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 on opening day at the fest.
Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars
11:20 a.m.-12:20 p.m., Gentilly Stage
The soulful, woozy brass in singer Salvatore Geloso’s voice is a taste of the New Orleans dive bars Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars regularly play. And surrounding Geloso is a group steeped in rhythm and blues, jazz, funk and New Orleans style. The band released its debut project in 2025. Geloso will also be interviewed by Ben Sandmel at 3:45 p.m. Thursday on the Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage. — LIAM PIERCE
Rik Jam and The Island Federation
11:20 a.m.-12:20 p.m., Congo Square Stage
2:20-3:20 p.m., Cultural Exchange Pavilion
Ronaldo “Rik Jam” Ricketts fronts this Kingston, Jamaica-based reggae band that bridges the gap between roots tradition and modern dancehall. Ricketts developed his love of music by singing in his neighborhood’s church and pursued music following his mother’s passing. The band’s live performances maintain a deep, hit-and-don’t-quit bassline gravity and their music emphasizes a conscious lyricism — despite one of their most popular songs being called “Don’t Want Consciousness.” — LIAM PIERCE
Moyuba: A Tribute to the Spirit of Michael Skinkus
11:20 a.m.-12:05 p.m., Jazz & Heritage Stage
This year’s Jazz Fest, like many in recent memory, includes an early opening day set from energetic Afro-Latin jazz ensemble Moyuba. But this time, the local group will take the Jazz & Heritage Stage without bandleader and co-founder Michael Skinkus. The prominent New Orleans percussionist and educator passed away earlier this year, and Moyuba will honor the life and spirit of their friend with a joyful noise and carry on his memory and rhythms. — BRAD RHINES
Vieux Farka Toure
Vieux Farka Toure
12:50-2 p.m., Blues Tent
5-6 p.m., Cultural Exchange Pavilion
Mali musician Vieux Farka Toure’s unique style of West African guitar dabbles in both the pentatonic and blues scales, a fusion that earned him the title “Hendrix of the Sahara.” His music honors the legacy of his father, Ali Farka Toure, but his stage show pushes the boundaries of tradition, with rock influence, fret-obliterating solos and a hypnotic desert-blues groove. — LIAM PIERCE
Nidia Gongora
12:55-1:55 p.m., Cultural Exchange Pavilion
4:15-5:15 p.m., Jazz & Heritage Stage
Nidia Gongora writes and sings in the Colombian Pacific style known as cantora, and she sees her role as a cultural guardian, responsible for transmitting culture from ancestry to today. This results in a danceable sound made of a complex layering of vocals and Afro-Colombian percussion. She’s Grammy nominated and quite adept at collaborating with artists from other modern genres, so expect a diverse range of sounds. — LIAM PIERCE
Maggie Koerner
Maggie Koerner
2:10-3:10 p.m., Gentilly Stage
As Galactic’s lead singer in 2013 and 2014, Maggie Koerner funneled the power of her big, church-trained voice into soul-shattering rockers like “Gimme Shelter.” These days, she wields her expressive strength a bit differently, reminding listeners there’s also power in emotional vulnerability. Koerner’s 2025 album “Upstate” finds the singer-songwriter, a Shreveport native, revisiting stories and experiences from her past with more introspection than urgency. Think pretty, slow-building melodies, spare accompaniments and lilting heartbreakers. — JENNIFER ODELL
Big Chief Donald Harrison Jr. feat. Deezle and BlaqNmilD
2:10-3:10 p.m., Congo Square Stage
NEA Jazz Master Donald Harrison Jr. has devoted much of his career to connecting seemingly disparate music styles, genres, eras and artists in innovative ways, beginning with his pivotal 1997 album “Nouveau Swing.” An alumnus of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, the fleet-fingered alto saxophonist continued on that path with 2024’s “The Art of Passion.” Featuring producer and multi-instrumentalist Deezle, the three-track EP offers the titular song performed as a hard swing number as well as versions mixing in trap and hip-hop. At Jazz Fest, they’re joined by producer BlaqNmilD for a set of New Orleans-rooted jazz and hip-hop. — JENNIFER ODELL
Karma and the Killjoys
2:15-3:15 p.m., Lagniappe Stage
Baton Rouge-based Karma and the Killjoys made their festival debut last year, and the quartet return this weekend with a unique brand of theatrical, Goth-adjacent, self-proclaimed “piano rock.” Fronted by a pair of bewitching vocalists, the band continues to grow a dedicated following thanks to moody, eclectic club gigs and inventive tunes like their latest single “This Song Was Stolen by Pirates,” described by the band as a “an anti-AI sea shanty.” — BRAD RHINES
Blind Boys of Alabama
3:30-4:35 p.m., Gospel Tent
With their stirring four-part vocal harmonies, stylistic flexibility and far-reaching repertoire, this historic gospel group has become a defining feature of America’s music landscape. The Blind Boys’ membership has fluctuated since the 1940s, when the founding vocalists began performing professionally near the Alabama Institute for the Negro Deaf and Blind. Since then, the group has expanded their musical palette, delving into secular soul, R&B, jazz and rock as well as classic gospel and spiritual numbers. The group’s 2023 album, “Echoes of the South,” earned them their sixth Grammy. — JENNIFER ODELL
Cimafunk
3:40-4:55 p.m., Congo Square Stage
With a stage presence that’s like a Cuban James Brown, Afro-funk artist Cimafunk and his band, La Tribu, have become a Jazz Fest must-see. The band is known to deliver a sweat-drenched dance party and a fluid mix of funk, hip-hop and traditional Cuban rhythms. Cimafunk recently released the new single, “Cocinarte,” and announced a new album coming May 22. — LIAM PIERCE
Kings of Leon
Nicholas Payton feat. Butcher Brown
4:05-5:20 p.m., WWOZ Jazz Tent
Trumpeter, keys player and composer Nicholas Payton teams up with the collective Butcher Brown for this special “A Supreme Blue” set honoring Miles Davis and John Coltrane’s historic musical partnership. It comes amid a wave of Davis and ‘Trane tributes timed to the late artists’ shared centennial this year. Payton and Butcher Brown’s homage is poised to include reworked takes on the masterpieces “A Kind of Blue” and “A Love Supreme.” Payton and Butcher Brown also will celebrate Davis and Coltrane on Friday, April 24, at the Jazz & Blues Market. Karl Denson joins the show. — JENNIFER ODELL
Kings of Leon
5-7 p.m., Festival Stage
It’s hard to believe it’s been more than 20 years since Kings of Leon dropped the debut EP, “Holy Roller Novocaine,” a punchy dose of sleazy Southern rock that kickstarted serious buzz around the Tennessee band. Their latest release, “EP #2,” follows a run that includes major hits like “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody,” nine full-length albums, countless live shows and the band evolving into a polished arena rock act. — BRAD RHINES
Raye
5:20-7 p.m., Gentilly Stage
British singer-songwriter Raye had gotten an early career boost after signing with Polydor Records and co-writing songs for Beyonce, Charli XCX and John Legend. But the label wouldn’t release her debut record. After Raye was finally able to leave Polydor, she released her album “My 21st Century Blues” in 2023 to instant acclaim for her mix of pop, blues, jazz and dance music and a record-setting number of wins at that year’s Brit Awards. Raye now comes to Jazz Fest with her recently released second full-length, “This Music May Contain Hope,” which blends jazz, soul and big band music for an album about facing heartbreak and self-doubt. — JAKE CLAPP
Eight days of music, food and New Orleans culture.
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