Gambit's Guide to French Quarter Fest 2023

It's French Quarter Fest time, y’all! One of the greatest music and culture events of the year, this year the festival is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a jam-packed line-up of New Orleans’ and Louisiana's best musicians. At its height Saturday and Sunday, the festival will be spread across some 20 stages. That's a LOT of music and even the most plugged-in Jazz Dad would have trouble figuring out what to see.

Luckily for you, our crack team of writers — along with an assist from the youngins at JRNOLA — have pulled together previews of some of the best acts that’ll be playing over the festival's four-day run, a rundown on new restaurants that have opened in the Quarter since last year and more!

French Quarter Festival presents plenty of music and food, but there's more to check out after the festival. There are new restaurants and bre…

Kermit Ruffins

Kermit Ruffins doesn't just play New Orleans jazz. He is New Orleans jazz. From the first breath he blows into his trumpet in each performance, the music and the musician are one.

The range of notes he plays are some of the most difficult to reach, and the swift changes from note to note exhibit Ruffins’ agility as his fingers spring lively from one valve to the next.

Ruffins draws a crowd no matter where he goes. He's been called a "modern Louis Armstrong," a title that carried him out of our southern boot and to the White House in 2007. Whether across the country or just down the street, Ruffins’ signature call, "All aboard!" invites his audience to hop on a rejuvenating journey of jazz that no train ride could replicate. — Sinclair McKinney

Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes are staples on the New Orleans music scene and are known for their signature blend of funk and rock. Led by the long-bearded Marc Paradis (aka Johnny Sketch), the group has been described by Rolling Stone as "What you’d get if Phish had been born at Tipitina's and studied under George Clinton and Frank Zappa."

The group started in 2001, and their longtime camaraderie is contagious. Above all, they really want their audiences to have fun, and that's practically guaranteed — Gabrielle Korein

For more than three decades Chubby Carrier and The Bayou Swamp Band have been playing their brand of classic zydeco music. A third generation zydeco artist, Carrier's family is steeped in the traditions of zydeco, and his cousins Bebe and Calvin Carrier, father Roy and grandfather Warren are all considered legends in zydeco history.

But Chubby is a heavyweight in his own right. In 2010, Chubby Carrier And The Bayou Swamp Band won a Grammy for their album "Zydeco Junkie." — Gabrielle Korein

Ernie Vincent is a master of R&B and funk whose career spans five decades. A native of south Louisiana, Vincent's career took shape in the 1960s when he began to play music with legends including Ernie K-Doe. He became a staple at music clubs in New Orleans, Acadiana and the Mississippi Delta region before forming The Top Notes in the ’70s, and his skills as a writer, instrumentalist, arranger and musicologist earned him a spot in the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2012. In January, Vincent released "Original Dap King," a 10-track album that incorporates elements of brass music, blues, rock and roll and psychedelia. The album's title is a nod to his 1972 smash, "Dap Walk." — Gabrielle Korein

Singer-songwriter Lilli Lewis’ life has revolved around music since she was a child growing up in Athens, Georgia. Drawing from R&B, gospel, jazz and funk, Lewis’ music explores a range of issues, and like many classic protest musicians of the 1960s and ’70s, social justice and human rights are clearly on her mind.

But that's not the only place Lewis’ activism can be seen. Lewis has used her platform to speak out on a variety of issues including racism, sexism and homophobia in the Americana industry. — Gabrielle Korein

New Orleans native Paul Sanchez is perhaps best known as a founder of the longtime rock group Cowboy Mouth, though he left the group long ago to focus on his solo songwriting. He also appeared as himself on the HBO show "Treme." Though he's a rock and roller at heart, Sanchez's music is philosophical and reflective of his experiences living in New Orleans, including surviving Hurricane Katrina. Much of his music is a celebration of living here, but he doesn't shy away from the dark times, either. — Gabrielle Korein

