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Natchitoches’ annual jazz festival on April 15 and 16 brought the sun out along with a crowd of appreciative fans who lined the riverbank and spread across the lawns and sidewalks of the downtown Natchitoches area. The music could be heard bouncing off the riverbank through Friday evening into the late night of Saturday, with music headliners and legends.
James Burton, whose guitar genius backed some notables as Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Elvis Costello and Willie Nelson, was the special guest of Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs. Burton not only shared his great music with the fans but presented the Boys and Girls Club with a donation of 20 guitars to help young people in the area learn to play music and to serve as a symbol of the need to continue music as an important domain for young people for entertainment and learning.
A Jimmy Buffet-style performance from Jimmy Bluffet and his Coral Reef Band paid tribute to Jimmy Buffet in true sound-alike strains that made folks imagine the real Buffet on stage. Lee Wilder transforms himself Buffet-style in a way that is more than flattery but sincere talent in what would be stand-alone style as well.
Numerous other groups, including headliners LeRoux, a group that was established in 1977 and best known for “New Orleans Ladies,” gave evidence that Natchitoches is no small player in bringing out Louisiana’s best musical traditions.
