The second weekend of the 2025 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival followed the momentum from the first weekend with a different list of big name acts plus a ton of local and regional artists, encompassing all types of music. The festival’s second weekend started on Thursday May 1 and concluded on Sunday with world famous stars that packed the main stages. Fans saw some of their favorite acts like Pearl Jam, Santana, Joan Jett, Julian Marley with The Wailers, Lenny Kravitz, Cage the Elephant, Luke Combs, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Samantha Fish, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Trombone Shorty, and many more.
The festival takes place during two consecutive, four day extended weekends on the property of the New Orleans Fair Grounds, a horse racetrack where thirteen stages are set up for music plus a diverse collection of food vendors, art, crafts and cultural heritage displays. The second weekend had steamy, sunny weather, with just a few brief sprinkles that dampened the area. Fortunately, no performances were cancelled or postponed. Large crowds came to the Fairgrounds on the second weekend as every available space got filled with chairs, blankets, tarps and close-packed fans for the headlining shows.
There were approximately 460,000 people at the Fair Grounds during the eight days of the just-completed 2025 Jazz Fest according to co-producer Festival Productions Inc. In 2024, the eight-day attendance was 500,000, including the limited number of 40,000 tickets sold for a special “Rolling Stones Thursday.”
Jazz Fest’s average daily attendance has generally trended downward in recent years. Higher prices, global economic and domestic political concerns may have contributed to this year’s decline. Overall, 2025’s second weekend felt fuller than the first with the second Thursday much better attended than the first. On Saturday, Pearl Jam drew what felt like possibly the largest audience of the entire festival at the main stage (no daily numbers are reported). Lenny Kravitz, Patti LaBelle, and My Morning Jacket played to big crowds on Sunday.
The music at the festival is incredibly diverse with artists performing rock, soul, R&B, blues, jazz, funk, gospel, zydeco and other styles. We make it our mission to see as many performances as possible while also hitting the food courts loaded with regional cuisine. We also check out the Mardi Gras Indian parades, cultural heritage experiences and artisan craft booths that make this event unlike any other.
Music highlights from the second weekend:
Carlos Santana was fatigued caused by dehydration and cancelled a San Antonio gig on April 22. The next day he got hit by the COVID bug, so his headlining appearance at Jazz Fest was in doubt. Fortunately, the festival did not need to find a last-minute replacement. The legendary guitarist led his band for an epic set in front of a large crowd Thursday evening. He began the show on a stool, but throughout the set found the energy to walk along the stage while blasting his distinctive, screaming guitar solos. Thunderous fireworks exploded from the drum kit of Cindy Blackman Santana, the guitarist’s wife and longtime bandmember.
While he was not as animated as the band’s vocalists, two percussionists and other supporting players, Santana’s scorching guitar led them through energetic versions of many classics. “Evil Ways,” “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va” were played as a non-stop transitioning sequence in the first thirty minutes. The set also included fan favorites “The Game of Love” and “Maria Maria.” The band finished with their number one best seller “Smooth.”
The Baby Boomer and Gen X reunion vibes were also in full force when Joan Jett & the Blackhearts performed on Friday. For more than 50 years, Jett has been proving that she is one of the queens of rock ‘n’ roll. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts played classics like The Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb.” They also made choice selections from their four-plus decade catalogue, including “Fake Friends,” the Bruce Springsteen penned “Light of Day” and “Make the Music Go Boom” from Jett’s 2023 record Mindset. After a spirited cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Everyday People,” the band rolled through their biggest hits for the end of the set. The enthusiastic crowd sang along to “I Love Rock n Roll,” “Crimson and Clover,” “I Hate Myself for Loving You” and “Bad Reputation.”
Samantha Fish keeps getting stronger, both vocally and with her guitar playing. The blues rock sensation put on a spirited performance on Saturday at the main stage where she frequently switched between a several of her gorgeous sounding electric guitars. Fish’s newest album Paper Doll was released a week before the performance and she got positive feedback from the crowd as she played a few of the new songs including “I’m Done Running,” “Can You Handle the Heat” and the title track. She showed off her powerful voice and vocal range while both adeptly finger picking and using a slide on her guitars. The slide heavy song “Bulletproof” that she played with a cigar box guitar was a particular crowd pleaser.