Cajun folk rock group the Babineaux Sisters Band became a regular act on the Louisiana festival circuit over the last decade, playing its brand of Cajun music. Led by sisters Julie and Gracie, the band is part of the modern movement in Acadiana to not only maintain Cajun music, language and culture but approach their traditions in new ways. The band's reach has gone beyond the Gulf Coast — their last record, "He's One of Those," reached No. 3 on the iTunes Contemporary Country charts. — Gabrielle Korein

The Iguanas have been a fixture in New Orleans’ music for over two decades. Formed in the 1990s, the group draws inspiration from a variety of genres including the blues, jazz, New Orleans R&B and even the music of the Mexico/Texas border. The group's most recent single, "My Everything," dropped in 2022 and was written by fellow New Orleanian singer-songwriter Alex McMurray. Their music has appeared in television shows such as HBO's "Treme" and "The Wire" as well as movies like "Varsity Blues." — Gabrielle Korein

jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys

Singer and pianist Anaïs St. John is influenced by musical icons that span several decades, ranging from Etta James to Eartha Kitt and Donna Summer.

She was formally trained in both opera and musical theater and also incorporates blues, jazz, disco and gospel into her repertoire.

"It's definitely a mixed bag," she says.

The New Orleans native was raised by her mother. St. John's father was the late avant-garde jazz pioneer Marion Brown, and she says she remembers joining "every choir I could get into" as a child.

"I have a feeling his influence on my life came through in his DNA," she says.

More than 25 years ago, she took her first job as a singer in the New Orleans Opera Chorus, but she veered off that path and began performing at the former Le Chat Noir cabaret theater. There she met composer, pianist and puppeteer Harry Mayronne, and the two cabaret enthusiasts became fast friends and collaborators.

St. John also has been a staple at local hotels and upscale restaurants. She performs every Saturday night at the French Quarter's Bombay Club. And she channels her inner disco queen for a Donna Summer tribute, which she’ll bring to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on June 16.

Though she's performed around the world — including at the Ascona Jazz Festival in Switzerland and other international festivals — she's looking forward to playing for a big audience right here at home.

"I like that [French Quarter Festival] is local musicians, primarily," she says. "I always want to support people working here and getting featured, because they don't get enough attention on the national scale. The big names do, but so many other [talents] don't. And this allows them to shine, and it gives us a chance to shine, and give our people a chance to see them without a very expensive ticket."

Audiences can expect an energetic and "quintessential" blend of hits at her set, she says.

"It’ll be a hip-shaking, dancing show," she says. "There's something for everybody." — Sarah Ravits

Yes, Georger Porter Jr. is the former bassist and songwriter for The Meters, recipients of a Grammy award for Lifetime Achievement . Yes, they disbanded in 1977 and reunited sporadically in later years. Yes, he's 75-years-old. But he probably also wants you to know he has his own brand of New Orleans-rooted music.

His history includes performances with legends like Dr. John, Paul McCartney, Patti LaBelle, along with left-field appearances with Jimmy Buffett, David Byrne and Tori Amos.

But Porter, the 13th Ward-born musician, mixes in funk, R&B and soul and hasn't forgotten what music means to New Orleans. His song "Crying for Hope," recorded during the pandemic, tells the story of the Black Lives Matter movement in a city that's constantly failing its fellow men, over and over.

But the classics still play throughout his current sets. "Mardi Gras Mambo" might come along with Al Johnson's "Carnival Time," just to remind you of the joy through the pain the city feels. Porter is one of the legends who created the music you think about when you think of New Orleans funk. — Deacon Lawson

Self-described as a band of "silly geese" by singer Alexis Marceaux, Sweet Crude was originally inspired to sing in both English and Cajun French to help revive the disappearing dialect.

Formed in 2013, the indie folk-rock band has released two full-length albums, and their second, 2019's "Officiel//Artificiel," marks their major label debut after signing with Verve Forecast.

When it comes to performing, live shows are Marceaux's happy place. "I go into my own little world, and the crowd is like a beam of energy coming toward me," she says.

However, that beam is a two-way exchange.

