If its April, then it’s time for French Quarter Festival

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

The French Quarter Festival (Thursday, April 11 through Sunday, April 14) is so massive that negotiating it without a plan is near impossible. The first consideration is to ask yourself just who you are. Are you a sit tight in one spot kind of festival goer, which is the easier type to be when it comes to this festival, or are you a roamer? Miles separate the stages at the Old U.S. Mint from those in the “uptown” Quarter and it would take a lot of determination and grit to, say, make it on Saturday from trumpeter Leroy Jones’ Original Hurricane Brass Band at the Fish Fry Stage alongside Barracks Street to catch Corey Henry & the Treme Funktet that performs near Canal Street. Of course, if you figured ahead of time that you wanted to end with Henry, and why not, a great trombonist with a great band, you would have parked your car up on the Canal side of the festival.

Thursday is the easiest day to navigate the festival as the six stages presenting music this day are all within easy walking distance. Nine-to-fivers could perhaps still make it for the closing acts like pianist/vocalist Jon Cleary, vocalist Stephanie Jordan and the Rebirth Brass Band that start around 5:15 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.

Friday’s schedule ramps up with the addition of activities around the Old U.S. Mint and the French Market. In the “lower” Quarter, there’s been a resurrection of sorts of an all brass band stage, now called the Fish Fry Stage. Traditional and modern brass ensembles like the classic Dejan’s Olympia and the New Orleans Nightcrawlers will perform back-to-back giving audiences a taste of this city’s brass band roots and the evolution of the music. It wraps up with the trombone-heavy, you can hear ‘em comin’ TBC Brass Band.

It’s difficult to imagine the reaction of a French Quarter Festival novice on checking out Saturday’s and Sunday’s line-ups. Give or take there are some 100 acts each day and that’s not counting the interviews taking place on the third floor of the Old U.S. Mint.

Taking a stroll on Bourbon Street offers a little idea of what the early days of the festival sounded and felt like. Small stages line the city’s most famous street with mostly traditional jazz bands performing as they did when the event began in 1985. A highlight on Saturday is guitarist/banjoist Carl LeBlanc who freely crosses stylistic boundaries having played with the futuristic Sun Ra Arkestra and being well-versed in classic New Orleans jazz. Those minimalistic stages and the larger Jackson Square Stage were all there was when the French Quarter debuted. Dedication and the devotion to New Orleans music by its many fans, musicians and supporters kept it going and growing until it eventually became the locally, nationally and internationally major event that it’s become.

Okay, back to the music… A rising star and a veteran musician are both represented on Saturday with the hip guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Mia Borders performing at the festival’s stage near its Canal Street entrance and the wonderful, 92-year-old Lawrence Cotton playing piano with the Legendary Experience at the French Market Stage. If you can get there, it’s worth the trip.

It’s probably not surprising, considering his deep roots in the music and in the musically rich Treme neighborhood that trumpeter James Andrews just epitomizes the French Quarter Festival and what New Orleans music is all about. He’s a fine trumpet player and in the spirit of his grandfather, Jesse “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” Hill and jazz legend Louis Armstrong, Andrews sings with enthusiasm, sincerity and finesse. Andrews, a masterful and often hilarious entertainer, closes out the Jackson Square Stage on Sunday. It’s the place to be for his many fans and those looking for the real deal.

Some of New Orleans finest and deeply respected and loved female vocalists, the always delightful and spirited Wanda Rouzan leading her Taste of New Orleans band and the full-voiced, much called up Erica Falls, take over the riverside Pavilion Stage on Sunday. It makes for a perfect one-two punch without having to take a step or miss a note.

For those seeking some modern jazz that unfortunately has continued to be a bit slighted on the festival schedule, it reigns at Bourbon Street’s Jazz Playhouse with the saxophone-led James Rivers Movement taking the stage at 5 pm on Sunday followed by the Queen of New Orleans Jazz, the great vocalist Germaine Bazzle. The more sophisticated aura and quietude of the room in the Royal Sonesta hotel offers a refuge from the “maddening crowd.”

The selection of food at the French Quarter Festival is as enticing as its music though the same “think zonally” rule can apply. Yeah, your mind might be on a shrimp poboy but a nearby vendor offering another delicious treat might do the trick without having to wander too far or forego some of your favorite music.

Final word – Just have fun.

This article originally published in the April 8, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.