{"id":2390136,"date":"2026-04-26T16:59:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T16:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2390136"},"modified":"2026-04-26T16:59:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T16:59:37","slug":"nola-jazz-fest-gambits-picks-for-music-to-see-may-2-jazz-fest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/nola-jazz-fest-gambits-picks-for-music-to-see-may-2-jazz-fest\/","title":{"rendered":"NOLA Jazz Fest: Gambit’s picks for music to see May 2 | Jazz Fest"},"content":{"rendered":"

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With hundreds of performances out at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival<\/a>, it’s hard to know where to start. So Gambit has some suggestion for bands and musicians to see the second Saturday at the fest.<\/p>\n

Mia Borders<\/strong><\/p>\n

11:20 a.m.-12:20 p.m., Gentilly Stage<\/em><\/p>\n

New Orleans native Mia Borders<\/a> has become a staple of her hometown\u2019s live music scene, where she performs a roots and blues-driven brand of soulful rock and funk. The singer, songwriter and guitarist\u2019s latest album, \u201cFirewalker\u201d features a title track collaboration with George Porter Jr. Later on Saturday, Borders also will play an acoustic trio set at 2:25 p.m. in the Rhythmpourium tent. \u2014 JENNIFER ODELL<\/p>\n

Dee-1<\/strong><\/p>\n

11:20 a.m.-12:25 p.m., Congo Square Stage<\/em><\/p>\n

New Orleans-born rapper Dee-1<\/a> has been hustling as an independent artist for more than 15 years, steadily reaching a bigger and bigger audience across more than 20 albums and EPs and features on tracks with Juvenile, Mac Phipps and Lupe Fiasco. The former educator keeps a positive, often religious message in his music, and his most recent album, \u201cHipocritical Hop,\u201d focuses in on his critiques of the \u201cglorification,\u201d he says, of violence and drugs in rap \u2014 criticism that has brought<\/a> some pushback from rappers like Rick Ross and Joe Budden. \u2014 JAKE CLAPP<\/p>\n

C.J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band<\/strong><\/p>\n

12:40-1:40 p.m., Blues Tent<\/em><\/p>\n

C.J. Chenier was part of the team that earned a 2026 Grammy Award for \u201cA Tribute to the King of Zydeco,\u201d which honored his late father Clifton Chenier at the 100th anniversary of the zydeco pioneer\u2019s birth. On the album, C.J. Chenier<\/a> is credited alongside artists like Taj Mahal and The Rolling Stones, but those fancy names bow down in homage to the Creole dance genre. With The Red Hot Louisiana Band, Chenier plays his own originals along with many of his father\u2019s classics. \u2014 LIAM PIERCE<\/p>\n

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Mark Braud and the New Orleans Jazz Giants<\/p>\n

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\n Photo by Bryant Hawkins \/ The New Orleans Advocate<\/span>
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Mark Braud\u2019s New Orleans Jazz Giants<\/strong><\/p>\n

1:45-2:45 p.m., Economy Hall Tent<\/em><\/p>\n

Trumpeter Mark Braud<\/a> may be best known for his roles with Preservation Hall, where he now leads Preservation Brass, and for the generations of musicians on both sides of his family. But he\u2019s also a charismatic performer whose onstage demeanor feels more lighthearted than his c.v. might suggest. Sometimes that translates to revisiting the bawdier side of early jazz and blues tunes or almost visibly changing an audience member\u2019s mind about traditional jazz. Other times, it means lobbing Steven Wright-style one-liners to the crowd: \u201cMy new album is about to go copper,\u201d he deadpanned at the Jazz Museum in March. \u2014 JENNIFER ODELL<\/p>\n

Jemere Morgan<\/strong><\/p>\n

1:45-2:45 p.m., Jazz & Heritage Stage<\/em><\/p>\n

5-6 p.m., Cultural Exchange Pavillion<\/em><\/p>\n

Reggae singer Jemere Morgan<\/a> hails from a massive musical family best known for the Morgan Heritage family band, which Jemere now fronts. His reggae-meets-R&B solo work often features positive messages about love and peace and includes the sunny, conscious pop tune \u201cTry Jah Love\u201d and the Damian Marley-produced \u201cHigher We Go.\u201d Morgan also performs Sunday at 11:20 a.m. on the Festival stage and at 3:25 p.m. back in the Cultural Exchange Pavilion. \u2014 JENNIFER ODELL<\/p>\n

Leo Nocentelli<\/strong><\/p>\n

2:10-3:10 p.m., Gentilly Stage<\/em><\/p>\n

Guitarist and founding member of the Meters, Leo Nocentelli is funk royalty in New Orleans. His solo sets embrace the legacy he\u2019s known for and feature hits like \u201cHey Pocky A-Way,\u201d but they also give the talented player an opportunity to indulge his jazz influences and the softer songwriter side revealed on Nocentelli\u2019s 1971 country music-inspired album \u201cAnother Side,\u201d a nearly forgotten gem that was unearthed and finally released in 2021. \u2014 BRAD RHINES<\/p>\n

