Third time's a charm. The Rolling Stones finally made it to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — gliding onto the Fair Grounds amid weeks of fanfare and preparation worthy of a Papal visit — and now we get the hype.
The Stones played a two-hour set that covered their decades of hits: "Start Me Up" (of course, opening the show), "Sympathy for the Devil," "Honky Tonk Women," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Paint It Black," "Satisfaction" to close. There were a couple of new songs, like "Whole Wide Wold" and "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" off the British rockers' latest album "Hackney Diamonds."
And there were some unique moments you could only get in New Orleans, particularly living legend Irma Thomas soulfully duetting "Time Is on My Side" with frontman Mick Jagger. Thomas had recorded the song before The Stones' version scored a hit in the U.S. in 1964, and Thomas took the chance to show why the song should always belong to her. Before the duet, zydeco musician Dwayne Dopsie joined the band for "Let It Bleed," injecting south Louisiana straight into the song with a fiery accordion solo.
Mick Jagger thanks Irma Thomas after they sang her song "Time Is on My Side" during The Rolling Stones show at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)
Simply, The Stones sounded really good — and it may be the best a Jazz Fest stage has sounded, a result of some of the prep work that went into the show. An energetic Jagger, Keith Richards (who also sang lead on the song "Little T&A") and Ronnie Wood were joined by a top-tier band, including New Orleans-born vocalist Chanel Haynes, who soared on the female vocals made famous by Merry Clayton on "Gimme Shelter."
At one point, Jagger pointed out that Gov. Jeff Landry was at the show and — maybe quickly sensing the iciness coming from the crowd and hearing the boos — threw in a shot at the Clownfish: "We like to include him, even if he wants to take us back to the stone age."
The Stones’ Superdome show on Dec. 5, 1981, broke the U.S. record at the time for the largest attendance at an indoor concert.
As anyone could have guessed, the field in front of the Festival stage was packed all the way onto the track and to the fences. The festival pushed back the area marked for chairs to the far back and sides (although that couldn't stop everyone) and workers and barricades helped control the flow of people through the crowd, but there's only so much that can be done when the rest of the stages go quiet to accommodate the Stones. It was a capacity crowd, but it didn't feel chaotic.
The festival also simulcast the show onto the Congo Square Stage, which drew a considerable crowd. There was talk the Gentilly Stage would simulcast the show as well, but for some reason that didn't pan out. It was a good move — simulcasting helped ease the pressure on the Festival Stage crowd and gave festgoers a chance to dip out of the dense field of people.
Many people at Jazz Fest Thursday wore Rolling Stones gear, from hats and buttons to custom denim jackets and headpieces. There were vintage tour shirts and every kind of variation on the band's tongue and lips logo you could imagine, including some well-made tops incorporating the city's flag into the design. The fest also sold special Rolling Stone koozies (for $10!) to mark the day.
Ron Wood of The Rolling Stones leans in as Zydeco musician Dwayne Dopsie joins the band on stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Thursday, May 2, 2024.
When Jazz Fest opened Thursday, there were already lines of people waiting at the Gentilly Boulevard and Sauvage Street entrances. And by noon, the Festival Stage area was quickly filling up.
But there was lot of great music happening across the Fair Grounds in the lead up to the headliner show.
Dumpstaphunk played a set of muscly funk on the Festival Stage ahead of The Stones and paid tribute to late bassist Nick Daniels, who died on Saturday. Blues rocker Samantha Fish and New Breed Brass Band with Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews also played great Festival Stage shows.
The Cole Williams Band played the Congo Square Stage
On the Congo Square Stage, the Cole Williams Band played a soulful show of rhythm and blues. Williams, a pianist-singer and WWOZ DJ, used time between her songs to talk about social justice (she does a lot of work with the unhoused community) and the importance of using love for others and yourself to push the world forward. Among the human-focused originals, a cover of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" felt naturally at home.
While most of the bands who performed Thursday were from south Louisiana, several Colombian bands were still in the mix, including Enkele. The all-women group performs traditional Afro-Colombian music from the northern regions of the country. And on the Jazz & Heritage Stage, beautiful vocal harmonies shown over the percussion-forward music. (They play again on Friday).
Rock 'n' roller CC Adcock & The Lafayette Marquis brought a killer set of swampy blues rock to the Blues Tent. Swamp pop legend Tommy McLain was originally scheduled but had to miss due to an illness. Adcock, who regularly plays with McLain and was going to be featured, stepped up to fill the slot with a double drummer attack. It was sweaty and righteous.
Gambit will be out each day of the fest to capture all of the music, food and sights.
Gambit previews the second weekend of Jazz Fest 2024.