Known for energetic and improvisational sets, Sweet Crude molds their Cajun history lesson into a modern, lively performance that lights up their fans. And that spirit only gets amplified during open-air festivals like French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest.

"It feels different from the club shows," Marceaux says. "It's exciting, and the crowd is right there with us." — Finn Galarneau

It's clear in their passionate and rich music, old and new, that New Orleans runs in the Dollis bloodline. Singer Bo Dollis Jr. released his first record as Big Chief of the Wild Magnolias in 2013, taking over for his father, the late Big Chief Bo Dollis Sr.

The group has been performing in New Orleans for over 50 years and their stage presence is plenty to rouse any soul well beyond half a century. Suited in the traditional Mardi Gras Indian wear, the Wild Magnolias bring the second line to center stage with their bright, lively performances.

Their songs often feel like a jam session, but one backed by an elaborately coordinated chorus of voices. Their rendition of Al Johnson's Mardi Gras hit "Carnival Time" elicits whistles and shouts from audience members, singing the hook: "It's Carnival time, and everybody's having fun." After all, everyone at a Wild Magnolias show, from the band itself to the captivated listener, is bound to have fun. — Maya Shields

Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys bring soul to modern zydeco, a genre that reflects Louisiana's diverse Indigenous cultures. Broussard and the Cowboys’ marriage of Western and southern Creole makes for a mix of blues, country, Cajun, and Native American music.

The band's lively melodies weave emotional French-Creole lyrics between sighs of the accordion, rusty scratches of a rubboard and a rapidly bowed violin. Broussard's raw, yearning voice leads the crew, taking his listeners to a bayou oasis of his band's creation. A difficult childhood taught Broussard the transportive capability of music.

With one French Quarter Fest performance under his belt and countless Jazz Fest appearances, Broussard is no stranger to a New Orleans stage. Watching this group perform will have the heel of your cowboy boots tapping to the beat, and your straw hat bobbing on your nodding head. — Sinclair McKinney

The Hill and Andrews dynasty of distinguished jazz and R&B musicians continues with James Andrews, a native New Orleanian who holds music as close to his core values as the city does.

Andrews quickly returned after Katrina to perform at a local park to help reunite the community, saying that, together, the city would be rebuilt "note by note."

Andrews has performed within a variety of bands including the Treme Brass Band and New Birth Brass Band.

On stage, Andrews rocks to the sound of his own voice, his aura ebbing as he sings each word. The clear-cut notes from his trumpet reverberate throughout every room he plays, a musical majesty who coined the nickname "Satchmo of the Ghetto." — Sinclair McKinney

The Original Pinettes Brass Band

Chanteuse Meschiya Lake delivers dynamic, charismatic performances with The Little Big Horns. The group is a traditional jazz outfit that infuses some modern musical elements.

"It's traditional New Orleans jazz, but with a twist," Lake says. "It's a little more funky, a little more rock and roll. But we want to give a nod to our jazz predecessors and the ancestors of traditional jazz as we carry that torch."

With a magnetic stage presence and a luminous voice, Lake has been a fixture on the New Orleans music scene for more than two decades. Prior to New Orleans, she traveled around the country with a small, family-run circus doing magic tricks and singing. Her eclectic, vaudevillian background still shines through on the stage.

Lake put together the Little Big Horns in 2009, and the group gigs on Frenchmen Street at The Spotted Cat every Tuesday, serving as the soundtrack for local swing dancing events or for tipsy tourists testing out their moves.

While the band members are accustomed to playing in dimly lit clubs, Lake says they are excited to perform in broad daylight and on a bigger stage than they are used to.

"I love playing during the daytime," Lake says. "The festival is such a good cross-section of New Orleans music, and I love that people can bring kids. Connecting with the audience feels very special."

Lake also plays with multiple bands spanning genres, from Americana, rock and roll and blues to disco with one of her latest projects, The Machetes.

She’ll also be at d.b.a. on Friday with Debbie Davis, Arsene Delay, Kimberly Kay, Mia Borders and Miss Sophie Lee for "Women & Witches in Popular Music," which pays tribute to Stevie Nicks, David Bowie, Dr. John and Erykah Badu, among others.

