2 minute read
MUSIC
They continued on a “Who’s who” through their musical catalog, performing dozens of their hits and a full 90-minute set. Townsend’s younger brother, Simon, was on rhythm guitar accompanied by Ringo Starr’s son, the amazing Zak Starkey, on drums.
Some of the other 2022 Fest headliners included Stevie Nicks, appearing beautiful and refreshed after being on stage for her first show in front of an audience in over two-andhalf years. She dedicated “Landslide” to Taylor Hawkins, drummer of the Foo Fighters. The Foo Fighters had canceled their appearance at Jazz Fest just six weeks prior due to Hawkins’ untimely death.
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You could tell all the artists were as excited to be there as the audience. Other high energy sets were delivered by The Black Crowes, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jimmy Buffett, and Ziggy Marley. Guitar virtuoso Billy Strings brought his A-game along with classic performances by Randy Newman, Erykah Badu, Elvis Costello, Trombone Shorty, Norah Jones, Boz Scaggs, Buddy Guy, and dozens more.
Maui’s own Lukas Nelson and his band, Promise of the Real, played an inspired set to a capacity crowd at the packed Gentilly Stage. Visiting with the POTR guys backstage, all were feeling the local spirit. Lukas said it was great to be back out on the road again and passed along an “aloha” to Maui.
The Willie Nelson Family Band and Melissa Etheridge band were forced to cancel last-minute due to COVID cases in their ranks.
There is truly no other city in the United States quite like New Orleans, especially when it comes to food and music. It felt like everyone was finally coming out of the cave. With spontaneous street parties and live brass bands seemingly popping up on every other corner and front porch surrounding the festival, everyone seemed joyful to be getting out after a huge worldwide shutdown and our global paradigm shift.
Being off-island and away from home for a couple of weeks brought me to the beautiful realization that the aloha spirit—and southern hospitality—are alive and well. And despite any of our unspoken differences, Jazz Fest was a joyful and beautiful experience.
As Mark Twain once said, perhaps after cruising down the Mississippi, or rolling boulders down into Haleakala Crater in the 1860s: “Travel is fatal to
Lukas Neslon & Promise of the Real.
prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts...”
All in all, it was great to be out and about again as a cultural ambassador, sharing some of our sweet aloha.
