It’s a big week for live music in New Orleans | Keith Spera

It’s the biggest week in a while for major touring artists in New Orleans, with a sold-out show at the Smoothie King Center and a slew of theater-size concerts, including three at the Saenger.

MDOU MOCTAR

MONDAY, TIPITINA’S

On the first Sunday of the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, an overflow crowd at the Cultural Exchange Pavilion witnessed the full potency of Tuareg guitarist Mdou Moctar and the power trio behind him. Hailing from Niger, Moctar and company rolled with an unstoppable momentum. Playing left-handed without a pick, Moctar tore off torrents of notes. Collectively, the band evoked Jimi Hendrix crossed with Gary Clark Jr. but with a trance-inducing momentum topped by lyrics sung in the Tamasheq language. But the guitar heroics translated to any language.

Moctar, backed by bassist/producer Mikey Coltun, rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane and drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, is on tour promoting the “Funeral For Justice” album. The tour stops in New Orleans on Monday at Tipitina’s. The Point, a band from Austin, Texas, that “fuses psychedelia, Saharan guitar music, and cumbia with jam-band sensibilities,” opens the show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.

DJ SOUL SISTER’S BIRTHDAY JAM TRIBUTE TO THE GAP BAND

SATURDAY, TIPITINA’S

For more than two decades, DJ Soul Sister has hosted WWOZ-FM’s Saturday night “Soul Power” show, spinning old-school funk, R&B and soul from her vast vinyl collection. For almost 20 years, she’s collaborated with a band for her annual Birthday Jam at Tipitina’s.

On Saturday, she hosts her 19th Birthday Jam at Tip’s, which she says will be her last. The event is also a tribute to the Gap Band, whose long list of early-‘80s hits includes “Burn Rubber,” “You Dropped a Bomb On Me,” “Party Train” and “Oops Upside Your Head.”

After an opening set by DJ Soul Sister, power trio The Nth Power and special guests — blues-based guitarist Eric Gales, Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville and Tony Hall, saxophonist Skerik and more — will pump out Gap Band classics. Show time is 9 p.m. Tickets are $23.50.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY SHOWS

THURSDAY

Avant-folk singer-songwriter Father John Misty holds court at the Saenger Theatre with special guests Cut Worms. Tickets start at $49.

Experience Stereolab at the Civic Theatre with opening act Memorials. Tickets start at $44.

Saxophonist Brad Walker teams up with jazz and classical pianist Willis Delony, a professor at Louisiana State University, for shows at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro on Frenchmen Street.

Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp band are at Rock ‘n’ Bowl for the weekly Zydeco Night ($17).

Catch the Jenn Howard Band and the Kelli Baker Band featuring Noé Socha at Chickie Wah Wah. Tickets are $25.

FRIDAY

In the early 1990s, the New Orleans collective Tribe Nunzio distilled a sort of samba-tinged tribal funk that filled dancefloors from Frenchmen Street to the Rocky Mountains. Original members Holden Miller, Jeff Treffinger, Vernon Rome and Joe Cabral will reunite on Friday at the Broadside’s indoor Pavilion venue, with Kyle Melancon filling in for Tribe Nunzio’s late drummer Daemon Shea. Rene Coman will contribute keyboards and Ovi Giron will be on percussion; audience members are also encouraged to bring their own percussion instruments, per Tribe Nunzio tradition. Show time is 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $20.

Blues-based guitarist Chris Thomas King leads his trio at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($35).

The Stooges Brass Band does a free show at Tipitina’s starting around 9 p.m.

SATURDAY

Franz Ferdinand fires up at the Joy Theater with opening act Master Peace. Tickets start at $51.

Contemporary New Orleans pianist Kyle Roussel, who plays with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Headhunters and his own ensembles, leads a birthday tribute to the late piano titan Henry Butler at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $35.

At Rock ‘n’ Bowl, Rock Show NOLA stages a tribute to Journey ($22).

From noon to 5 p.m., the outdoor Broadside hosts “Fiesta Latina,” a free festival featuring Victor Campbell, Cristina Kaminis and Yusa.

Later on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Broadside’s indoor Pavilion is the setting for “Under the Influence,” a tribute to Betty Davis featuring Whitney Alouiscious, Mia Borders, Arsène DeLay, Cristian Duque, Keiko Komaki, Wayne Maureau, Alex McMurray, Jesse Morrow and Maddie Polley. Tickets start at $15.

SUNDAY

Versatile New Orleans pianist Josh Paxton performs a solo tribute to Henry Butler at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at Snug Harbor ($20).

TUESDAY

After a solo outing, singer Brittany Howard reunited with Alabama Shakes. Alabama Shakes headlines the Saenger on Tuesday, with Concurrence opening the show.

Hozier brings his Unreal Unearth Tour 2025 to the Smoothie King Center with special guests Gigi Perez and Amble. The show is sold out, but tickets are available on the resale market.

WEDNESDAY

Vampire Weekend is on the road for Only God Was Above Us Tour Part 2. It stops at the Saenger Theatre on Wednesday. Show time is 8 p.m. Tickets start at $49 plus fees.

Lake Street Dive harmonizes at the Orpheum Theater, with Trousdale opening. Tickets start at $65.

Mirador is fronted by Greta Van Fleet guitarist Jake Kiszka and Ida Mae vocalist and guitarist Chris Turpin. They’ll rock Tipitina’s on Wednesday; tickets are $25.

New Orleans vocalist Sharon Nabonne, a veteran of the musical “One Mo’ Time” who later collaborated with the likes of Allen Toussaint and Dr. John, plays a free 5 p.m. show at Snug Harbor backed by Herman LeBeaux Jr. on drums, Kerry Lewis Sr. on bass and Steve Pistorius on piano.

Later Wednesday at Snug Harbor, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra fill the stage at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($40).