This summer, she will travel to North Carolina to record an album that will be folk-influenced and reflective. "I’ve been sitting on a lot of that material for a decade now, but it's been one thing after another," she says. "I’m pretty determined." — Sarah Ravits

Don Vappie is a native New Orleanian who is known as one of the best banjo players in the world.

Just last year, he was inducted into the American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame, and in 2021 was awarded the Steve Martin Banjo Prize for his "living embodiment of 300 years of New Orleans music."

With seven self-produced albums — the most recent being 2019's "The Blue Book of Storyville" — Vappie describes his music as a celebration of his Creole heritage.

"(My music) is Creole in that it's connected to New Orleans, as it's connected to the Caribbean, as it's connected to the rest of the world. It's a way of life," Vappie says.

He became fascinated with the banjo at an early age and thinks of it as an instrument that reflects Creole culture. After all, it's an instrument of African descent, though it had long been co-opted by white Americans. That caused many African Americans to turn their backs on it, he says.

"The whole American racial construct caused me to delve into the meaning of what it is to be Creole," he says. "I realized the banjo was an African instrument, and I wondered why Black folks hated it so much in America. My question was: How can one people allow another people to hate something that belongs to them?"

Vappie found that the banjo helped him take pride in his ancestry. Besides, he says, he has always been a huge fan of Earth, Wind and Fire and other funk bands, and the percussive banjo reminded him of a funk instrument.

Vappie's music reflects diverse influences on New Orleans. "[The music] is part of our culture," he says. "It's part of our life — like the way you cook and talk and build your house. It's all part of one whole, which is sort of an African concept, by way of the Caribbean."

Vappie describes his style as "funky as any funk bands, swingin’ as any jazz bands, and it's danceable," he says. "It's truth. Our music is truth." — Sarah Ravits

A little more than a year ago, several members of Cha Wa announced they were leaving the band to embark on a different project, citing "irreconcilable internal differences."

Together they formed The Rumble, now comprising Second Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. of the Golden Eagles, trumpeter Aurelien Barnes, trombonist José Maize Jr., bassist TJ Norris, guitarist Ari Teitel, keyboardist Andriu Yanovski and drummer Trenton O’Neal.

The band didn't waste much time before making their debut with a residency at Maple Leaf in February 2022. And they’ve been busy playing gigs all over the city ever since.

The Rumble's members are deeply embedded in New Orleans traditions, including Black Masking Indians, the Northside Skull and Bone Gang and second line brass bands. In this new chapter, they want to incorporate and honor those traditional aspects of the city's culture, while also experimenting with new ideas and sounds.

"We're bringing a full-on New Orleans experience," Barnes told Gambit last year. "It includes the Mardi Gras Indians. It includes brass bands. It includes things like Skull and Bones Gang. It's a holistic approach to New Orleans culture."

Boudreaux's father, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, and the Golden Eagles also play French Quarter Fest at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on the Chevron Stage. — Kaylee Poche

The smooth jazz and silky vocals in Anna Laura Quinn's music make it easy to feel the sense of gently transporting back in time. Quinn counts classic-era Disney films among her influences, and that sound is almost palpable when she performs.

In fact, on her 2022 album, "Open the Door," she covers "Very Good Advice," from the 1951 "Alice in Wonderland" film.

It's one of nine arrangements of jazz standards on the New Orleans- and San Francisco-based artist's debut album, including "Comes Love" and "Speak Low." The songs feature cello, saxophone, flute and other instruments.

A standout on the album is Quinn's cover of Ellis Marsalis’ "Cry Again." "All that's left for me to do is cry and then sigh and then cry again," she laments.

Quinn graduated from the University of New Orleans’ Jazz Studies master's program in 2021 and through the program performed with prominent musicians like trumpeter Terence Blanchard, organist Lonnie Smith and even Marsalis himself before his death in 2020.

