Trombone Shorty contributed his “special guest voice” to Sunday night’s episode of The Simpsons, which brought America’s favorite (or at least, its longest-running) cartoon family to New Orleans. While the episode didn’t take place at Jazz Fest as was previously announced, it did showcase some of the Crescent City’s most beloved offerings—namely its food, booze, and music.
After their flight to Gainesville, FL is diverted to New Orleans, the Simpson family has no problem turning the unexpected trip into a good time. Early in the episode, Marge and Lisa stumble on a horn jam led by Trombone Shorty, who tells them he’s celebrating, “humidity under 98 percent.”
Trombone Shorty on The Simpsons
The episode also features an appearance by the ghost of Louis Armstrong—who helps Lisa regain her confidence as a jazz musician—as well as a lengthy montage that finds Homer enjoying over a dozen iconic New Orleans dishes at over a dozen iconic New Orleans restaurants.
Homer Eats His Way Through New Orleans
The Simpsons‘ writers described Sunday night’s detour to New Orleans as a “love letter” to the city, making for a much different take than the show’s last New Orleans-themed episode, “A Streetcar Named Marge”. That classic 1992 offering featured a song with lines like, “If you want to go to hell, you should take that trip / To the Sodom and Gomorrah on the Mississip!/ New Orleans! Stinking, rotten vomity pile!/ New Orleans! Putrid, brackish, maggoty, vile!”
As previously reported, Live for Live Music is gearing up for our own trip to New Orleans, where we’ll be putting on a series of Jazz Fest after shows and daze between shows at clubs across town. You can check out our late night guide for a comprehensive list of what New Orleans has to offer during Jazz Fest (hint: Trombone Shorty’s Treme Threauxdown is slated for Saturday, April 28th at the Saenger Theatre), and you can check out our late night lineup below.
