First Friday Highlights for Jazz Fest 2023

Seratones, by Joshua Asante

You know Lizzo, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, and Wu-Tang Clan with the Soul Rebels. Here are a few more acts to put on your radar.

Jazz Fest 2023 isn’t holding back. The first day of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell features this year’s festival’s toughest headliner tier with Lizzo, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Wu-Tang Clan with The Soul Rebels, Nicholas Payton and Mavis Staples all performing opposite each other. They each appeal to different audiences, so it’s easy to imagine all the acts having meaningful audiences and Friday being a very busy first day.

Festival Productions often books with the idea that each day at each stage is a mini-festival, and Friday on the Festival Stage certainly has that vibe. It’s easy to imagine a run of sets by Seratones, Big Freedia, Tank and the Bangas and Lizzo helping the New Orleans acts in that stretch reach a new audience and all the bands finding an excited, receptive response.

On Thursday, Jazz Fest replaced Rey Vallenato and Beto Jamaica’s 12:35 set in the Cultural Exchange Tent with Las Cafeteras, who played a joyous set last night at the Broadside. Last year, their set in the Cultural Exchange Tent set a high bar for the rest of the festival, and based on last night’s show, this could do the same. They’ll start at 12:30.

This year, the Allison Minor Music Heritage Stage returns and I’m pleased to be a part of this year. The Seratones will play the Festival Stage at 11:20 a.m., then I will interview bandleader A.J. Haynes at 3:30 p.m. in the Music Heritage Stage. We have interviewed Haynes after the release of all three of their albums because conversations with Haynes are reliably interesting, socially engaged, and provocative. I hope you’ll drop by.

Who should be on your radar?

glbl wrmng

Congo Square Stage, 12:20 p.m. - We interviewed Alfred Banks, $leazy EZ, Kr3wcial and ODD the Artist from the indie hip-hop collective about the value of community.

Alison Russell

Sheraton New Orleans Fais-Do-Do Stage, 4:20 p.m.

Bassekou Kouyate and N’Goni Ba of Mali

Jazz and Heritage Stage, 4:20 p.m.

Nicholas Payton with MonoNeon and Corey Fonville

WWOZ Jazz Tent, 5:55 p.m. - Last year, Payton played an adventurous EDM-influenced set. Yesterday Payton posted a video that hints at where he’ll go with this lineup.