The Freret Street Festival was canceled in March due to forecasts of bad weather. The rescheduled fest is Saturday, Nov. 1, and it’s also a debut of sorts. Organizers say the fest will stick with the first Saturday in November moving forward, again due to more hospitable weather.
Freret Fest is a free event that stretches between Napoleon Avenue and Valmont Street on Freret Street. There are three music stages and more than 200 vendors. The fest runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
The festival footprint also is changing slightly. Due to construction of the Trader Joe’s on Napoleon Avenue, the large music stage on that end of the strip will be moved into the parking lot at Jena Street, where the organizers hold the monthly Freret Markets. That also will give the crowd more space in front of the stage. At the other end, the new placement of the Valmont Stage adds a block on that side of the strip.
Many of the bands originally scheduled for the fest are still on the bill. Headliners include The Rumble, Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, People Museum and more.
The Rumble was added to the schedule. Big Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. leads the Mardi Gras Indian funk outfit which was nominated for Best Regional Roots Music Album Grammy awards for its “Live at the Maple Leaf” album and last year’s “Stories from the Battlefield.” It closes the Napoleon Street Stage starting at 4:45 p.m.
Vocalist Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph was known for singing in front of Galactic and supporting Tank and the Bangas before going solo. Now she’s more likely to work with special guests. Recently, she’s been performing with HaSizzle, the self-proclaimed King of Bounce, who joins her for the set closing the Valence Stage at 4:45 p.m.
People Museum expanded from the electro pop duo of Claire Givens and trombonist Jeremy Phipps to a four-piece band. In the last year, the group stretched its collaborations to a live-scored dance piece with Brazilian inspirations with Marigny Opera Ballet. The group performs at 1:50 p.m. on the Valmont Stage.
The Creole String Beans play their mix of swamp pop, classic New Orleans R&B and funk at 2:05 p.m. on the Napoleon Stage.
The music lineup works in a variety of local sounds. Singer-songwriter Paul Sanchez closes the Valmont Street Stage. Blues guitarist Ghalia Volt has a solo set there earlier in the day. Guitarist and composer Mahmoud Chouki teams up with pianist Victor Campbell on the Napoleon Stage. Cuba Heat brings Cuban and Caribbean sounds, and the Divas Brass Band opens the Napoleon Stage with funky brass band music. There also are a couple of sets organized by and featuring musicians from Loyola University.
Dance and movement performances include the African dance and drumming group N’Fungola Sibo at 2:50 p.m. on the Valmont Stage. NOLA Capoeira will present the Brazilian martial arts-dance hybrid on both the Napoleon and Valence stages.
Food booths and bars generally are clustered at street intersections. Beverage booths will offer Abita beers, canned cocktails, soft drinks and water.
There are all sorts of craft vendors offering clothing, jewelry, leather goods, painting, ceramics, candles, soap and body care products, pet care and accessories, and more. Many businesses on the strip extend their presence with vendor booths in front of their address. In the case of the music club Gasa Gasa, it’s adding tented hospitality spaces.
For more information, visit freretstreetfestival.org.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com ’