Her 2022 album followed a 2018 EP, "I Feel the Sudden Urge to Sing!," which she recorded in San Francisco.

While "Open the Door" is easy listening, during Carnival, you may have caught Quinn in a higher-energy capacity: jamming and cruising down the streets on a DIY float contraption dubbed the "truckuzzi."

Quinn can be seen at venues like Snug Harbor, Preservation Hall and Dos Jefes Uptown Cigar Bar. Saturday marks her debut performance at French Quarter Fest. — Kaylee Poche

Andrew Duhon's gruff, golden voice and deft storytelling combine into an easy, folky blues that have lent him the nickname "a soulmate of Van Morrison."

A New Orleans native, Duhon combines the texture of blues with notes of contemporary folk.

Despite being a solo artist for much of his career, Duhon recently joined forces with drummer Jim Kolacek and upright bassist Myles Weeks.

Kolacek and Weeks bring a colorful vocal harmony to Duhon's sound that can be heard in the title song of their 2022 album "Emerald Blue." The album takes listeners traveling with the band to the Washington mountains then brings them back to New Orleans, building a "Castle on Irish Bayou." Listeners of every generation will find themselves stomping with the guitar and soaking up the sounds of Duhon's new iteration. — Maya Shields

Seguenon Kone and his ensemble bring sounds and traditions of West Africa to French Quarter Fest. The Ivory Coast native infuses his sets with high-energy percussion, dancing and storytelling.

Kone has been a New Orleans resident for 15 years and has collaborated with many of the city's jazz artists, including clarinetist Dr. Michael White, as well as blues and zydeco musician Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes.

Kone shines on the balafon, a type of xylophone made of wood, and the djembe drums, which he plays with his bare hands.

There will also be plenty of traditional chants and singing. And while Kone heavily showcases his West African roots, his New Orleans influences also shine through in his lively performances. — Sarah Ravits

The Original Pinettes are an all-woman brass band that formed in 1991 at St. Mary's Academy, a Catholic girls school.

Since then, they’ve lost and welcomed many new members and brought their talents around the globe to festivals, including the Ascona Jazz Festival in Switzerland. They’ve also performed alongside big names like Katy Perry.

Though they’ve steadily been growing in popularity, the 2013 Red Bull "Street Kings" brass band blowout competition helped solidify their reputation as a premier ensemble, when they beat three (male-led) bands. The band proudly notes the competition renamed the title to honor them as "Street Queens."

The brass band also plays Friday nights at Bullet's Sports Bar in the 7th Ward. — Sarah Ravits

Jason Neville, son of Grammy winner Aaron Neville, formed his band in 2016 and incorporates a blend of funk and soul, following in the footsteps of one of the city's most influential musical dynasties. They perform frequently on Frenchmen Street at 30/90 and Cafe Negril, and at other local venues. This is the band's first time playing at French Quarter Fest and they will perform original material and some covers.

This summer, Neville and his band will bring the funk on the road for a tour that stops in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and the Pacific Northwest. — Sarah Ravits

Accordionist and singer Rosie Ledet has been playing zydeco music ever since she attended a zydeco dance at Richard's in St. Landry Parish as a 16-year-old and saw Boozoo Chavis perform.

The dance was transformational in more ways than one, as she also met Morris Ledet, the man who would become her husband about a year later. She taught herself to play the accordion listening to recordings of Chavis and John Delafose, and before long the couple started performing together with their band The Zydeco Playboys.

Rosie Ledet has released 10 albums, eight of them between 1994-2005, and she wrote many of the songs on them. She's slowed down the output in recent years — her last full album was 2015's "Raw!" — but has continued performing and released a single in 2020.

Most of Ledet's songs are upbeat, often with suggestive lyrics, some more subtle than others. But her 2020 single, "Love Song," is soft and sweet. "You’re my love song," she sings in the chorus. "Don't make me sing it alone, baby." — Kaylee Poche

This Mandeville country rock group will be ready to hoot and holler when they take the stage Saturday at French Quarter Fest.

