Widespread Panic closed out the first day of the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival with an epic, nearly three-hour headlining set on the Acura Stage. The show—which was originally supposed to feature two sets and begin an hour earlier—saw the band work their way through a number of fan favorites on the fest’s first truly beautiful day. Attendees were treated to a show-closing sit in from Luther and Cody Dickinson (who had taken over the Acura Stage with The Word earlier in the day) on “Me and the Devil Blues” and “Fishwater”—the latter of which included an appearance by the Big Chief Dancers Mardi Gras Indians. The picturesque weather was also augmented by some delightfully positive skywriting, as words like “LOVE” and “RELAX” took shape in the clouds throughout the afternoon.

While Taj Mahal was unfortunately forced to cancel his set due to illness, the festival did feature a number of other highlights on its only Thursday, which New Orleanians have affectionately dubbed “Locals Day” because of the generally smaller crowds. TAUK opened up the Acura Stage with a deliciously grooving set that probably would have been better suited for a late night club stage than an 11am festival slot. The group was followed by local brass-rock heroes Bonerama before The Word took over the stage with their brand of gospel blues. That set featured an assortment of tunes from the band’s new album Soul Food, as well as a guest appearance by vocalist Tricia Boutté.

Over on the Gentilly Stage, Sturgill Simpson gave a lesson in what country music ought to be as he worked through most of the tracks from his excellent 2014 release Metamodern Sounds In Country Music. Simpson and his band stretched some of the material out considerably and even sprinkled in a few segues along the way. After treating fans to the album’s masterpiece—“Turtles All The Way Down”—the Nashville-based outfit wrapped up the show with a cover of the Osborne Brothers’ “Listening to the Rain” that played right into a double-time take on T. Rex’s “Bang A Gong.” Simpson was followed by Alison Krauss & Union Station, who made their Jazz Fest debut with a generally strong set that—as is sometimes the case at the Gentilly Stage—just wasn’t loud enough to be fully appreciated.

The day also included performances by Cyril Neville, Amanda Shaw & The Cute Guys, Shammar Allen & the Underdawgs, Eric Lindell, The Iguanas, Third World and many more.

As the festival proper wound down, the good times kept rolling as fans spread out for the myriad late night shows that took over clubs across town. The night’s biggest event was probably Trombone Shorty’s annual Shorty Fest benefit concert, which featured a performance from the trombonist and his band Orleans Avenue, and also saw Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians backed by Bill Kreutzmann, Luther Dickinson, June Yamagishi, Raymond Weber, Nick Daniels and Kirk Joseph. The concert went down at Generations Hall, with proceeds going to the Trombone Shorty Academy at Tulane University, a non-profit music education program founded by the performer.

While Shorty Fest was undoubtedly a blast, the Down On The Bayou benefit at The Republic may have given the event as run for its money as far as star power was concerned. That show—which raised funds for the New Orleans Musicians Clinic—saw Dr. John team up with an assortment of musicians, including all the members of Widespread Panic. The night also featured appearances by Col. Bruce Hampton, Ivan Neville, Oteil Burbridge, the New Orleans Suspects, Billy Iuso, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and more.

Other late nights included Lettuce and Soulive’s Royal Family Ball at the Joy Theater, as well as Johnny Vidacovich, Oteil Burbridge, Marco Benevento and Skerik’s jam session at the Maple Leaf (Benevento and Skerik also teamed up with Joe Russo, Robert Walter and DJ Logic for an extra late “Worship My Organ” show at One Eyed Jacks). Meanwhile at Tipitina’s, St. Paul & The Broken Bones played to packed house before Leftover Salmon with Little Feat’s Bill Payne kept things going late/early with a 2am performance.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival will continue today with sets from No Doubt, Chicago, Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars, Galactic with Macy Gray and many more. The day will also include Fiya Fest, a concurrent mini-festival at Mardi Gras World that will feature a variety of all-star super jams, as well as a headlining set from Lettuce.

.

‘

Here’s a look at yesterday’s Widespread Panic setlist as it appears in our Box Scores:

Thursday, April 30, 2015, Widespread Panic, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fesival

Old Neighborhood, North,Street Dogs for Breakfast > Disco > Greta > Jack > Henry Parson’s Died > Steven’s Cat, Cotton Was King, Pigeons, Honkey Red, Cease Fire > JAM > Driving Song > Tall Boy > I’m Not Alone > Driving Song, Bust It Big, Sell Sell Sell > Chilly Water > Me and the Devil Blues* > Fishwater^

Notes: *with Luther Dickinson on guitar, Cody Dickinson on electric washboard ^with Luther Dickinson on guitar, Cody Dickinson on electric washboard and Big Chief Dancers

Source: Panicstream.com

_Shorty Fest, Photo by Dino Perrucci_

_Shorty Fest, Photo by Dino Perrucci_

_Shorty Fest, Photo by Dino Perrucci_