On Tuesday, Daze Between New Orleans continued a growing festival tradition between the magic and the madness of New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival weekends with the first day of its fourth-annual event.

Things look a little different at Daze Between New Orleans this year. Last year’s third-annual edition of the festival doubled as a sendoff for Faubourg Brewing Company in New Orleans East, which closed down soon after Gov’t Mule closed out last year’s Daze Between. On Tuesday, Daze Between New Orleans settled into its new home at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in Louis Armstrong Park, steps away from the historic Congo Square, where fans enjoyed heavy-hitting, guest-filled performances inside the opulent venue by lespecial (with Skerik and surprise guest Mike Dillon), moe. (with the Dumptaphunk Horns), and Umphrey’s McGee (one original set with Jeff Coffin and Jennifer Hartswick plus a Led Zeppelin tribute set with John Bonham’s son, Jason Bonham, and vocalist James Dylan). All the while, guests and passersby drifted through the free, public Daze Between Block Party to sample craft vendors, food trucks, and live local brass bands by the park’s scenic fountain, underscoring the communal spirit of good music and good food central to New Orleans culture.

lespecial started the day off bright and early at 4 p.m. with a hard-hitting set that offered a jolt of electricity to those of us running the full Olympian two-weekend marathon of Jazz Fest. The dark, cavernous, briskly air-conditioned Mahalia Jackson Theater was quite a departure from the sun-baked afternoons at Faubourg, and lespecial was similarly quite a step away from the jazz and funk that fills the air in New Orleans for these two weeks. The crunch of the band’s prog-rock songs like “Snells Feet”, “Onlookers”, and “Lungs of the Planet” has much more in common with Metallica than The Meters, so a billed sit-in by saxophonist Skerik may have come as a surprise to some. But Skerik, never one to be put into any confined stylistic box, was a perfect fit with lespecial, locking into the band’s propulsion and pushing bassist Luke Bemand, guitarist Jonny Grusauskas, and drummer Rory Dolan to the edge like he does every musician he gets onstage with.

Speaking of edge, lespecial also called up the band’s “Jazz Dad,” Mike Dillon, plus moe.’s Jim Loughlin for some dueling vibraphone action. The expanded lineup dipped into Skerik and Dillon’s shared catalog with “Punk Rock Guilt” and “Gorelick” from Critters Buggin’ and The Dead Kenny Gs, respectively, as well as their joint resume working with Les Claypool on the Fearless Flying Frog Brigade‘s “Up on the Roof”. Who knew saxophone and vibraphone could hit so hard with skull-rattling metal syncopation? Anyone who has seen Skerik and Mike D before.

Related: Mike Dillon & lespecial Started A Punk-Rock Band? Fackn’ A! [Interview]

“It’s been an honor learning to play this music with these legends and learning to defeat Kenny G together,” bassist Luke Bemand beamed toward the end of the set.

lespecial — Daze Between New Orleans — Mahalia Jackson Theatre — New Orleans, LA — 4/29/25

[Audio: Keith Antaya]

Giving the stylistic wheel a Price is Right-level spin, moe. came up next to deliver a set of ’90s-style jam band fireworks. The band stretched out in its lengthy two-hour, single-set performance, settling in with classics “Stranger Than Fiction”, “All Roads Lead Home”, and “Spine of a Dog”, which led into a soaring “Buster”.

After giving the flying pig a stellar airing, moe. brought out Dumpstaphunk trumpeter Ashlin Parker, tenor saxophonist Brad Walker, and trombonist Alex Wasily for the remainder of the set. While the horn trio was an obvious fit for covers like Little Feat‘s “Spanish Moon” and The Band‘s “Ophelia”, the Dumpstaphunk horns proved their versatility as they helped push Blue Öyster Cult‘s “Godzilla” to a beautifully dark and chaotic place. Naturally, moe. ended its 5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. happy hour set with “Happy Hour Hero”—a perfect closer for the daytime set a few blocks from the debauchery of Bourbon Street.

