Tired yet? The second weekend of the 2026 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is as jam-packed as the first, with music clubs, theaters and other venues across the city beefing up their bookings in hopes of attracting the hordes of music fans in town. Here are highlights of the upcoming week.
THURSDAY
Wilco kicks off the first of two consecutive nights at the Saenger Theatre. Tickets start at $60.
Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes presides over “Warren Haynes — Dreams & Songs Symphonic Experience” with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra at the Orpheum Theater. Tickets start at $49.
Blues-based guitarist Sue Foley lets rip at the New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard in Central City. Tickets start at $36.
Daniel Donato’s “Cosmic NOLA” show at the Civic Theatre features George Porter Jr., Kanika Moore and others; tickets start at $45.
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe and La Lom celebrate the music of reggae legend Jimmy Cliff at the Fillmore. Tickets start at $50.
The band Lettuce hosts its “Rage!Fest” at the Joy Theater; tickets start at $58.
The most buzzed-about international act during the 2025 Jazz Fest was Son Rompe Pera, the Mexican cumbia punk band. With their intricate rhythms and intense xylophone solos, the heavily tattooed, sweaty and often shirtless members of the band lived up to the hype. Tipitina’s has brought Son Rompe Pera back to town during this year’s Jazz Fest for a Thursday night show with Los Güiros opening at 9 p.m. Tickets start at $27.50.
Son Rompe Pera perform in the Cultural Exchange Pavilion Stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, May 2, 2025.
Then, Tipitina’s hosts a late-night show starting around 2 a.m. with The Iceman Special. Tickets start at $25.
Geno Delafose and Terrance Simien team up for a double Zydeco Night at Rock ‘N’ Bowl; tickets are $20.
Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen funk up Chickie Wah Wah for the early, 8 p.m. show; tickets start at $40.
The Maple Leaf Bar presents bassist Roland Guerin’s ProgFunk project at 8 p.m.; tickets are $24. At 10 p.m., drummer Johnny Vidacovich is joined by Sonny Landreth and Corey Duplechin at the Leaf; tickets are $34.
FRIDAY
It’s a big night of guitar as New Orleans-based Samantha Fish and south Louisiana’s Tab Benoit plug in at the Fillmore. Tickets start at $54.
Robin Barnes is the very definition of a working New Orleans musician. For years, she’s been a fixture at local nightclubs, festivals, inaugurations and other civic events. In all that time, she’d never released her own full-length album — until now. “Louisiana Love” dropped just in time for the 2026 festival season. Surrounded by a slew of special guests, she showcases her supple voice on songs that draw on everything from Cajun and zydeco to R&B to Mardi Gras Indian music. She’ll celebrate the release of “Louisiana Love” at d.b.a. on Frenchmen Street on Friday. Showtime is 9:30 p.m.; advance tickets start at $20.
For “Scott Sharrard’s Endless Road Live” at the New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market, the Little Feat singer/guitarist and Substack writer will tell stories and play songs from his 12 years as Gregg Allman’s bandleader, his seven-years-and-counting with Little Feat and his early history as a Meters-loving teenage guitarist in Milwaukee. For the music segments of the show, he’ll be joined by his Little Feat bandmate Fred Tackett — they’ll be touring as a duo later this year — and local keyboardist John “Papa” Gros and slide guitarist Marc Stone. Showtime is 8 p.m.; tickets start at $41.
Wilco is back at the Saenger for night two.
Guitarist Warren Haynes is back at the Orpheum Theater, this time with his band Gov’t Mule. Tickets start at $60.
The Heavyweights hit the Joy Theater with bassist Oteil Burbridge; tickets start at $53.
Dan Penn wrote some of the greatest songs in soul music, including “Dark End of the Street,” “I’m Your Puppet,” “Doe Right Woman Do Right Man” and “Cry Like A Man.” He and his longtime co-writer and pianist Spooner Oldham, a legend of Memphis, Tennessee, soul music in his own right, team up for the 8 p.m. Friday show at Chickie Wah Wah, a reprise of their 2025 Jazz Fest show at the same venue. Tickets start at $45.
In a separate show, jazz saxophonist Ravi Coltrane holds court at Chickie Wah Wah starting at 10:30 p.m.; tickets are $40. Then, guitarist Papa Mali’s rock steady band Shantytown Underground grooves at Chickie Wah Wah starting around 1 a.m.; tickets are $25.
Southwest Louisiana slide guitar ace Sonny Landreth and Dustin Dale Gaspard share a bill at Rock ‘N’ Bowl; tickets start at $30.
Drummer and vibraphonist Jason Marsalis hosts a tribute to his late father, the great jazz pianist and educator Ellis Marsalis Jr., with special guests Jon Cowherd and Victor Goines at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets are $50.
Jason Marsalis plays the vibraphone.
Following a sold-out Galactic show at Tipitina’s, keyboardist, singer and songwriter Neal Francis takes over at Tip’s for a show starting at 2 a.m.; tickets are $44 plus fees.
SATURDAY
It’s “Queens Night” at the Joy Theater with a triple bill of Tank & the Bangas, Big Freedia and Dawn Richard. Showtime is 10 p.m. Tickets start at $64.
Modern jazz saxophone legend Kenny Garrett plays two shows, at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., at the New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market. Tickets start at $31.