Dumpstaphunk is one of the best bands that exemplify the melting pot of musical styles coming out of New Orleans. With Neville legacy pedigree (Ivan on keys and vocals; Ian on guitar) and a lineup of brilliant musicians on horns, guitars, bass and drums, the band’s thundering sound is an infectious, dance oriented live sensation. The band played funky originals during their Saturday set including “Livin Ina Worl Gone Mad,” “Itchy Boo” and “Justice.” They also mixed in choice covers including The Rolling Stones’ “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)” and Funkadelic’s “I Wanna Know If It’s Good to You.” “Dancin’ to the Truth” and “Put It in the Dumpsta” had the crowd gyrating vigorously at the end of their set.
Pearl Jam headlined the main stage on Saturday with a two hour show and the enormous crowd roared throughout. Eddie Vedder’s high energy and solid vocals were reminiscent of shows from early in the band’s thirty-plus year career. They sprinkled their biggest hits through the setlist including “Daughter,” “Black” and “Alive,” which had a gigantic sing-a-long from the crowd. Mike McCready was on point all set with explosive guitar solos.
Vedder dedicated their song “Even Flow” to former New Orleans Saints player and ALS healthcare advocate Steve Gleason. The band also threw in several songs from their 2024 album, Dark Matter, but classic cuts like “Jeremy,” “Porch” and “Better Man” got the loudest applause. Interestingly, they paired The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” with Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” to close the show.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana and was a blues guitar child prodigy. Now shockingly 47, the guitarist is still masterfully playing his hard charging style of blues. At the Jazz Fest blues tent on Saturday, Shepherd traded vocals with Noah Hunt and blasted impressive solos for the entire show. Shepherd brought out 91-year-old blues singer, guitarist and harmonica legend Bobby Rush to warm applause. The two blues greats released an album of new songs called Young Fashioned Ways in March. Rush sang and blew his harp during “40 Acres (How Long),” “You So Fine” and “Uncle Esau” from the new album.
Galactic is a highly talented band that blends funk, soul, rock and hip hop to form a unique New Orleans gumbo of music. Their instrumentals are an exceptional blend of tight arrangements and improvisational adventures. Over the years they have brought in several vocalists and their current singer, Anjelica “Jelly” Joseph combines powerful, soulful vocals with a bubbly stage presence. Their Jazz Fest set on Sunday included deep catalog tracks, newer songs and creatively selected covers that showed off the band’s versatility. The covers included Alan Toussaint’s “Yes We Can Can” and Led Zeppelin’s “How Many More Times.” The Stanton Moore and Robert Mercurio rhythm section were rock solid while guitarist Jeff Raines nailed the Jimmy Page riffs.
Jelly also belted out Galactic’s “Right On” and “Clap Your Hands.” As the set progressed, the anticipation built for the arrival of 84-year-old Irma Thomas, the “Soul Queen of New Orleans.” Thomas and Galactic just released a collaborative new album called Audience With the Queen. The diva came out to monstrous applause and sang “Time is on My Side,” the single she released in 1964 before The Rolling Stones covered it. Then she sang one of the new songs called “Where I Belong,” before closing the show with “Heart of Steel,” a track she recorded with Galactic in 2010.
My Morning Jacket has performed at Jazz Fest a few times over the years and lead singer Jim James has a long history with New Orleans artists. The band launched their Sunday fest show with a cover of the bluesy Fats Domino track “Walking to New Orleans,” not ironically under a statue of the famous piano player located on top of the stage’s apron. They proceeded to blast out rockers “Mahgeetah,” “Anytime,” “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1” and “Spring (Among the Living).” James and guitarist Carl Broemel continued to trade solos on songs like “Time Waited,” “Off the Record,” “Squid Ink” and “Die for It.”
Jim James spoke about his love for New Orleans’ lively musical heritage and paid tribute to Irma Thomas, who he saw perform at Preservation Hall the night before. This story triggered the band’s debut cover of “Time Is on My Side” before they picked up the pace once again for “Circuital” and the show-closing “Wordless Chorus.”
Lenny Kravitz owns a house in New Orleans’ French Quarter so he has proven his love for the city. In 2005 he needed a trumpet player to fill out his band for a world tour. At the time, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews was a 17-year-old New Orleans teen who had already established himself in the city as a brilliant performer. He was recommended to Kravitz and auditioned – Shorty got the job on the spot and the two have remained friends and occasional collaborators. It was no accident that Kravitz and Shorty were scheduled back to back on the last day of the festival on the main stage. Kravitz is 60 now and one of the rare older rockers who does not look a little foolish baring his midriff and strutting around the stage in tight leather pants.
