Emerald Quintet, the collaborative outfit comprised of enigmatic saxophonist Skerik, drummer Stanton Moore (Galactic), guitarist Scott Metzger (Joe Russo’s Almost Dead), keyboardist Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars/Mike Gordon/20th Congress), and bassist Andy Hess (John Scofield Band), will return to New Orleans for a late-night show during New Orleans Jazz Fest at One Eyed Jacks on May 1st (technically early-morning May 2nd). Tickets are available here.
In 2019, Moore and Skerik celebrated the 20th anniversary of their collaboration on Stanton’s late-’90s debut solo album, All Kooked Out! They recruited Scott Metzger, Robert Walter, and Andy Hess to round out the band—now dubbed Emerald Quintet—for a late-night show during Jazz Fest to mark to occasion.
“Stanton is my brother from another mother, and I love playing with him, working with him, especially rocking out,” Skerik told Live For Live Music in a recent interview. “He’s got a jazz feel now, which is cool, but I love… I mean he is such a high-energy drummer and I have to have that, I have to have that. Where it’s just bashing, slamming… Just his ‘there’s no tomorrow’ kind of drumming, you know what I’m saying? We’ve got 20, 22 years of history of that onstage.”
Over the course of last year, Emerald Quintet began to make moves outside New Orleans. After a pair of performances at the 2019 edition of High Sierra Music Festival and a run of shows in New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado (for the November edition of Live For Live Music‘s Funk Sessions concert series), Emerald Quintet is primed and ready for a triumphant return to the Crescent City.
Related: Skerik Talks Emerald Quintet, OG Garage A Trois, Mad Season, & More [Interview]
While each of the members of Emerald Quintet stays busy touring the country with their various projects, the magic that occurs when they all connect onstage keeps the group continually coming back for more. As Skerik told Live For Live Music, “I mean, it looks good on paper. And then it sounds good on stage, too. When I say it looks good on paper, I mean as a musician when you’re thinking about it, like, ‘Oh, what would Robert, Scott, Andy and Stanton and I sound like?’ You know? Oh, it’s gotta be, it’s gotta be good. So, luckily, it’s just been happening.”
For their 2020 late-night show during Jazz Fest, Emerald Quintet will also be joined by a familiar New Orleans face (and voice), former Galactic singer Erica Falls. With Falls in the building, Emerald Quintet will have the chance to incorporate more vocally-oriented selections into their mostly-instrumental repertoire.
Get ready for a late-night blowout of monstrous proportions with a full video of Emerald Quintet’s Funk Sessions performance in Denver below:
Emerald Quintet – 11/22/19 – Full Video
[Video: Ninja Video]
Tickets for Emerald Quintet with special guest Erica Falls on May 1st at New Orleans’ One Eyed Jacks during Jazz Fest are ON SALE NOW. RSVP to the Facebook Event page for updates and more information.
See below for full show information:
Show: Live For Live Music Presents: Emerald Quintet ft. Stanton Moore, Skerik, Robert Walter, Scott Metzger, & Andy Hess, with special guest Erica Falls
Date: Friday, May 1st, 2020 (technically early a.m. May 2nd)
Venue: One Eyed Jacks – 615 Toulouse St., New Orleans, LA 70130
Doors: 1:00 a.m. / Show: 2:00 a.m.
Tickets: $40 advance / $45 day of show