French Quarter Fest – Saturday

Saturday was another beautiful day at French Quarter Fest. After 2 days at the upriver stages, we spent the third day hopping between the 2 less crowded stages at the historic U.S. Mint. The traditional Storyville Stompers Brass Band started our day with local standards like, “I’ll Fly Away.” We had the breakfast platter ($8) and some donuts at nearby Wink’s Bakery then headed back for The Revealers’ reggae beats.

Happy Talk Band played some fairly dark original music as children gathered to dance, run, jump and do cartwheels in front of the stage. Watching the kids playing with such unbridled enthusiasm was at least as fun as swaying to the music under the shade of live oaks and brought me back to my own childhood when running in circles brought me joy. The band played their rendition of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” for the tikes at some point.

We hit the Rouses tent for a giant Crawfish Family Platter ($40) with corn and potatoes (single serving $10) then settled in for New Breed Brass Band, my favorite up-and-coming brass band. Their super-tight covers are so reimagined, they sound entirely new. I especially love their version of Rick James’ “Mary Jane.”

On our way back to the other side of The Mint, we grabbed a creamy, chocolate Quintin’s Ice Cream ($6). Tank and the Bangas took the stage by storm. The self-proclaimed “Alice in Ghetto-land” Tank vacillated between rap, spoken word, a child-like voice and straight-up great singing. The show was almost like a musical with characters and stories and LOTS of movement. Tank has an almost cosplay approach to her stage persona and look – and yet everything about her original music and her band’s performance feels authentic. It’s kooky, captivating and often empowering.

We caught the tail-end of the Stooges Brass Band to finish our day. Brass bands are my favorite local music so their funky set was the perfect end to another amazing day at French Quarter Fest. I’ll be live Tweeting again all day Sunday @KnowSmallParts.