The 6’7" Christian Serpas fronts the band singing and playing acoustic guitar, with Jeff Oteri on drums, George Neyrey on guitar, and Don Williams on bass guitar. All members contribute vocals.

Christian Serpas & Ghost Town first performed together in 1999, and Serpas joked in a 2021 WWL interview that the group might renew their vows for their 25th anniversary.

Since then, the band has put out eight albums as well as a three-track holiday release, "Rockin’ ol’ Christmas," in 2018.

Over the years, they’ve shared stages with some of the biggest names in country music including Kenny Chesney, Merle Haggard and Blake Shelton.

The band plays shows on the Northshore, New Orleans and across the South, performing original songs as well as their own lively renditions of songs from artists like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and the Rolling Stones.

And though they haven't released a full album since 2016, fans shouldn't fret. The group does have new music in the works. — Kaylee Poche

Keyboardist and singer John "Papa" Gros remembers growing up with friends who also played piano. In high school, they’d race to see who would be the first to learn to play the latest radio hit — whether it was Van Halen's "Jump" or Toto's "Rosanna" — and help each other when they were stuck.

The friendly challenges, which he writes about in his blog, were a precursor to his long career in funk, blues, traditional jazz and rhythm and blues.

Gros got his start backing up former Meters bassist George Porter Jr. and guitarist Snooks Eaglin, giving him a masterclass in musicianship.

"George Porter Jr. taught me how to function in different musical environments," Gros said in a recent Facebook post. "You adapt by having faith in the people you play with, trust in your upbringing, and comfort knowing your ears will lead the way."

From 2000 to 2013, he led his own funk band, Papa Grows Funk, which played popular weekly gigs at the Maple Leaf. When the band dissolved, it gave him a chance to revisit his solo music, and he's released two full-length solo albums since — "River's on Fire" in 2016 and "Central City" in 2020.

"Central City" features a host of New Orleans legends, including Ivan Neville, drummer Herlin Riley and even his old friend Porter, among others. It includes original tracks as well as covers of songs by Allen Toussaint, John Prine and Lloyd Price. — Kaylee Poche

The Lost Bayou Ramblers

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The son of zydeco pioneer Rockin’ Dopsie, David Rubin, aka Rockin’ Dopsie Jr., grew up listening to his father's band and hanging around music greats, like B.B. King, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Dr. John. He joined his father's band and they performed together until his father's death in 1993.

At his first show following his father's passing, Dopsie says Gatemouth Brown told him, "Now you are Rockin' Dopsie. You got to make the legacy, keep the legacy going." A natural showman, he took over the Zydeco Twisters, leading the group and playing the washboard.

"From that day on, I did what he told me, and I never looked back," Dopsie says.

While the senior Dopsie played a heavily blues influenced version of zydeco, the junior Dopsie infuses a variety of musical influences from James Brown to the Rolling Stones, B.B. King, Johnnie Taylor and John Fogerty.

"I did something that my father said he'd’ve never done," Dopsie says. "I added a horn section and an organist/keyboard player and a harmonica because I knew what I like to hear. I like the sound of a big band."

Dopsie Jr. has also made a name for himself with his lively stage antics, including breaking out into splits. He even switched over from playing the accordion, like his father played, to the washboard so he could easily put it down and dance around the stage.

He learned from his father's cousin, washboard player Chester "Shorty" Zeno, who he says would somehow pick up furniture, like a table or chair, with his mouth while performing. When Zeno could no longer play, the senior Dopsie asked his son to play festivals as a teenager in Zeno's place. The expectation: Bring a show.

"I remember telling him, 'I can't pick up no tables or chairs with my teeth. But I can dance, I can do splits,'" Dopsie Jr. says.

These days, Dopsie Jr. is working on multiple albums, including one of mostly original songs and another with his brother Dwayne Dopsie of their father's songs. He's also been approached about doing a separate cover album of his favorite songs.

