NOJHF 2012: Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians

As I have said before, one of my favorite stages at JazzFest is the Jazz and Heritage Stage and one of my favorite things to see at this stage are the Mardi Gras Indians. On the Saturday of the first weekend of this year's Fest, I had the privelege to see one of my favorite Mardi Gras Indian tribes- Big Chief Walter Cook and Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians. Their suits were fantastic and oh so pretty and they put on a great show. Jazz Fest "man in charge" Quint Davis announced the group and danced briefly with them on stage- see if you can spot him in a couple of the pictures in the slideshow below. For me, this show was one of the highlights of this years fest. Hope you enjoy!

New Orleans JazzFest 2012 Music List Released!

It's that time again..the music lineup for the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was released last nite at midnight. Go here for artist list. There is also a great article here by Keith Spera at NOLA.com. He interviews Jazzfest producer/director Quint Davis about this years festival and about the history and logistics of putting on such a huge event. Looking at the list, so far the Eagles and Tom Petty are being featured as major headliners..not a big fan of either, but booking these huge national acts helps bring folks out to the fest and makes it possible to book and feature lesser known acts so bring em on. I spend most of my time away from the major stages anyway, preferring to focus on the smaller stages and tents....Cubes should be out sometime in the spring.