Jazz Fest Trip - Day 15

We left the RV park around 10:30 am and were dropped off about 5 blocks away from the park entrance.  It is about a 5 minute walk through a nice neighborhood with some funky houses that are brightly painted and landscaped.  The street we walk down is a major pedestrian route to the fairgrounds  and the closer we get  to the gate the more people there are, mostly gathering around a neighborhood bar and lounge.  It is sort of a tailgate atmosphere, with people sitting around talking and sipping beverages.  Some beer was noted being consumed.  There are also local entrepreneurs selling bottled water and beer out of coolers, as well as hats, trinkets, etc.  It is a happy crowd and everyone seems to be well behaved and orderly.  There were a lot of police around, apparently to control traffic, but most just seemed to be sitting around and talking to people.

We again started out at the "Big Chief" hospitality lounge to figure out our plan for the day.  The lounge staff marks recommended performers for the day and we have found that they are pretty good recommendations about the many local groups performing at the event and the quality of their work

The groups we saw today, not counting the ones that were playing as we walked by were:

1. The Joseph Torrengano Jazz Band - Traditional Jazz
2. Jambalaya Cajun Band - Cajun
3. Guitar Slim - R&B
4. Ingrid Lucia - Female Vocal
5. Fleur Debris - Modern Jazz
6. Bonerama - Jazz/R&B
7. Buckwheat Zydaco - R&B
8. Eric Lindell - Jazz/Blues

We then had to make a decision about what feature show to watch to end the day.  The choices were:

1. Arcade Fire
2. Willie Nelson
3. Greg Alllman
4. Lupe Fiasco

There were also 6 more performances , some of which looked very good.  Unfortunately, all 10 performances were going on at the same time and you had to pick one.  We chose Willie Nelson and we were not disappointed.  Despite his age and some hard miles he was excellent.  He played for over an hour without  a break and still can sing.

The weather was again clear, a little breezy, and hotter than yesterday.  The crowds were also bigger, so we paced ourselves a little more than yesterday.  We also toured and had lunch at the Native American area of the grounds.  We saw a pow-wow dance and ate Indian tacos and a corn and sausage dish.  Both were excellent.  We also revisited the Haitian Center and watched native drummers.

As we left the park, we again encountered an interesting street scene.  The same people were selling things and street musicians lined the street.  We also encountered a Cajun garage band on the way back to the shuttle pick-up point.  Again, everyone was having a good time. 

Tomorrow is day 3 of the fest and we are hanging in there  just fine. It has certainly been an interesting experience and we are looking forward to the rest of the fest.

We have again created an on-line Picasa album for the pictures today.  Here is the link:

Jazz Fest - Friday Pictures