Jazz Fest: The Second Friday's Schedule and Picks
Our picks on an up-to-date schedule that you can print or download to your phone or tablet.
Yesterday a friend said that many of his best Jazz Fest moments came during the rain, and I get that. There's something communal about everybody slogging it out in the rain together for a band that feels special, and the bands clearly appreciate our hardiness. Less magical is the aftermath--the mud. Let's hope for the best at the Fair Grounds today, but I can't imagine it got hot enough yesterday after the rain to dry up the mooshy spots. Fortunately, we should have a hot, relatively rain-free day to day, and that will help.
Musically, today looks a little soft, with the day getting strong in its last hours. Missy Elliott had just brought Jazmine Sullivan onstage at Essence Music Festival last year when producers pulled the plug on her set, so we'll finally get a chance to hear Sullivan this afternoon. Since Ms. Lauryn Hill was great at Voodoo 2014 until producers had to pull the plug on her, she'll be my first choice in the final slot. And since late starts seem to be all the rage this Jazz Fest--The Suffers were late Thursday--Hill should feel right at home.
Also of note today is the panel remembering Allen Toussaint at the Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage at 1 p.m. with Irma Thomas, Cyril Neville, his son Reggie and more. It will undoubtedly be emotional at times, but everybody has good Toussaint stories, so it should also be a lot of fun.
Here are our picks for the day on a downloadable schedule. I used it on my phone yesterday when the rain reduced my printed version to wet shreddies and was happy with how it works. My iPhone asks me if I want to open it in iBooks. When I do, it pops up in a separate window from the browser, and I can find it on the shortcuts page you get to by sweeping left.
