By Kimberly Wallis
he City of Natchitoches will be hosting the 25th Jazz/R&B Festival on the downtown riverbank, Saturday, May 21, from 1 - 10:30 p.m. The annual event brings a variety of music together, from jazz and rock to soul and country, as well as onsite food vendors and arts and crafts booths.
This year’s festival headliner is the R&B/Funk legend group, the Commodores. The Grammy-award winning group has sold over 75 million albums over five decades and produced several hits, including “Brick House” and “Three Times a Lady.”
Three stages will showcase bands playing jazz, R&B, rock, Zydeco, and country music. This will include platinum-selling country star Neal McCoy of Longview, Texas, who has made it into Billboard’s Top Ten several times and has two No. 1 hits. Dwayne Dopsie and The Zydeco Hellraisers, a two-time Grammy Nominee who has also been awarded Best Zydeco Band and Best Zydeco Album by Offbeat Magazine, will also be performing.
Resurrection: A Journey Tribute, will take the stage and entertain festivalgoers with what has been called “the most authentic Journey experience anyone has ever witnessed.” The Back in Black Tribute Band will rock out on stage with their high-energy reproduction of an AC/DC concert, described as “the next best thing to AC/DC.”
Local band Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs, hailed as “Louisiana’s best show band” and the only group to have performed at every festival since its inception, will be performing some of Rare Earth’s hits with Peter Rivera, the original lead singer of the 70’s hit-making band.
Another local performer making an appearance will be DeShawn Washington, who has appeared on television performing for both The Voice and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Multiple guest performers are also slated to appear, including country artist Marty Haggard, who will be performing some of his late father Merle Haggard’s songs with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist and former Elvis Presley bandleader James Burton, who played on some of those original recordings.
The Natchitoches Jazz/R&B Festival is a one-day-only event. For more information on tickets, the full line-up and schedule, visit www.natchjazzfest.com.