Day 17 – “Riding on the City of New Orleans…”

Willie Nelson at Jazz Fest

We drove into the “City of New Orleans” this morning from Baton Rouge to meet Steve, Megan and Megan’s parents, Claude and Judy, for lunch at Commander’s Palace. Commander’s Palace is one of the top restaurants in New Orleans and the food and service were beyond excellent. In addition, they have twenty-five cent martinis!

We checked into the Doubletree on Canal Street and immediately head off to Jazz Fest by cab. Although there was no rain today, the fields were pretty much a muddy mess from yesterday and impassible in spots without boots, which we didn't have. The mud wasn't a big problem other than making it hard to navigate between the stages. We watched in order – Marc Broussard, Maroon 5, Jimmy Cliff and Willie Nelson. The last three acts overlapped a little so we mainly watched Willie close the show. To add some local flavor, he sang “City of New Orleans” and “Jambalaya” in addition to his hits. Willie turned 80 a couple of days ago, but he can still really sing and play as always.

Second Line Band

Jazz Fest is also a big local party and there are a lot of “second line” acts everywhere, such as the one in the photo we saw while waiting for a cab back to the hotel. I’m not sure I totally understand the term “second line”, but from what I read, it technically refers to a group of brass players in a New Orleans funeral procession who follow along without a permit and thus not part of the official parade. In general terms I think it just refers to a group of “unofficial” brass jazz players who perform for tips. However don’t let the “unofficial” part fool you. These guys are really, really good!

Kermit Ruffins

We had a real down-home meal at Mother’s before heading back out to a club to see Kermit Ruffins. Kermit is a jazz trumpeter from New Orleans and he was obviously very influenced by Louis Armstrong. Kermit is a local character known for cooking barbecue at his shows (not this one, but he does own some restaurants here) and for being on the HBO show Treme. Jazz Fest ends at 7, giving you time to have dinner and then go out to see anther show. Steve and Megan did it every night but us old folks just did Kermit.