Issue Articles
Kyle Roussel
A pianist, composer, producer, prolific sideman and sometimes singer, Roussel will perform selections from the album during his April 23 set at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. He’ll also be a most-valued supporting player throughout the festival’s two weekends, joining performances by the Allen Toussaint Legacy Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Erica Falls, Meters drummer Zigaboo Modeliste and more.
Eric Adcock
Three-time Grammy nominee Eric Adcock played key roles in the making of the Grammy-winning album A Tribute to the King of Zydeco. Released in June 2025, the all-star project celebrated the centennial year of zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier’s birth.
Jon Batiste
Jon Batiste has planned a big Jazz Fest weekend. For the festival’s first Friday, the Grammy-and Oscar-winning singer, pianist and composer headlines at the Festival Stage. He returns Sunday with Jon Batiste Presents Swamp in the Blues Tent. Between the Friday and Sunday Jazz Fest shows, Batiste goes to Atlanta for a Saturday night concert with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra.
Rhiannon Giddens
Rhiannon Giddens rose to fame as one-third of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The groundbreaking Black string band revived African American folk music traditions, winning a Grammy Award in the process. As a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and a Grammy-winning solo artist, Giddens also boldly reclaimed the banjo for Black folk musicians. The instrument previously was thought to almost exclusively belong to bluegrass and country music.
Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic returns to New Orleans this year for the band’s nineteenth appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials
Speaking from bone-chilling cold Chicago earlier this year, Lil’ Ed Williams said he was looking forward to the heat he’ll encounter when he returns to Louisiana for his eighth appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. “That’s going to be good for us,” the Windy City native said. “I love that good hot weather.”
Louis Armstrong Tribute: A conversation with Armstrong House Museum’s Ricky Riccardi
In 1925, Louis Armstrong made his recording debut as a bandleader and vocalist with his first Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five release. Previously an uncredited sideman on recordings, the Hot Five records introduced listeners to the musical brilliance and charismatic personality that made Armstrong an international star.
Defying Labels: Mr. Sipp is not one dimensional
Castro Coleman’s contributions to the Count Basie Orchestra’s 2024 album, Basie Swings the Blues, earned the charismatic Mississippian his first Grammy award. That same year, Coleman received a second Grammy nomination for his solo album The Soul Side of Sipp.
River Eckert, A Piano Prodigy, is putting good energy into the world
River Eckert made his Jazz Fest debut in 2024 at 14-years-old. A singer, pianist, composer and arranger, he’s a New Orleans native steeped in his hometown’s indigenous rhythm-and-blues and funk.
Pete Fountain: Every Note Has a Smile
Along with Louis Armstrong and Al Hirt, Pete Fountain is among the most famous jazz musicians from New Orleans. A brilliant traditional jazz and Dixieland clarinetist, Fountain became a household name in the late 1950s when millions of TV viewers watched his weekly appearances on The Lawrence Welk Show.