And though Dopsie Jr. never goes in with a setlist, expect a high-energy set when he closes out the Chevron Stage at French Quarter Fest Sunday evening, with covers of The Doobie Brothers, James Brown and the Rolling Stones. Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers take the same stage at 2:10 p.m. It’ll be one of several festivals Dopsie Jr. has lined up this year, including Jazz Fest, MayFest in Abbeville, and more around the South and overseas.

"I want people when they leave my show to leave going, 'Oh, my God, man, Rockin' Dopsie wore me out,'" he says. "I want them to be tired when my set is over with. If I'm tired, I want them to be tired. I want them to put out the same energy I put out. I want everybody sweating and just having a good time … I want them to dance 'til they're dizzy. That's my thing." — Kaylee Poche

Calling Wanda Rouzan a fixture of French Quarter Fest might be an understatement. The R&B and traditional jazz singer says she only remembers missing playing the festival once in its 40 years.

"We closed at the first French Quarter Fest when there was one stage," she says.

Last year not even a storm could stop her from performing at the festival. "That storm came in, we saw it coming, it blew over and I was still able to do a half an hour set," she says, "Those people were soaking wet, and they did not care."

Rouzan's presence at French Quarter Fest is just one slice of her career in show business that has spanned most of her life and included singing, dancing, choreographing and acting.

As children, Rouzan and her sisters started entertaining around their 7th Ward neighborhood. They learned to sing by harmonizing with the records — the Andrews Sisters, Ray Charles, and the Boswell Sisters — that her parents, also musicians, would play. Her maternal grandmother Abigail Pellebon was also a vaudeville singer in New Orleans, and musicians like Lee Dorsey and the Brunious family worked and lived nearby.

"Historically, music was in the family," she says. "It was not only in the family, but it was in the neighborhood."

The Rouzan Sisters released their single "Men of War" in 1964, recorded with Frisco Records and performed as backup singers for R&B singer New Orleans Danny White. They also worked with composer Wardell Quezergue, singer and pianist Tommy Ridgley, and The Dixie Cups. But when they performed in clubs, they were forced to use the back door due to racial segregation.

"During those times, while we loved what we did and we were great artists, we still got second class treatment as musicians," Rouzan says.

For her French Quarter Fest set this year, Rouzan is planning to sing covers of Irma Thomas and Fats Domino as well as some originals, including the country-influenced "If You Care." She says she's been leaning toward older songs from the R&B era because many local musicians from the era have since passed away.

"My group is a ‘singing and dancing, jump on your feet, have a good time’ bunch," she says.

Rouzan says she hopes to release a new album with her friends John Boutte and George Porter Jr. and to start touring again. She also has a national TV appearance coming up during Jazz Fest and a cruise with Black Cat Productions in the fall.

Fans also can catch Rouzan at Jazz Fest when she performs at the Blues Tent on Friday, April 28. She plans to enjoy the fest afterward and is excited about one performer in particular.

"As old as my body is, Imma be right up in there with Lizzo," she says. — Kaylee Poche

Growing up as a preacher's kid, Tonya Boyd-Cannon has been singing soul music her whole life. But she says it was until around eight years ago that she began truly understanding what soul was.

"Oftentimes soul music doesn't get the attention and credit that it deserves as its own platform," she says. "Whereas soul music elements are in tons of other genres, soul music by itself has been basically pushed to the side."

Though Boyd-Cannon draws from a variety of artists and genres, soul has always remained the throughline.

"I would get on stage with artists and perform my music but also perform other artists and collaborate with other artists," Boyd-Cannon says. "And they would say, 'Tonya, I don't know what that is, but it's so soulful.'"

Boyd-Cannon competed on "The Voice" in 2015 and released her second album, "Muzic is Life" later that year. She's been working on her third album since 2018 but a lot has changed in the last five years, and she says songs she previously thought were ready she no longer thinks are ready.

On a recent trip from Cuba, Boyd-Cannon performed songs she wrote around a decade ago, and she says the crowd told her the songs made them feel at home. When she asked them what they meant by that, "they would often say a safe space to just be me," she says.

"That's what I want to bring to people, just being able to find that safe space wherever you are," she says. "I hope to bring freedom, transparency and healing through music."

