NOLA Jazz Fest: Gambit’s picks for music to see May 3 | Jazz Fest

With hundreds of performances out at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, it’s hard to know where to start. So Gambit has some suggestion for bands and musicians to see the last day of the festival.

Chiefs of the Indian Nation

12:40-1:20 p.m. Sunday, Jazz & Heritage Stage

Putting aside friendly rivalries between Black Masking Indian tribes, a contingent of Big Chiefs take the stage together on Sunday, including Chiefs Terrance Mitchell of the Creole Wild West, Shaka Zulu of the Golden Feather Hunters, and Juan Pardo of the Golden Comanche in a colorful explosion of traditional Indian music. Pardo told Gambit to expect “drums for the culture and the diaspora, music from origin story to present-day vibes.” The chiefs also will be interviewed by Matt Sakakeeny at 4 p.m. Sunday on the Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage. — BRAD RHINES

Deacon John

12:50-1:50 p.m. Sunday, Blues Tent

Louisiana Blues Hall of Famer “Deacon” John Moore helped develop New Orleans’ classic R&B sound as a session guitarist on most of the Minit Records hits that came out of the Crescent City in the early 1960s. In addition to the guitar tracks he laid down for songs by Lee Dorsey, Ernie K-Doe, Irma Thomas, Fats Domino and more, “Deac,” as he’s known around town, led his group, the Ivories, during a long stint as the Dew Drop Inn’s house band. His voice, meanwhile — gospel-ready and blues-heavy — is well-steeped in the so-called “New Orleans sound” that helped spawn early rock and roll. — JENNIFER ODELL

RAM from Haiti

2-3 p.m. Sunday, Cultural Exchange Pavilion

Formed by Richard A. Morse in 1990 in Haiti, RAM has evolved into a cultural touchstone for many in the Caribbean nation, combining traditional Haitian instruments and rhythms with electric guitars and big rock beats. Over the decades, the Creole-language band has weathered political turmoil and violence, natural disasters, and — most recently — creative differences. After splitting from his longtime wife and collaborator Lunise, Morse last month released a pair of new songs, “Ti Mal O” and “Kenbe’m,” that reflect RAM’s new sound and direction. — BRAD RHINES

Lila Iké

2:10-3:20 p.m., Congo Square Stage

5-6 p.m. Cultural Exchange Pavilion

Lila Iké toiled away at plenty of singles and EPs in the last few years, but her debut full-length album “Treasure Self Love” earned her a nomination for the 2026 Best Reggae Album Grammy, the lone female artist in the category. She also got the spotlight at the ceremony while singing Earth Wind & Fire’s classic “Shining Star.” Her sound is roots-reggae meets R&B and dancehall, and she sings it with crystalline vocals and sharp social commentary. — LIAM PIERCE

Trumpet Mafia feat. Keyon Harrold

2:15-3:20 p.m. Sunday, WWOZ Jazz Tent

Ashlin Parker’s Trumpet Mafia collective emerged in 2013 from a group of fellow trumpeters he’d invite to his house for practice sessions. A jazz educator and alumnus of Ellis Marsalis’ quintet, Parker welcomed players with a variety of experience levels into the group to maximize all members’ learning potential. That open approach has allowed Trumpet Mafia to expand continuously — and internationally — yielding the multi-generational army of horn players that’s now an annual WWOZ Jazz Tent highlight.

Trumpeter and vocalist Keyon Harrold, whose resume includes extensive work in hip-hop and neo-soul as well jazz, played Miles Davis’ trumpet parts in the biopic “Miles Ahead.” He joins Trumpet Mafia for a centennial tribute to Davis’ groundbreaking work. — JENNIFER ODELL

Teddy Swims

4:05-5:20 p.m., Festival Stage

Face-tatted Teddy Swims arrives in New Orleans at a career-high. He’s fresh off a Coachella set and the announcement of his 2026 “Ugly Tour.” Known for his single “Lose Control” — streamed nearly 2.5 billion times on Spotify alone — the Georgia native’s powerful vocals bridge classic R&B with a modern pop grit. Backed by his band Freak Freely, Swims is currently promoting his latest 2026 single, the soul-searching “Mr. Know It All.” But he just might play you his version of Shania Twain’s “You’re Still The One.” — LIAM PIERCE

