Big stage camping at Jazz Fest can be fun, sure, especially when the music gods smile upon you and the line up for which ever one you choose is packed with bands you like. But for our money, most days the real magic at Jazz Fest happens on the smaller stages, and day two of the 2024 festival was no exception.
The Jazz & Heritage Stage is something of a proving ground for festival organizers, who will often move acts that have packed it to some of the festival’s bigger stages in subsequent years. One band that’ll be on the fast track is Spyboy J and Thee Storm. Formerly the frontman of Cha Wa Golden Eagles Spyboy J’wan Boudreaux’s new band put some heat on classic Mardi Gras Indian and New Orleans funk tunes during their early afternoon set. Boudreaux, who told the crowd he was 18 months sober, was in top form – though Thee Storm’s guitarist and keyboardist were standouts more than once as well – and he demonstrated he still has the music chops that won him a Grammy nomination with Cha Wa a few years ago.
Their set drew a huge crowd to the relatively small stage and they had folks dancing throughout, particularly with their version of “Liza Jane” and a particularly personal feeling take (which is saying something, given the song) on “Shallow Water, Oh Mama.”
The Culture Exchange Pavilion basically rocked from beginning to end of day two. The pavilion’s focus this year is on Colombia, which means LOTS of cumbia, and honestly there’s never enough cumbia. But there’s also loads of other types of Colombian music, and much of it was on display Friday.
Rancho Aparte playing Jazz Fest
If the pavilion had doors, Kombilesa Mi would have blown the doors off the joint. Hailing from the first freed Black slave city in the Americas Palenque, Colombia, Kombilesa Mi's fusion of traditional Colombian music and rap is as unique as it is infectious. The band’s clarinet player had a particularly outstanding performance, at one point ripping off a lengthy solo that included quotes of New Orleans standards like “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Speaking of that New Orleans classic, Colombia’s Rancho Aparte also took it up, performing a beautiful version of the song that transitioned seamlessly between styles from trad jazz to brass band to Chirimia, a style of music from the Pacific Coast of Colombia where they’re from.
The band took the stage at 5, just when everyone was heading the big stages for the headliners. And that can be a tough spot for a band, especially when most folks probably don’t know who are. But it took only a few minutes for them to pack a crowd into the pavilion as their high energy music seemed to reel in passersby in droves.
Kombilesa Mi playing Jazz Fest
For cumbia lovers, the pavilion was the place to be just before Rancho Aparte played, thanks to Los Cumbia Stars. Calling yourself the greatest in cumbia literally in your name is a bold, bold statement, but the Stars proved why they could do so it confidently. From jump they had the overflow crowd (shoutout to the new shade awnings, the greatest invention in festival history since portalets) hyped and dancing. For those who aren't familiar with cumbia, it is an extremely complex, "brake your ankles move" type of music, but the Stars make it look not only absolutely effortless but as an almost after thought to the shear joy and fun they're having on stage.
All three bands are playing Saturday and Kombilesa Mi also plays Sunday, so definitely catch ‘em if you didn’t see them Friday.
The Revivalists kicked off their set at the Festival Stage playing 2023’s “Good Old Days,” and maybe it was just anticipation but lead singer David Shaw sounded reminiscent of The Killers on the song.
They played favorites from their 2015 album “Men Amongst Mountains,” including “Wish I Knew You,” “You and I,” “Keep Going and “It Was a Sin.”
They also sang “Catching Fireflies,” with a solo on the sparkly pedal steel slide guitar.
Shamarr Allen played a high-energy afternoon set, demanding the crowd get on their feet.
An adorable highlight was when he brought his two sons, with his 13-year-old son Tater 3000 rapping about asking for the internet password and lamenting “all these books making my back hurt.”
During his song “Weekend Dance,” he asked everyone to show him their own personal weekend dance, since it was Friday afterall. But he first gave a disclaimer that any muscles pulled would not be his fault but that of “your own damn self.”
Allen wasn’t afraid to call out anyone he spotted abstaining from their weekend dance, including one man he asked for a solo performance, then had the crowd copy his dance.
“That was your 15 second seconds of fame, buddy,” he said with a laugh.
You had to be there. But if you weren’t, don’t worry, he said he’s going on a big tour with shows in more than 110 cities.
Louis Michot is known for preserving Cajun musical traditions and merging them with contemporary and experimental music. That was especially evident at Jazz Fest on Friday. Michot played two sets, the first one in the Rhythmpourium, where he performed more avant garde tunes from his new record “Reve du Troubadour” and was joined by two of his longtime Lost Bayou Ramblers bandmates, Johnny Campos and Brian Webre, along with drummer Evan Caesar.
Michot got the crowd fired up with his original tracks as well as Cajun/punk influenced covers of A-Ha's 1980s pop hit “Take On Me,” which he sung in French, as well as a rendition of Lead Belly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”
The crowd begged for an encore; alas time was up.
