In Louisiana French Creole “Laissez le bon temps rouler” translates in English to “Let the good times roll”. In any language, this year’s French Quarter Festival was a complete blast, featuring four days of free—yes free—topnotch, local Louisiana music. Performed on more than 20 stages throughout New Orleans’ famous French Quarter and along the banks of the Mississippi River, over 1,700 local musicians played a swoon-worthy array of the city’s diverse music. From traditional brass bands to Zydeco, funk, Latin, jazz, classical, gospel, R&B, folk, rock ’n’ roll, rap and bounce, the French Quarter Festival had it all. And you know KALX DJ’s B-Fly and Polly Vinyl had to check that out!
This year’s FQF ran from Thursday, April 11, through Sunday, April 14. The weather was beneficent, mostly high 70’s and low 80’s, perfect for strolling from stage to stage, or collapsing to rest in the shade. If joining in the future, pace yourself! A four-day festival is not a sprint. Wear your walking shoes; according to my phone’s pedometer, we were covering between 5 and 7 miles a day. Because the FQF is free, if you can get to New Orleans, there is virtually no reason not to attend. Older people, younger folks, entire families with little kids, everybody shows up in droves, to dance, groove and have a great time. Because New Orleans has a rich tradition of day drinking and no open container laws, many attendees of legal drinking age were quite jolly, and sipping adult beverages on the streets and in front of the stages. There must have been a few roaring, over-imbibers there somewhere, but we didn’t encounter any. The vibe was consistently up-tempo, convivial and family friendly.
Because many of the 40-plus acts per day play during the same time slots, albeit on sometimes far-flung stages, decisions must be made. I found it helpful to peruse each day’s line ups, select several must-see’s, but also be willing to wander and let your ears draw you into new musical adventures.
Highlights included on opening day, a tourist version of a New Orleans second-line. It paraded down Bourbon Street, complete with marching bands, majorettes, “steppers” twirling hand decorated parasols, and folks carrying FQF sponsor’s banners. Silly, perhaps, but still irresistible.
Corey Ledet & His Zydeco Band, were an absolute pleasure. Corey sang and squeezed catchy, danceable tunes out of his custom-made accordions. All while a washboard player percussed along with the drummer and Julien Primeaux wailed on electric guitar. Amanda Shaw, fiddle player extraordinaire, sang and danced with her plucky band infusing Cajon style music with a country twist. Both Corey and Amanda were kind enough to let us interview them. Check the KALX archives!
Never pass up a chance to see New Orleans’ very own Big Freedia, the Queen Diva. She helped create the genre of hip hop known as bounce and put on a truly mind-blowing show. She rapped along with her DJ and her twerking team of “bootydancers”. The show was high energy and high octane with a lot of wiggling flesh. When Freedia invited members of the audience to get up on stage and demonstrate their dance skills, one member of our group (who shall remain nameless) went up and did it!
Other highlights included The Rumble, featuring Chief Joseph Boudreux Jr., Kermit Ruffin & The Barbecue Swingers, The New Birth Brass Band, Irma Thomas, and The New Orleans Nightcrawlers. And on and on, for days!
Mark your calendars, the next FQF will be held April 10 – 13, 2025. Hope to see you there!