Davell Crawford’s Fabulous Friends Forever

4:05-5:05 p.m., Gospel Tent

A grandson of James “Sugar Boy” Crawford, Davell Crawford was raised within the city’s gospel and R&B traditions. This performance brings the “Piano Prince” together with some of his mentors and friends, including Cyril and Charmaine Neville and Wanda Rouzan. Crawford’s style — a mix of Baptist church organ, funk and modern jazz — serves as the backbone for a set that highlights deep ties among New Orleans musical families. — LIAM PIERCE

Tedeschi Trucks Band

5:20-7 p.m. Sunday, Gentilly Stage

The Tedeschi Trucks Band operates like a well-tuned machine, a 12-piece ensemble churning out laid back jams with seemingly effortless precision. Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, the blues rock power couple, get top billing for good reason, thanks to her powerful gospel-inspired vocals and his incendiary slide guitar chops. But the band’s chemistry and cohesion make this outfit something special, from blistering, horn-heavy blues numbers to soulful grooves, all of which is on display with the band’s most recent release, the 2026 album “Future Soul.” — BRAD RHINES

Earth, Wind & Fire

5:40-7 p.m. Sunday, Congo Square Stage

There’s something magical about swaying to Earth, Wind & Fire’s laidback soul grooves, soft-yet-lavish orchestration and falsetto-spiked vocal harmonies beneath the first strands of sunset over the Congo Square Stage. The iconic group’s hits include the smooth chart-topper “September,” the synthed-out funk jam “Let’s Groove” and the endlessly sampled “Shining Star.” The current lineup’s longtime EWF members include bassist Verdine White, singer and percussionist Ralph Johnson and Phillip Bailey, whose gospel-ready falsetto has been central to their sound since 1972. — JENNIFER ODELL

Herbie Hancock

5:40-7 p.m., WWOZ Jazz Tent

One constant running through Herbie Hancock’s astounding musical output since the 1960s has been the elastic nature of his creative genius. The pioneering pianist and composer behind crossover hits like “Chameleon” and new jazz standards like “Maiden Voyage” and “Watermelon Man” has long touted his appetite for new ideas as a key to the unexpected directions he routinely builds into his work. Fans of Hancock’s modal jazz masterpieces, for example, maybe didn’t see “Rockit” coming from a former member of Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet. Speaking of Davis, Hancock’s band at the fest includes trumpeter Terence Blanchard, whose current tour honors the work of Davis’ First Great Quintet. — JENNIFER ODELL

Steve Earle feat. Anders Osborne

5:40-7 p.m. Sunday, Fais Do-Do Stage

Before kicking off a solo acoustic tour later this month, billed as “51 Years of Songs and Stories,” Steve Earle returns to Jazz Fest along with hotshot New Orleans guitar player Anders Osborne. Earle gained a following for his outlaw-country songwriting with hits like “Copperhead Road” and gained a reputation for outlaw antics that ended with stints in jail and rehab in the mid-1990s. With a deep back catalog and plenty of stories to go with it, expect the always outspoken Earle to hold court at the Fais Do-Do stage. Earle also will be interviewed by Mark Guarino at 3 p.m. Sunday on the Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage. — BRAD RHINES

Mavis Staples

5:50-6:50 p.m., Blues Tent

Vocalist Mavis Staples has had nothing short of a legendary career, from her start in the 1950s as part of The Staple Stingers, her family’s gospel and soul group, to her more recent features on songs by Hozier, Gorillaz and Jon Batiste. She once even turned down a marriage proposal from Bob Dylan. An icon in R&B, blues and gospel, Staples last year released her 14th solo full-length, “Sad and Beautiful World,” a touching and powerful album of mostly covers, including songs by Curtis Mayfield, Tom Waits, Frank Ocean, Gillian Welch and Leonard Cohen. — JAKE CLAPP