NOLA NIGHT SHOW PICKS

First Weekend

By Burke Bischoff

TROUBLE NO MORE: CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND

Thursday, April 27, 7 p.m.

House of Blues New Orleans, Tickets $34-104

Trouble No More is a great Allman Brothers tribute band that is made up of six skilled musicians from Memphis, Tennessee. The group has great respect for the Allman Brothers Band and has been playing their music since the Allmans first started up in the late 1960s. Trouble No More’s Southern rock sound is so close to how the Allman Brothers Band sounded, they’re a great way to experience how the legendary band was like during its glory days. Expect to hear absolute classics including “Ramblin’ Man,” “Jessica,” “Blue Sky,” “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” “Whipping Post,” and so much more.

AXIAL TILT: A GRATEFUL DEAD CELEBRATION

Friday, April 28 & Saturday, April 29 10 p.m. Cafe Istanbul, Tickets $65

Deadheads of all ages definitely should not miss Axial Tilt’s annual Grateful Dead Celebration. Axial Tilt is a music project that was created by Flavio Ferrira, a music producer, song writer, and composer from São Paulo, Brazil. Ferrira is also responsible for helping create the music projects Xpiral and Sychotria. Axial Tilt itself was formed in New Orleans in 2015 to celebrate the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary and has put on a Grateful Dead celebration show during Jazz Fest every year since. The concerts are all-out parties and celebrations of music and harmony, all inspired by one of America’s all-time greatest bands.

LETTUCE & TOWER OF POWER WITH THE LOUISIANA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Friday, April 28, 8 p.m.

Saenger Theatre, Tickets $59-$129

Funk and jazz bands Tower of Power and Lettuce will join forces with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra to keep the good vibes going into the night. Tower of Power was formed in Oakland, California in 1968 as the Motowns and has had eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100, the most famous being “So Very Hard to Go.” The band will actually be celebrating its 55th anniversary during the Saenger concert. Lettuce is a newer funk band that was created in Boston in 1992. Two of their albums, Fly! And Crush, both appeared on Billboard’s Top Jazz and Heatseekers’ charts.

DA LOVEBIRDS: JAZZ AFTER FEST

Saturday, April 29, 10 p.m., Peacock Room, Cover $15

An intimate night of R&B awaits at the Jazz After Fest concert at the Kimpton Hotel Fontenot’s Peacock Room cocktail bar. Headliners will be wife-and-husband duo Robin Barnes and Pat Casey who perform together as Da Lovebirds. The duo brings their sultry sound to the Peacock Room every Thursday night, so there are plenty of opportunities to see them again and again. Da Lovebirds will be joined by NOLA artist Casmè, who appeared on season 19 of The Voice and has been a singer for major acts like Keith Urban and Bob, and Nigel Hall, who is the keyboardist for the funk band Lettuce and is the leader of the Nigel Hall Band.

MASTER P & FRIENDS

2ND ANNUAL CAMOUFLAGE BIRTHDAY BASH

Friday, April 28, 8 p.m.

Smoothie King Center, Tickets $114-$249

Celebrate Master P’s 53rd birthday with a night of infectious hip hop jams. The New Orleans rapper was the founder of No Limit Records, which had acts such as Snoop Dog and Mystikal signed to it. Master P himself has released 15 studio albums during his career and his best-known single “Make ‘Em Say Uhh!,” which was from his 1997 album Ghetto D, hit #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was even certified platinum. The concert will feature Erykah Badu, Ying Yang Twins, Choppa Style, Mia X, Lloyd, Jagged Edge, Webbie, Plies, Fiend, and Niq, as well as a surprise special guest.

THE METERS EXPERIENCE PLUS THE FUNKY UNCLE ALL-STARS

Friday, April 28 9:30 p.m. & Saturday, April 29, 12:30 a.m.

Zony Mash Beer Project, Tickets $72-$90

Any lover of New Orleans music needs to head out to the Meters Experience concert, which celebrates the NOLA band that is considered to be one of the originators of funk. The night will be led by Leo Nocentelli, who was the Meters lead guitarist and one of the band’s founding members. He will be joined by David Russell Batiste Sr., who was the band’s keyboardist for three years, and David Russell Batiste Jr., who was the drummer for the Funky Meters for 22 years. The Funky Uncle All-Stars will also be performing and has a sound that combines funk, soul, jazz, gospel, and blues.

TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE TREME THREAUXDOWN 7 WITH DUMPSTAPHUNK

Saturday, April 29, 8 p.m. Saenger Theatre, Tickets $49-$150

Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are back at the Saenger for what’s sure to be another raucous post Jazz Fest show. This jam session with the explosive Dumpstaphunk will also include Eric Church, Mavis Staples, Robert Glasper, and the New Breed Brass Band. The Grammy-nominated Trombone Shorty plays a mix of funk, soul, R & B, and psychedelic rock. Dumpstaphunk is a New Orleans-based group who is known as the funkiest band to rise out of the Crescent City. When Shorty takes the stage with Dumpstaphunk, it’s a show that’ll have you on your feet.

Live Music