It seems to be festival announcement week. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has released the lineup for its 39th incarnation, back this year to a full seven days for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. The Fest, which will run from April 25-27 and May 1-4 at the Fairgrounds racetrack, has its share of marquee names to make sure ticket sales are brisk: Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Sheryl Crow, Tim McGraw, Santana, Diana Krall and Widespread Panic among them. But there are plenty of buzz worthies besides, including Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, The Roots, The Raconteurs, The Bad Plus, Lizz Wright, Randy Newman, Cassandra Wilson, Betty LaVette, Al Green, Elvis Costello, Allen Toussaint and, glory be, Stevie Wonder.
But as anyone who ever experienced the exquisite delirium of JazzFest knows, it's not about the headliners, so much as the whole Crescent City gestalt, whether it chowing down on crawfish etouffee or stumbling upon Trombone Shorty in a French Quarter club or taking in the Jackson Southernaires in the gospel tent. But I'll stop myself there. I wish I could go every year. Info is here.
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