On the second Saturday night of Jazz Fest 2024, a loaded krewe of luminaries from the Big Easy and beyond took the hallowed stage at The Joy Theater for Crescent City Classics, a sold-out performance honoring the long, storied lineage of funk, soul, and R&B music in New Orleans.

Expanding upon Live For Live Music and GMP Live‘s Fest by Nite tradition of all-star New Orleans love letters like Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper, NOLA 50, and Lett Us In The Dumpsta, this to-heroes, by-heroes NOLA funk celebration was helmed by house band featuring Dumpstaphunk‘s Ivan Neville (keys, vocals), Ian Neville (guitar, co-musical director), Tony Hall (bass, vocals), Deven Trusclair (drums), and Alex Wasily (trombone); Lettuce‘s Adam Deitch (drums), Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff (guitar), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone), and Eric Benny Bloom (trumpet, percussion); and original Lettuce member/decorated bandleader, producer, etc. Eric Krasno (guitar, co-musical director).

As the set moved through decades worth of formative New Orleans material, various local heroes cycled in to lend a hand. The Meters bassist/vocalist George Porter Jr. helped open the set by leading an homage to Earl King via “Come On (Let The Good Times Roll)” and nodding to his time as a session player with “Get Out Of My Life, Woman”, the Allen Toussaint-penned, Lee Dorsey-sung track famously recorded in 1965 with The Meters as the backing band. Vocalist Erica Falls gave the Soul Queen of New Orleans, Irma Thomas, her flowers with a rendition of Irma’s Toussaint-penned classic “Ruler of My Heart”, then stayed to bring the great Jean Knight into the evening’s NOLA soul heritage conversation with a smooth “Mr. Big Stuff”.

John Papa Gros played the role of Mac Rebennack Jr. on a pair of Dr. John favorites, “Qualified” and “Right Place, Wrong Time”, then stuck around for a Papa Grows Funk staple, “Soul Second Line”, dedicated to Russell Batiste Jr., a recently departed member of the NOLA funk family who played on the original track. Late in the night, The Uptown Ruler himself, Cyril Neville, slid through to lend his one-of-a-kind voice and sanguine swagger to The Wild Magnolias‘ Mardi Gras classic “New Suit”, The Neville Brothers‘ “Brother Jake”, and The Meters’ “No More Okey Doke”, then returned with the band for an emphatic “Cabbage Alley” encore.

Even when there were no “extra” guests in play, the night’s contextual stakes added weight to various selections—from Ivan Neville singing the lead vocals his father famously recorded on the Toussaint-written “Hercules” to a Tony Hall-led “Night People” that resonated deeply with bleary-eyed, second-weekend Fest-ers to the “Crescent City classic” that hosted it all, The Joy Theater, a historic monument to the rich creative lineage and resilient ethos of New Orleans.

Related: Tracing The Genetic Code Of New Orleans Funk Music

Of course, with all of the celebration of New Orleans music greats going on, it was hard not to feel the recent loss of another cohort in Crescent City sound, Dumpstaphunk bassist Nick Daniels III, who succumbed to cancer just as Jazz Fest began. If this was any other year, there’s a good chance he would have been in this all-star band, feting his musical heritage alongside his brothers in arms. The fact that Nick’s memory was now part of the history being celebrated—part of the vibrant thread that connects past, present, and future through the funky heart of New Orleans—was surely not lost on anyone in attendance at the Joy, least of all those onstage. But that’s exactly how they memorialize those lost down in New Orleans: Music. Celebration. Keeping their spirit alive.

crescent city classics, joy theater, joy theater marquee, nick daniels iii
[The Joy Theater marquee, 5/4/24]

Late in the show, an admittedly exhausted Ivan Neville polled the band about who had another gig to get to after this one. Virtually everyone onstage raised their hand. Even on a classic Jazz Fest night in the Crescent City, at an instant-classic show, on an evening on which every detail was steeped in significance, this simple exchange underscored the true magic of the Big Easy sound: No matter what may be going on around it, this music persists. Always has, always will.

Below, check out the full setlist from the inaugural Crescent City Classics at New Orleans, LA’s The Joy Theater during New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2024. Scroll down to view a selection of crowd-shot videos from the performance as well as a gallery of photos via James Cook.

Setlist: Crescent City Classics | The Joy Theater | New Orleans, LA | 5/4/24

Set: Come On (Let The Good Times Roll) (Earl King) [1], Get Out Of My Life, Woman (Allen Toussaint for Lee Dorsey) [1], Street Parade (Earl King), Action Speaks Louder Than Words (Chocolate Milk), Hercules (Allen Toussaint for Aaron Neville), Ruler of My Heart (Allen Toussaint for Irma Thomas) [2], Mr. Big Stuff (Jean Knight) [2],  Qualified (Dr. John) [3], Right Place, Wrong Time (Dr. John) [3], Soul Second Line (Papa Grows Funk) [3], Night People (Allen Toussaint for Lee Dorsey), Groove Me (King Floyd), Quitters Never Win (Dr. John), New Suit (The Wild Magnolias) [4], Brother Jake (The Neville Brothers) [4], No More Okey Doke (The Meters) [4]

Encore: Cabbage Alley (The Meters) [4]

[1] featuring George Porter Jr. (vocals, bass)
[2] featuring Erica Falls (vocals)
[3] featuring John Papa Gros (vocals, keys)
[4] featuring Cyril Neville (vocals)

Notes: House band featured Ivan Neville (keys, vocals), Tony Hall (bass, vocals), Deven Trusclair (drums), Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff (guitar), Adam Deitch (drums), Eric Krasno (guitar), Ian Neville (guitar), Alex Wasily (trombone), Eric “Benny” Bloom (trumpet, percussion), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone).