Rolling Stones to rock New Orleans Jazz Fest
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is usually akin to a 14-ring musical circus — a variety of musical acts playing simultaneously on stages spread throughout the sprawling infield of a historic horse racing track.
That was set for a change Thursday afternoon, when 13 stages were to go silent before The Rolling Stones made their first appearance at the 54-year-old festival.
“We didn’t want to have 13 empty stages and no people in front of them when the Stones start singing favorites like ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ and ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash,’” festival producer Quint Davis told The Associated Press ahead of the festival. “Everyone who bought a ticket for that day primarily bought one to see The Stones.”
Jazz Fest is the second stop for the Stones on their Hackney Diamonds tour, launched in support of the well-received album they released last year, their first album of original material in 18 years. They had been scheduled to appear at the 50th Jazz Fest in 2019, but had to cancel because of Mick Jagger’s heart surgery. A subsequent planned appearance was scrubbed in 2021 when the festival was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fans of New Orleans rhythm and blues artists will be watching to see if the legendary group performs “Time Is On My Side,” which was an early hit for the band. New Orleans soul queen Irma Thomas had success with the song in an earlier recording, and Thomas told WVUE-TV in an interview that “there’s a possibility” she might perform it with the band.
Thursday’s weather for the outdoor festival was a little sketchy. Forecasts showed a mostly cloudy skyline, with temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius, but there was up to a 40 percent chance of rain in the afternoon.
Dumpstaphunk, a funk-fusion band born in New Orleans with descendants from the city’s wellknown Neville family, was to play just before the Stones hit the festival’s largest stage. Dumpstaphunk is mourning the recent death of bassist Nick Daniels III, a co-founder of the group who died April 28. A cause of death has not been released.