by: Jerry Shriver
NEW ORLEANS — Willie Nelson, Maroon 5, Jimmy Cliff and a host of other roots and jazz artists warmed up the crowds enduring 61-degree temperatures Friday at the 44th Jazz & Heritage Festival. Although the rain held off for the fifth day of the seven-day run, the Fair Grounds was mucky from the inclement weather that settled in the area the past few days. The need for extra grounds-prep pushed back the gate-opening by an hour to noon and shortened the sets of the early acts. A substantial crowd showed up, however, to celebrate Nelson’s recent 80th birthday and to chow down on soft shell crab po-boys, duck and sausage gumbo and dozens of other regional dishes. Among the highlights:
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…. Way across the way on the Gentilly stage was a guy who’d just turned 80 doing moves like Willie, which meant standing in front of a microphone with a battered guitar and a well-seasoned band behind and singing the heart out of the American songbook. It was Willie himself, of course, and from opener Whiskey River through singalong Beer for My Horses, Waylon shout-out Good Hearted Woman, the wry autobiography of Me and Paul and standards Funny How Time Slips Away and Nightlife he entertained the crowd with the familiar and the essential aspects of his six-decade-old canon. Will the Circle Be Unbroken,Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die (with guest Marcia Ball among the backup singers) and Hank WIlliams’ gospel gem I Saw the Light brought the revival to a rousing close.