While reworking the album and playing around with the title, Boyd-Cannon is paying particular attention to the power of the lyrics, something she's learning about getting her master's in Tulane University's new Black American Music program founded by Nicholas Payton and Jessie McBride.

"Words hurt but words can also heal," she says. "Words can also allow you to take a journey to find whatever that is you're searching for."

At French Quarter Fest, Boyd-Cannon is looking forward to playing near the Mississippi River and listening to the other performers. For her set, she’ll be playing "In New Orleans," which she wrote about a decade ago while teaching at McDonogh 15 and taking the students on a field trip in the French Quarter. She also will sing "Love that Never Ends" from her 2015 album as well as the classic hymn "This Little Light of Mine"

"'Love That Never Ends' is a song that is asking your love to just be patient because I do know what I want, but I just need you to be patient with me so I can find me while giving myself love to give to you," she says. — Kaylee Poche

Music has always been a family affair for Louis and Andre Michot. They hail from a big family of Cajun musicians and grew up jamming with their dad and their uncles. The brothers formed the Lost Bayou Ramblers in 1999 and in 2018 won a Grammy award for their album "Kalenda."

Frontman Louis Michot is a virtuoso on the fiddle and the accordion, with an unmistakable voice that echoes far beyond the swamps.

And though the group showcases Cajun French traditions, the artists write original material that's more contemporary.

Audiences can expect to hear traditional Acadian waltzes, as well as songs with elements of punk, rock and pop. The Ramblers are known for their improvisational skills and experimentation.

During a recent solo show, Louis Michot performed his take on the new wave/synth hit "Take on Me" by A-Ha, and he frequently collaborates with members of the Celtic punk band, The Pogues.

"You never know what we’re gonna play," Michot says. "We’re spontaneous." — Sarah Ravits

Rory Danger and the Danger Dangers

3:45-5:10 p.m. Sunday

WWL-TV Esplanade in the Shade Stage (New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint)

Aurora Nealand is a chameleon of an artist. She is widely known for her talents as a jazz musician who sings and plays the saxophone and the clarinet. But she also shines as her playfully eccentric alter-ego, Rory Danger.

As Rory Danger, Nealand leads the nine-piece Danger Dangers, a genre-bending, pop-infused, rockabilly supergroup of local artists, including members of Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, Debauche and Misfit Power.

It's a performance that incorporates theatrics, as each artist plays a character, and there's also plenty of crowd interaction. Rory is known for coming up with a theme for each show, so it's not surprising to see her local cult-like following dressed accordingly.

Nealand also plays a more traditional jazz set with The Royal Roses on Saturday at 11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Zapp's Potato Chips Stage on Bourbon Street. — Sarah Ravits

Though they come from different musical backgrounds, bassist David Anderson, drummer Tom Chute and pedal steel guitarist Dave Easley merge together to form jazz and funk trio A.C.E. — a name they got from the late blues guitarist Coco Robicheaux.

Anderson plays several electric basses as well as an acoustic upright for jazz-focused sessions, and bassist Jaco Pastorius taught him lessons on crossing over between jazz and classical music.

Meanwhile, Chute has studied Indigenous forms of music and played in a range of bands. Similarly, Easley has played in several different projects, including The Heartifacts, 3 Now 4 and the Brian Blade Fellowship, and has performed with George Porter Jr., Cyril Neville and Dr. John.

In 2021, the trio released "Adventures of the Moss Bear," which contains five free-form improvisations and one original track by Easley, "Slender Forest." Kass Krebs sings vocals on that folk rock track with hints of surf rock, including the far too relatable lyric, "I’m too sleepy for the morning light."

The improvisational nature of the other tracks lends them to being longer than a pre-arranged song. The longest is the titular track, clocking in at just more than 18 minutes, while "Pop Medley From Outer Space" is more than 12 minutes.

The trio can be seen on Frenchmen Street, including at Snug Harbor and Blue Nile, and around the city. — Kaylee Poche

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