Beautiful Louis Armstrong Park, named for the legendary jazz trumpeter and the original site of Congo Square—the birthplace of New Orleans’ music—serves as the ideal setting for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s Tremé Creole Gumbo Fest. Get ready to stand up and party during two jam-packed days that reverberate with some of the city’s finest rhythm and blues (R&B), funk, and brass music.
Saturday, November 9, jump starts at 11 am with the jazz and brass beats of Da Truth Brass Brand, followed by folk and modern R&B from storyteller Kelly Love Jones. Up next, the Tremé Brass Brand pays homage to the Faubourg Tremé, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods and early stomping grounds of many of the band’s members. Bedecked in traditional uniforms complete with white cap, the marching band brings a timeless New Orleans’ brass sound to the stage. Classically trained vocalist, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, will entertain the late afternoon crowd with her powerful soul music, while the Brass-A-Holics are set to shut down the evening revelry with a fun mix of go-go funk intertwined with New Orleans brass.
Naydja CoJoe returns to the Tremé Creole Gumbo Festival with a performance on Sunday, Nov. 10.
Festive sounds return Sunday with the traditional second-line sounds of Knockaz Brass Band, the smooth jazz vocals of Naydja CoJoe, and the official Game Day DJ of the New Orleans Saints, DJ Raj Smoove & Friends. As the afternoon heats up, the Charmaine Neville Band, headlined by the daughter of one of the Neville Brothers and piano genius Amasa Miller, will deliver a melting pot of blues, R&B, funk and jazzy ballads. The Soul Rebels close out the event with a unique special blend of jazz, funk, and hip-hop played by their energetic brass ensemble.
But why wait ‘til the weekend to get the party started? Grab tickets for the Tremé Kickoff Concert Friday night at 8 pm, which brings Deacon John & The Ivories to the stage of the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center (1225 N. Rampart Street). Saturday and Sunday’s entry to the Tremé Creole Gumbo Fest is free; tickets to Friday night’s Kickoff Concert cost $10. For Kickoff Concert tickets and a complete schedule of events, visit New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s Tremé Creole Gumbo Fest.