The dynamic performer belted out songs from his deep, 35-year catalog including “It Ain’t Over Til Its Over,” “Tk421” and a new track called “Paralyzed.” The final part of the set included big hits “Fly Away,” The Guess Who’s “American Woman” and an intense “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” That seemed to be the finale as the band left the stage. However, after a few minutes Kravitz and the band came back. They were past their scheduled end time, but he spoke about “loves power to conquer all” as the band eased into “Let Love Rule.” Kravitz called out his “little brother” as Shorty came onstage and bombarded the crowd with an epic trombone solo. “Big brother” Kravitz cavorted with the audience along the barricades before going back onstage and saying farewell.
The Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue set has been the Jazz Fest finale on the big main stage for over a decade. Shorty and his band are expert live performers who know how to deliver high energy, party music while paying tribute to the legends that came before them in New Orleans. The Neville Brothers held down the closing slot for many years before Orleans Avenue., so Shorty honored that history by bringing out Cyril Neville and Ivan Neville to lead the way on the classic “No More Okie Doke.”
The band jumped forward in time to the 1990s and 2000s for hip hop’s New Orleans’ Cash Money Records. Juvenile and Mannie Fresh came out of the wings and proceeded to take turns rapping and strutting on “Back That Thing/Ass Up,” as Shorty’s trombone notes filled the air. After Juvenile and Mannie Fresh departed, Shorty invited legendary Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli and “big brother” Lenny Kravitz to help with the next few songs. Kravitz could not stop smiling as he played rhythm guitar for “Fire & Brimstone” while Nocentelli soloed. Eventually Nocentelli, Kravitz and Orleans Avenue guitarist Pete Murano squared off, trading epic solos. Shorty finished with a brief mashup of New Orleans standards before the band ended the festival with their instrumental blow out “Hurricane Season.”
About 650 bands perform at Jazz Fest and it is impossible to see all of them. There are so many amazing international, national, regional and local artists deserving of praise. A few that we were fortunate to see during the second weekend stood out:
Dragon Smoke is a quartet of talented musicians (Stanton Moore and Robert Mercurio from Galactic, Ivan Neville from Dumpstaphunk and Eric Lindell) who spend most of the year touring with their popular regular bands. Their annual Jazz Fest set is always a rare treat and their show on Thursday kept up their high standards.
Julian Marley was a guest with The Wailers and they honored the legacy of his father Bob Marley. They played faithful versions of “Rastaman Vibration” and “Stir it Up” plus a few other of the band’s reggae standards.
Check out the week one review also by Andy J. Gordon here. it includes coverage of Dave Matthews Band, Goose, John Fogerty, Cheap Trick,
Baton Rouge native Jonathon “Boogie” Long was named Guitar Center’s ‘King of the Blues’ in 2011. His scorching fest set in the blues tent included a romp into the crowd while he blasted his wireless guitar.
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band are the old school, quintessential New Orleans brass band. They brought tight arrangements and a ton of fun to their fest set.
Anders Osborne has been a strong part of the New Orleans music scene for decades. His passionate song writing, vocals and scintillating guitar work were on full display during his set of blues infused rock songs.
Eric Lindell was an essential part of the Dragon Smoke set and also led his own band through a number of his catchy songs in the blues tent.
Zigaboo Modeliste is the 76-year-old original drummer from The Meters. He still pounds out funky beats and his stellar band performed a set of Meters classics and catchy, newer originals.
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is one of top “young gun” blues guitar sorcerers that have kept the genre an essential part of the music scene. His set of funk infused blues had the crowd on their feet swaying and shouting encouragement for much of his performance.
Kamasi Washington is a world-renowned new millennium jazz composer, saxophone player and bandleader who along with his talented band, delivered a remarkable series of modern jazz songs in a tent packed with fans.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival lived up to its well-deserved global reputation for being a uniquely diverse, incredibly talented collection of live music performances. Combined with surprisingly friendly weather and the usual array of delicious food selections, the festival was a big success. The 2026 dates are already set for two extended weekends, Thursday April 23-26 and Thursday April 30-May 3.
We know the organizers will book the best talent across all types of music for the eight days of live performances. Those dates are marked on our calendar, because nothing compares to attending Jazz Fest in New Orleans. There is no way we will miss it.
Photos courtesy of Andy J Gordon ©2025
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Check out the week one review also by Andy J. Gordon here. it includes coverage of Dave Matthews Band, Goose, John Fogerty, Cheap Trick,
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