_Photo by Dino Perrucci_

Jimmy Buffett delivered a lengthy Acura Stage set of hits and covers on the third day of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The laid back rocker and his Coral Reefer Band led a crowd of casual and hardcore fans (aka Parrot Heads) through classic originals like “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Volcano,” and a reworked version of “Margaritaville,” as well as Alan Jackson’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Southern Cross,” Zac Brown Band’s “Knee Deep” and a show-closing rendition of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.” The set also saw slide guitar master Sonny Landreth make an appearance for three songs, while Coral Reefer Band guitarist Mac McAnally went solo for an impressive cover of the Allman Brothers Band’s “Little Martha.”

Meanwhile, Tony Bennett and Lady Gage were busy treating the Gentilly Stage to an array of jazz standards like Rodgers and Hart’s “The Lady Is a Tramp,” Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” and Fred Astaire’s “Cheek to Cheek,” with Lady Gaga taking over for a solid rendition of Cher’s “Bang Bang (I Shot My Baby Down).” Though the performance was mired by sound issues, the two singers—who recently released a duets album—made for a surprisingly entertaining show.

The festival also featured a number of fantastic non-headlining acts throughout the day. The husband-and-wife banjo duo of Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn took over the Fais Do Do Stage for a killer set in the middle of the day, while the great Irma Thomas brought her beautiful blend of soul, gospel and blues to the Acura Stage for another midday set. Over at the the Gentilly Stage, legendary songwriter Allen Toussaint pulled up in a Rolls Royce (complete with a “SONGS” vanity license plate) before diving into a retrospective of his illustrious career that included songs like “Mother-In-Law,” “What Do You Want A Girl To Do” and “Lady Marmalade.” He also empathically announced “I’m a Deadhead!” after noting that the Grateful Dead had played his music (The Dead covered the Toussaint-penned Otis Redding tune “Pain In My Heart” at least once in 1966, while Jerry Garcia played “I’ll Take A Melody” and “Get Out Of My Life Woman” on numerous occasions).

The music continued long after the festival proper closed its gates at 7pm, with plenty of late nights taking place all across the Crescent City. Dead Feat brought Bill Kreutzmann, Fred Tackett, Paul Barrere, Anders Osborne, Billy Iuso, Carl Dufrene, Tony Leone and John “Papa” Gros together for their second Howlin’ Wolf set of the weekend. The show included quadruple guitar takes on Grateful Dead classics like “New Speedway Boogie,” “Franklin’s Tower,” “Eyes of the World,” “I Know You Rider” and “Sugaree,” along with Little Feat tunes like “Spanish Moon.” However, an expansive take on Osborne’s 2012 masterpiece “Black Eye Galaxy” was arguably the show’s highlight. The gig was then followed by an extra late night set from Pink Talking Fish, who were joined by Iuso for Pink Floyd’s “Young Lust.”

The night featured countless additional late night performances, including a set from The Word at the Joy Theater that doubled up on the pedal steel with special guest Roosevelt Collier. At the same time, Ivan Neville, Jon Cleary, Tony Hall, Raymond Weber and Derwin Perkins teamed up for a lengthy show at the Maple Leaf before Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey joined forces with Mark Sutherland and Yojimbo’s Carly Meyers for a 3am gig that went until sunrise. Meanwhile—over at One Eyed Jack’s—multi-faceted drummer Adam Deitch celebrated his birthday with Big Chief Donald Harrison, Kofi Burbridge, Calvin Turner, Nikki Glaspie, his Lettuce bandmates Adam Smirnoff, Ryan Zoidis, Eric Bloom and Nigel Hall, and his parents Bobby and Denise Deitch.

However, yesterday’s most interesting late night collaboration took place at the French Quarter’s iconic Preservation Hall. The show saw Jimmy Buffet and members of his Coral Reefer Band join the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for a number of tunes, including a crowd-pleasing singalong of the New Orleans Saints’ “Who Dat” chant (Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was in the audience). That show also featured an appearance by singer Angelique Kidjo, who played her own day set at the festival proper.

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will continue this Thursday with performances by Widespread Panic, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Sturgill Simpson, The Word and many more.