Fellas, Original CTC Steppers, and Men Buckjumpers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Real Untouchable Brass Band, Culu Children's Traditional African Dance Company and Stiltwalkers, Burke Riley Cajun Quintet, Algiers Warriors, Ninth Ward Hunters, and Seminoles Mardi Gras Indians, Eulenspeigel Puppets… 

- Another closing hour or two that’s hard to read. Is Norah Jones really big enough and engaging enough to top the Gentilly Stage? That wasn’t my experience when I saw her at the Lakefront Arena in 2010, though she’s had a decade to become a more dynamic performer since then. 

- The Isley Brothers appear poised to step in for the AWOL Frankie Beverly an Maze and close the Congo Square Stage with old school R&B. 

- No one listed is an obvious closer on the Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do Stage, but I hope that it will be Brittany Howard. And if she’s not closing, as long as she plays that stage, things will be fine. While she has a voice and presence big enough to fill a pasture, I hope we get her in a space that will make her seem remarkable. 

- How the Turtle Island String Quartet will mesh with Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective? Blanchard will undoubtedly figure out how to incorporate four acoustic stringed instruments into a band that writes its electronic dimension into its name, but of all the possible collaborators, Turtle Island is one of the less intuitive ones.

- I also hope that the sound crew in the WWOZ Jazz Tent will be prepared for Blanchard’s use of electronics, which were too subtle in 2019 to survive the acoustic properties of the space. I think that set seemed more conventional in the audience than it was on the stage.