Jazz Fest Weekend II Locals Thursday
By Donald Rickert
The entirety of Thursday's Jazz Fest was thrown into bedlam because of the sporadic, yet continual rain.
The normally rock solid cube schedule was tossed asunder and could no longer be trusted.
Fred Wesley and the New JBs tore it up in the Jazz Tent with their funky style. People were in the aisle dancing and moving to "We're Going to Have a Funky Good Time." The band was tight, and, as mentioned, funky as all get out.
Lake Street Dive, not Lake Street Drive, was pushed early because of the aforementioned rain and weather, to perform super early on the Gentilly Stage.
One of the songs that they performed was entitled "Vegas Mattress," which was a song written about a mishap in Rhode Island in an AirBNB with a, unsurprisingly, mattress that was, apparently, purchased based off the Airbnb owner's experience with a similar mattress in Las Vegas, but the bassist of Lake Street Drive did not have such a good experience with said mattress. Instead, Bridgett Kearney had a horrible experience with this mattress in Providence.
When they tried to speak to the Airbnb owner about the bad mattress experience, he mentioned how great it was in Vegas and made sure to purchase the same one for his Airbnb. As opposed to continuing to complain about the mattress, they penned a tune, "Vegas Mattress," which solidifies it on the ether and the zeitgeist of the moment.
The band pulled out an almost a capella rendition of "Linger" by the Cranberries, which was, unsurprisingly, a crowd favorite.
The band definitely went over well with the crowd, despite the sporadic rain. One of their hits that they performed was "You Go Down Smooth," which epitomizes Lake Street Dive's style with the vocal melodies, harmonies, and interesting instrumental approach.
They closed out with a phenomenal version of their hit "Tell Them I'm a Good Kisser," which definitely showcases singer Rachael Price's powerhouse vocals.
With that, the second Thursday of Jazz Fest ended super early because of the threat of impending rain and the problems that that can bring.
#JazzandHeritageFestival, #JazzFest2026 #louisianaHeritage2026, #nola.