moe. w/ The Dumpstaphunk Horns – “Godzilla” (Blue Öyster Cult) [Pro-Shot] – 4/29/25

moe. — Daze Between New Orleans — Mahalia Jackson Theatre — New Orleans, LA — 4/29/25

[Audio: Keith Antaya]

Umphrey’s McGee split its headlining performance into two sets, with the starting six of Joel Cummins, Brendan Bayliss, Jake Cinninger, Ryan Stasik, Kris Myers, and Andy Farag diving straight in with instrumental “1348”. From the first notes, Umphrey’s delivered a crunch that’s often notably absent from the Jazz Fest season. Something that has helped Daze Between grow into an annual tradition is the festival’s commitment to delivering some flavors not easily found on Jazz Fest’s massive menu.

After locking into some techtonic jams that shifted beneath Myers and Farag’s drum syncopation, Umphrey’s brought out Hartswick and Coffin. The band has performed with these guests for decades, but this was the first time with the power duo.

Umphrey’s McGee, Jennifer Hartswick, Jeff Coffin — “Booth Love” [Pro-Shot] — 4/29/25

The horn section was put to good use on “Booth Love”, “Night Nurse”, and “Wife Soup”, Umphrey’s McGee once again proving its malleability in any stylistic situation. Though this was billed as an original set (in contrast to the Zeppelin set to follow), Umphrey’s couldn’t resist getting Hartswick on vocals as she handled Bon Scott duties on the band’s Zonkey mashup “Electric Avenue to Hell”—its first performance since March 26th, 2022 (252 shows ago).

For the evening’s grand finale, Umphrey’s McGee summoned the stadium-rock prowess of Led Zeppelin with help from Jason Bonham and his Robert Plant sing-alike ringer James Dylan. With Myers, Farag, and Bonham all adding to the rumbling, three-piece drum section, the band fired through “Immigrant Song” and “What Is and What Should Never Be” to start the set. Through these faithful recreations of classic rock anthems, Umphrey’s McGee found plenty of ways to inject its own identity, particularly on the already very Umphrey’s-sounding “The Song Remains the Same”, the jam on “Fool in the Rain” (“Umphrey’s McGee has played this song 50 times,” Bayliss noted, “but never with these guys”), and the avant breakdown of “Whole Lotta Love”, where the band blazed blood red murder lights and brooded in the chaotic space. A hard-hitting “Kashmir” may have been the highlight of the show for this writer, not long before the set wound down with “No Quarter”, “Ramble On”, “How Many More Times”, and finally “The Ocean”.

When they returned for their encore, Bayliss explained that they wanted to keep playing Zeppelin but Bonham had requested to play a song by Umphrey’s McGee before barreling into a climactic “Conduit” to close Daze Between New Orleans 2025 day one.

Umphrey’s McGee, Jason Bonham, James Dylan — “Immigrant Song” (Led Zeppelin) — 4/29/25

Umphrey’s McGee, Jason Bonham, James Dylan — “Ramble On” (Led Zeppelin) — 4/29/25

Umphrey’s McGee, Jason Bonham, James Dylan — “How Many More Times” (Led Zeppelin) — 4/29/25

[Video: Katherine Seals]

After the festivities at the Mahalia Jackson Theater, members of Umphrey’s McGee and moe. linked back up at Toulouse Theatre for an official Daze Between New Orleans late-night show billed as Daze by Nite. Check out a clip from the intimate late-night session below.

Daze Between New Orleans returns to the Mahalia Jackson Theater today, April 30th, with The Headhunters featuring Eric Krasno and Weedie Braimah, a celebration of The Meters led by George Porter Jr. and Leo Nocentelli, and the all-star Allman Betts Band New Orleans Family Revival. Tickets are still on sale here. If you can’t make it to the show, stream it on nugs. Daze Between is part of Live For Live Music‘s Fest by Nite series of shows in New Orleans during Jazz Fest. Find the full event calendar here.

Check out some photos of day one below by Jay Strausser and Dave Vann.