Letting the Good Times Roll at New Orleans Jazz Fest: Five Highlights From Weekend One, Including Jon Batiste, Irma Thomas & David Byrne

Native son Batiste has been playing Jazz Fest since 2006, when he was 19. In an exhilarating, one-of-a-kind show that could only happen in New Orleans — and, more specifically, at Jazz Fest– Batiste honored the city’s past and present before a packed Festival Stage crowd. Between his choir, band and special guests — including the Blind Boys of Alabama, who opened the show with him on “Amazing Grace” — dancers and local NOLA luminaries, there were upwards of 30 people on stage at times. Instead of feeling cluttered, it just felt joyous, unifying, and, of course, above all, exquisitely musical.

Fans got a smorgasbord of sound, ranging from “Ameriican Requiem,” which he co-wrote and co-produced for Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, as well as the raucous, pointed Big Money, the title track from his most recent album, and a piano medley that included Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and the Jimi Hendrix version of “Star Spangled Banner.” But, in addition to incredibly fluid dancers and backing vocalists, Batiste, who also played the guitar and melodica, brought a new generation of New Orleans artists with him, including Flagboy Giz, a member of the Wild Tchoupitoulas Black Masking (Mardi Indian tribe — who performed his signature song, “We Outside,” in full costume — and young rapper La Reezy, who sang “Hardhead.” It was a generous move, but not a surprising one.

To end the show and close out Friday night, Batiste and fellow musicians and dancers formed a second line and marchedthrough the audience (not easy among 50,000 people or so) and even jubilantly keeping it going as they marched into the backstage area, continuing the party and good times.

Heading to the Festival Stage on Sunday (April 26), a man in this 30s looked down at his four-year old son and said, “We’re going to see the queen!” You can’t educate youth on Irma Thomas too early! Indeed, Thomas is the Soul Queen of New Orleans and it’s not a Jazz Fest without her. She’s played nearly every Fest since 1974. As she sang, “Where I Belong,” a song she and fellow NOLA legends Galactic released in 2025, the lyrics “still doing my thing singing my song/I guess I’m right where I belong,” rang as true as any other lyrics sung during the weekend.

At 85, Thomas’s voice has not diminished at all, and the only concession she gave to her age was perching on a stool instead of standing the whole time. Her voice has only become warmer with time — with her phrasing remaining impeccable, especially when singing signature songs like “Time Is on My Side” (The Rolling Stones released their version in 1964 after hearing Thomas’s version) and “Yours Until Tomorrow.” With a crowd of at least 40,000, she somehow still took requests, delivering a few verses of “I Needed Somebody,” after a festgoer screamed out for it.

Byrne’s concert on the Gentilly Stage was the same acclaimed version he’s been performing around the world, but without the floor-to-ceiling projection that he’s bringing to indoor venues. Even without the projection, the joy still prevails. The show is one of constant movement and harmony. Everyone on stage was dressed in matching blue outfits from head to toe and with the musicians wearing harnesses to hold their keyboards and wearing battery packs so there are no chords on the floor and no musician is static.

As with most things Byrne and Talking Heads, there’s a highly theatrical element in the presentation, but it never overwhelmed the humanity that pervades the show as he and his ensemble, including impressively limber dancers, ran through both solo and Talking Heads tunes. St. Vincent, who had played the Gentilly Stage right before Byrne and had been joined by him, returned the favor by donning the blue garb and joining in on “Air.” (The two did a collaborative album, 2013’s Love This Giant, and their affection for each other is obvious). From “And She Was” to “Psycho Killer” to show closer “Burning Down the House), Byrne was mesmerizingly hypnotic from the first note.

As storm clouds rolled in on Saturday afternoon, they perfectly fit the mood for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s excellent songs about emotionally complicated people dealing with equally complex situations, Delivered beautifully by Isbell and his bandmates, including guitarist Sadler Vaden and bassist Anna Butters (on both electric and upright bass), songs such as “Decoration Day” (a holdover from his time in the Drive-By Truckers) and “King of Oklahoma” hit thoughtful notes. As he prefaced “Maybe It’s Time” from A Star is Born with “we don’t have many hits, but this one got played a lot in a movie,” the song also got a rousing reception.

In the best possible way, attending a Giddens’ show is like attending a music class spanning both centuries and the globe. You come out a lot smarter and also extremely entertained — and more than a little in awe of the musical prowess she and her band exhibit. The MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient took over the Blues Tent on a stormy Saturday afternoon, but she really could have played in any number of musically themed tents given the different genres she touched upon. She and her five-piece band turned the show into a hoe-down on “Lake Martin Drive” (written by guitarist Dirk Powell), then took the audience back to the 1700s with “Pipi Danga,” sung in a language spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while she played a banjo from the 1850s.

“We’re asking a lot of these instruments,” she half-joked at one point, as the guitars, fiddles and banjos were put through a workout. One of the more emotional moments came with “We Could Fly,” a gorgeous, moving song about escaping the bonds of slavery based on the African American folktale, The People Could Fly. (Giddens then also put out a book based on her song). She even ended her show by clogging, and twirling in a skirt she had obviously chosen for that exact moment.