New Orleans guitarist and songwriter Anders Osborne’s “NOLA Birthday Bash” at the Civic Theatre opens with the Rebirth Brass Band and features Dave Malone of The Radiators, Jackie Greene, Lindsay Lou and other guests. Tickets start at $56.
Anders Osborne and his band on the Festival Stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, May 3, 2024.
New Orleans modern jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, whose resume includes a bevy of film scores for Spike Lee, Oscar nominations and Grammy Awards, is at Chickie Wah Wah at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $50. Then, Louisiana soul singer Durand Jones takes over for a 10:30 p.m. show with special guest Erica Falls; tickets are $47.50.
New Orleans master drummer Herlin Riley is joined by Ghana-born djembe master Weedie Braimah at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Snug Harbor. Tickets are $50.
Cowboy Mouth rocks Rock ‘N’ Bowl with opener Few Blue; tickets are $30.
Blues-rock guitarist Eric Johanson is at the Maple Leaf Bar at 8 p.m.; tickets are $24. Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen play a sold-out show at 10 p.m.
The Marcus King Band brings its “Waltz Across Texas” show to the Orpheum Theater; tickets start at $53.
Experience Joe Russo’s Almost Dead at the Fillmore; tickets start at $78.
Less than 24 hours after his very late-night Friday show at Tipitina’s, Neal Francis returns for a sold-out show at 9 p.m. Saturday. The late-night Saturday show, starting at 2 a.m., is by FiyaPowa!, a collaboration between members of Galactic and Dumpstaphunk. Tickets are $32.
The Meters, with Ivan Neville filling in for his late uncle Art, reunite for a sold-out show at the Saenger Theatre, following a reunion last weekend at the Fillmore.
SUNDAY
Ari Lennox brings “The Vacancy Tour” to the Fillmore; tickets start at $85.
The New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market presents The Triumvirate, a high-powered modern jazz summit/collaboration between acclaimed pianist Robert Andre Glasper, bassist Christian McBride and New Orleans native trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Payton. The Triumvirate will perform two shows. The first opens with a DJ Soul Sister set at 6 p.m., followed by The Triumvirate at 8. The Triumvirate plays a second show at 10 p.m. Tickets start at $65.
Singer and pianist Judith Owen celebrates the release of “Suit Yourself,” an album on which she intermingles big band arrangements and jazz sextet arrangements, at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Snug Harbor with special guest Davell Crawford. Tickets are $40.
Rock ‘N’ Bowl hosts a tribute to Eric Clapton and Phil Collins; admission is $20.
Eric Lindell, the guitarist, singer and songwriter who works the full spectrum of Gulf Coast soul, R&B and honky-tonk music, is on at 8 p.m. at Chickie Wah Wah; tickets are $35.
The 10:30 p.m. show at Chickie Wah Wah is Papa Mali’s annual birthday bash, which is also a celebration of the music of David Lindley. A host of special guests are slated to take part, including longtime Lindley bandmate Wally Ingram, the Iguanas and more. Tickets are $35.
Papa Mali Acoustic Trio performs at the new d.b.a. outdoor venue on Frenchmen Street during their second night open in New Orleans, Friday, May 21, 2021.
Dumpstaphunk closes out the big weekend at Tipitina’s; the New Breed Brass Band opens the show at 9 p.m. Tickets are $35.
MONDAY
On the day after Jazz Fest’s finale, trombone-powered rock band Bonerama celebrates the release of its “So Much Love” album on vinyl with special guests Omari Neville and Johnny Sansone at Chickie Wah Wah at 8 p.m.; tickets are $30.
At Snug Harbor, the Charmaine Neville Band is joined by trumpeter Wendell Brunious at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $35.
TUESDAY
Havana-born, New Orleans-based percussionist Alexey Marti powers his AfroGumbo ensemble at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $35.
WEDNESDAY
Martha Reeves was the lead name in Martha and the Vandellas, the 1960s girl group whose run of hits for Motown Records included “Heat Wave,” “Dancing in the Street,” “Nowhere to Run” and “Jimmy Mack,” among others. A Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Reeves later became a council member in Detroit. On Wednesday, she’ll sit down at the New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market with a moderator for Come and Get These Memories: An Evening of Conversation with Motown Legend Martha Reeves. Instead of performing, she’ll offer candid stories and insights about her time as a Motown star and all that has followed, including the role New Orleans played in the creation of her forthcoming album.
Singer Martha Reeves of legendary 1960s Motown Records girl group Martha and the Vandellas.
“I’m very excited to come to New Orleans for an evening of intimate conversation at the Jazz and Blues Market,” Reeves said in a provided statement. “It’s going to be a night filled with laughter, love and so many memories. I have spent the last three years working on my new album, frequently traveling to and from New Orleans. I have a great fondness for the musicians and the people.”
Tickets for Come and Get These Memories start at $36. Showtime is 7 p.m.
Also on Wednesday, Floetry — the duo consisting of Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie “The Floacist” Stewart — brings its first tour in nearly 10 years to the Saenger Theatre. The bill for “Say Yes The Tour” also includes Raheem DeVaughn with special guest Teedra Moses. Tickets start at $80.
Keyboardist Jon Cleary does a solo show at Chickie Wah Wah. Tickets are $20.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com ’
