Issue Articles — Features
Jazz Fest A to Z
From Jamaica to Congo Square, the 2026 Jazz Fest celebrates global roots and local soul and music that is manna from heaven for music lovers. The cultural focus this year is Jamaica, which not only includes performances from Ziggy Marley, the Skatalites, Protoje, Kaya Jonkunnu, Kevin Downswell, Original Koffee and many others, but also a new food vendor, Afrodisiac, a Gentilly-based Jamaican-Creole fusion restaurant. Palmer’s Jamaican Cuisine will return with their Jerk Chicken as well as other favorites, Crawfish Monica from Big River Foods, Trout Baquet from Li’l Dizzy’s Café and Crawfish Bread from Panaroma Foods, and many more.
Cameron Dupuy
He has “the best of all possible worlds,” said Cameron Dupuy’s father and longtime bandmate, Michael, about his talented accordion-playing son. But unlike the Kris Kristofferson song of the same name, Cameron never smacked a cop with a wine bottle and spent the night in a cold jail cell.
Lake Street Dive
Lake Street Dive’s energetic and joyful sound is so uncategorizable that you run out of superlatives so quickly to describe them that you need to come up with new words. The quintet delivers some happifying music, with rootsy, Beatles-inspired vocal harmonies, and satisfying lyric stories.
D.K. Harrell
“Hardly a week goes by that I’m not amazed by something he does,” says Michael Kinsman, manager of rising blues phenom D.K. Harrell. “He is always coming up with something else, surprising me. And so often he makes it look effortless. I don’t think he realizes that. I think he thinks everybody should be able to do this.”
Dee-1
It’s been a hot year for Dee-1. National podcasts, guest verses and new levels. By press time, his new album and podcast—both expected to be titled The Shift—should have dropped. Though on a larger platform, his message remains steady. Of course, this naturally leads to both more supporters and detractors. As he’s learning more than ever, sometimes bold is a (metaphorical) punch in the nose, but other times it’s a tap on the shoulder. It was necessary to understand more about this most unique New Orleans-gone-national rapper.
Jelly Joseph
Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph is as New Orleans as boiled crawfish and second lines. She’s a versatile raised-in-the-church singer who is as charismatic and engaging as it gets. A sharp mind and a deep soul are also what she brings to the table. Her new single just dropped from an upcoming album, and she’s about to headline Jazz Fest for the first time. Her jam session at JAMNOLA on April 29th promises to be must-see.
Davell Crawford
Davell Crawford spends a lot of time on the bayou these days. Not a bayou in Louisiana, where he lived and worked for decades—but a Hudson River bayou just upstate from Manhattan, where he’s made his home and creative base since Katrina. His idiosyncratic, often brilliant career earned him the nickname “Piano Prince of New Orleans” a long time ago, but maybe now he can add “Piano Prince of Piermont” to his resume.
Pastor Jai Reed
Jai Reed loves praising, singing and helping those in need. As the pastor of the New Beginnings Church for almost 17 years and as a professional vocalist for most of his life, Reed has satisfied these passions by serving the people within and outside the walls of the church.
Kids Tent
The Jazz Fest Kids’ Area isn’t just for kids. It’s for the young at heart of all ages who want to take a deep dive into creativity, dance and drum to Jamaican ska and reggae riddims from this year’s Cultural Exchange Pavilion artists and learn how to make their own Mardi Gras throws and costumes in the crafting tents.
Karen Ocker
Karen Ocker’s award-winning assemblage of art pieces mine the deep well of iconic New Orleans music and musicians and have been widely exhibited and collected throughout the U.S. and Europe.
