Overcast skies, sporadic sunshine and a soft breeze greeted streams of sunblock-slathered festival-goers who came for headliners Bon Iver and The Beach Boys, as well as dozens of others.
British indie rockers Gomez brought their hard-strumming, psychedelic sound to an afternoon show, which drew hundreds of revelers ranging from young hipsters to aging hippies to straw-hat-donning senior citizens who looked around as if they might be in the wrong place.
To the roaring approval of the crowd, the band brought out several members of local legend the Dirty Dozen Brass Band on stage. Together, they jammed through old and new hits, including Airstream Driver and a brassy, drawn-out rendition of Here Comes the Breeze.
Katie Bandstria, 40, of Seattle, had wanted to attend Jazz Fest since she was 18 years old. On Friday, she finally got her chance and swayed to the Gomez show. It's great to have so many headliners in one place, including Tom Petty, which hits the stage Saturday evening, she said. But the real draw is the homegrown musicians such as Trombone Shorty and Rebirth.
"Gomez is a bonus. Tom Petty is a bonus," Bandstria said. "But we're trying to spend as much time as possible catching the local acts."
Local crooner Stephanie Jordan transported audience members to a bygone era with a big-band tribute to Lena Horne, complete with a five-piece horn section. She unspooled standards such as Let's Fly Away and Stormy Weather before launching into a throaty, melancholic version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, with her sister Rachel Jordan playing the violin, leaving spectators entranced.
Chuck Leavell, the Zelig-like keyboardist who has backed the Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers Band and dozens of others over four decades, drew a capacity crowd to t he Blues Tent. A good percentage of the audience probably was there chiefly to see his advertised guest, Bonnie Bramblett, of '70s roots group Delaney Bonnie. Neither disappointed. Leavell opened with an Allmans-like Statesboro Blues and some tunes from his new vintage piano jazz album Back to the Woods.
Across the festival grounds, Bon Iver, the nine-piece band that won this year's Grammy for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album, spun through their hard-charging, melancholic rock tunes, including a rocking Holocene, which ended with a haunting, lingering sax solo eerily reminiscent of whale mating calls.
Lead singer Justin Vernon paid tribute to the mammoth Ne w Orleans music festival: "There simply isn't a better music festival in the world. The city and the experience we have when we come here - I can't put it into words."
As Bon Iver strummed their tunes, The Beach Boys continued their reunion tour on the far side of the fairgrounds. Celebrating their 50th anniversary, The Beach Boys have reunited with Brian Wilson for a summer (of course) tour of which Jazz Fest was an early stop. After an intro by actor John Stamos, the group applied its trademark barbershop harmonies to Do It Again. A bit plodding but the crowd loved it. Early hit Surfin' followed as twentysomethings did the Frug.
Surfer Girl was just as creamy as it was a half century ago and the crowd cheered as Wilson took his turn at the microphone. Al Jardine's voice seemed the strongest, especially on And Then He Kissed Me. Car culture got its due with a revved up medley of Little Deuce Coup, 409, Shut Down and I Get Around.
By that point, even the Southern women in the crowd wished they could be California girls, if only for a moment.
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