Jon Batiste had a more epic week than you.
On Tuesday, he and his band uncorked a loose, sweaty hour-long pop-up show at the Maple Leaf Bar.
On Thursday, he hung out with Oprah Winfrey at WOW 2023, the University of California at Los Angeles' annual mental health summit.
And on Friday, he presided over a joyous, New Orleans-centric closing set at the 2023 Jazz & Heritage Festival’s main stage.
Jon Batiste, right, and his dancers on the Festival Stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, May 5, 2023.
The record for the number of performers on a Jazz Fest stage at one time is reportedly 95, set by the South African band Peace Train 20-plus years ago.
Batiste didn’t break the record, but he crammed a whole lot of souls onstage. They included 30-odd members of his St. Augustine High School alma mater’s Marching 100, the Gospel Soul Children choir, the four members of pow-wow band Native Soul, his own band, four dancers and a couple of dudes painted gold.
To his credit, he made it work for an utterly unique show that left little doubt as to what he’s all about.
After the gates opened Friday, the forecast rains never materialized over the Fair Grounds. Overcast skies even gave way to sunshine as crowds built throughout the day.
Jon Batiste on the Festival Stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, May 5, 2023.
That day included Betty Winn & One A-Chord spreading their own brand of goodwill in the Gospel Tent. The dozen singers in white, backed by a tight band, opened up “Love Train” and a “Lean On Me” with a reggae lilt. The original composition “He Is Our Friend” kept the good vibes going before a mash-up of “Down By the Riverside” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Lilli Lewis showcased her potent voice and Americana-and-more band at the Lagniappe Stage with “All Is Forgiven.” She also caressed Radiohead’s “Creep,” slowed down and somber at the piano, before the rest of the band kicked in.
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway perform on the Fais Do-Do Stage during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, May 5, 2023. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Fast-rising contemporary bluegrass star Molly Tuttle canceled her scheduled interview at the Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage. If it was to conserve her voice for her actual show later at the Sheraton Fais Do-Do Stage, it paid off.
The night before Jazz Fest opened, Tuttle was the featured guest with now-former Dead & Company drummer Bill Kreutzmann’s Billy & the Kids at the Saenger Theatre.
The Dead-leaning crowd turned out in force on Friday. Tuttle’s audience spilled into the Louisiana Folklife Village as she sang pure and true, backed by her string band, on the new “Eldorado” and other bluegrass-flecked workouts.
At the Kids Tent
Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes drummer Andre Bohren spent part of Friday afternoon chasing his toddler up and down the grandstand stairs. He was perhaps more successful at holding the attention of a young audience when he joined the Electric Yat Quartet to perform “Peter and the Wolf” at the Kids Tent, fully restored for the first time since the pandemic.
Deploying keyboards, two violins, a viola, a flute, an alto saxophone and, in the role of the Big Bad Wolf, an electric guitar, the ensemble told the story with instruments and narration, after warming up with a Brazilian choro. It was another kind of flavor at Jazz Fest.
Batiste presented his big show to a big crowd to close the day at the Festival Stage.
With the man of the hour on guitar, sporting a purple St. Aug Purple Knights T-shirt and shiny gold pants, he led his dozens-strong ensemble into “Tell the Truth,” from his 2021 Album of the Year Grammy-winning record “We Are.”
Jon Batiste, center, performs on the Festival Stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, May 5, 2023.
Getting so many musicians and singers on the same page is no small feat, but they played, sang and danced as one. In the first song, Batiste switched from guitar to piano to saxophone, showing off some of the dexterity that enables him to pull so many musical strands together.
“I’ve been playing music since I was a little boy,” he proclaimed. “This is not a concert. This is a spiritual practice.”
To that end, they raised their voices in the “We Are” title track before taking off on “I Need You.”
Batiste rapped the poem “Boy Hood,” also from “We Are,” before leading a chant of “there’s no place like New Orleans.”
He then turned the show over to the gold-painted dudes from his “Freedom” video. They led a throwback tour of New Orleans hip-hop classics and athletic dancing.
Jon Batiste walks into the crowd in front of the Festival Stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, May 5, 2023.
Having taken a breather, Batiste played the melody from Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” on his melodica, one of the only Maple Leaf show elements that he repeated on the big stage. He kept going through “Pop Goes the Weasel” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”
He might not have set the record for most performers, but could be the first main stage headliner to embark on a melodica solo.
Native Soul, a Native American percussion and voice quartet, took a spotlight turn before the big finish: “Freedom.”
With the St. Aug Marching 100 and the golden dancers, it was almost a live-action version of the video. Batiste’s joy was contagious.
Armed with his melodica once again, he led the whole ensemble down the stairs at the front of the stage and along the edge of the crowd, a mini-version of his famed “love parades.”
It was as Jazz Fest of a Jazz Fest conclusion as you’re likely to see on the main stage.
Note: This article has been updated to correct the name of the Native American quartet that performed with Jon Batiste.