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Mia Borders<\/p>\n

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\n Photo by Michael Johnson \/ The Advocate<\/span>
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Dianne Reeves<\/strong><\/p>\n

4:15-5:30 p.m., WWOZ Jazz Tent<\/em><\/p>\n

Five-time Grammy winner and National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Dianne Reeves<\/a> remains one of the golden voices of jazz, but she also handles R&B, blues, gospel, Latin or pop with ease. Reeves last year recorded a John Coltrane centenary tribute with the Branford Marsalis Quartet, and the album will be released by Blue Note in September. \u2014 LIAM PIERCE<\/p>\n

Sierra Hull<\/strong><\/p>\n

4:20-5:35 p.m. Saturday, Fais Do-Do Stage<\/em><\/p>\n

Crossing over from the bluegrass scene to the mainstream, mandolin virtuoso Sierra Hull<\/a> has shared the stage with fellow travelers like Bela Fleck and Billy Strings, shining a light on traditional string band music. Last year\u2019s self-released record \u201cTip Toe High Wire\u201d earned Hull four Grammy nods and appearances on NPR\u2019s Tiny Desk and Austin City Limits. This year, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist breaks more new ground with \u201cThe Movements,\u201d a three-part bluegrass concerto released last month. Hull also will be interviewed by Mollie Farr at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on the Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage. \u2014 BRAD RHINES<\/p>\n

Midnite Disturbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

4:25-5:15 p.m., Jazz & Heritage Stage<\/em><\/p>\n

The Midnite Disturbers is one of the annual \u201cmiss it and you\u2019ll regret it,\u201d only at Jazz Fest shows. The New Orleans supergroup \u2014 started by Stanton Moore and the late Kevin O\u2019Day \u2014 includes a dozen or so of the city\u2019s best brass and funk musicians jamming on songs like \u201cGimme My Money Back\u201d and \u201cBuck It Like a Horse.\u201d The lineup is always fluid, but some regulars include Galactic\u2019s Moore and saxophonist Ben Ellman, Big Sam Williams and the Dirty Dozen\u2019s Roger Lewis, and past years have featured Glen David Andrews and Mike Dillon. Also take note of the band members\u2019 shirts, which give shout-outs to influential musicians and gone-too-soon peers. \u2014 JAKE CLAPP<\/p>\n

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Eagles<\/p>\n

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\n Photo by Scott Threlkeld \/ The Times-Picayune<\/span>
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Eagles<\/strong><\/p>\n

4:45-7 p.m., Festival Stage<\/em><\/p>\n

After playing together in Linda Ronstadt\u2019s backup band, the members of the Eagles<\/a> left the nest in 1971 and immediately took off. Their debut release launched three smash singles \u2014 “Take It Easy,\u201d \u201cWitchy Woman\u201d and \u201cPeaceful Easy Feeling\u201d \u2014 and the hits kept coming. After disbanding in 1980, the group later reunited and underwent a few lineup changes before embarking on a farewell tour that started back in 2023. But this really might be it, as founding member Don Henley told \u201cCBS This Morning\u201d earlier this year, as the band sets out on a short spring tour called \u201cThe Long Goodbye, Act III.\u201d \u2014 BRAD RHINES<\/p>\n

Little Feat<\/strong><\/p>\n

5:30-7 p.m., Blues Tent<\/em><\/p>\n

Co-founder Bill Payne and the core members of Southern rock stalwarts Little Feat<\/a> have kept moving forward since the death of Lowell George in 1979. The newest lineup is fronted by Scott Sharrard of the Greg Allman Band on guitar and also includes the addition of drummer Tony Leone from the Chris Robinson Brotherhood. Their latest release, last year\u2019s \u201cStrike Up the Band,\u201d is a vitalized effort of blues- and gospel-tinged jams with bright horns and syncopated grooves. The new batch of tunes follows nicely in the Feat-steps of classics like \u201cDixie Chicken\u201d and \u201cFat Man in the Bathtub.\u201d \u2014 BRAD RHINES<\/p>\n

T-Pain<\/strong><\/p>\n

5:55-6:55 p.m., Congo Square Stage<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re expecting T-Pain\u2019s<\/a> set to rely on auto-tune, you\u2019re stuck in 2005. While those signature digital harmonies will likely anchor club classics like \u201cBuy U a Drank,\u201d the Tallahassee, Florida, native appears at Jazz Fest as a newly minted BMI President\u2019s Award winner. He won over metalheads with a viral cover of \u201cWar Pigs\u201d on his soulful 2023 album \u201cOn Top of the Covers\u201d and celebrated two decades of hits last year. \u2014 LIAM PIERCE<\/p>\n\n

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Living an ‘American Dream’<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div><\/div>\n