Chili Peppers, the Who help honor lost heroes and time as New Orleans' Jazz Fest returns strong

NEW ORLEANS — The first weekend of Jazz Fest at times felt like one long funeral. And by its host city's rich standards, that means it was actually a great party.

Music lovers from across the country converged at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in return-to-normal numbers Friday through Sunday after two calamitous years off. Seeing the packed and partying crowds there signaled the safe arrival of a full slate of music festivals this summer — and the reopening of the Crescent City itself, which suffered doubly during the pandemic thanks to Hurricane Ida.

There was a lot of holy ground to cover.

Memorial commemorations dotted the schedule all weekend, from family members remembering local legends Dr. John and Ellis Marsalis Jr. at the festival to the Red Hot Chili Peppers honoring Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters — who were supposed to headline the main stage Sunday.

"It means a lot to us to be able to play for them," Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith said toward the end of his band's rather no-nonsense set, which had been announced just two weekends earlier after Hawkins' sudden death on March 25.

Hawkins' widow, Alison, and Foo frontman Dave Grohl were both seen watching from the wings. "We love the Foo Fighters, and we love our brother Taylor," Smith added.

Armed with an impressively hard-throttling batch of new songs and the return of heyday guitarist John Frusciante — what a difference he makes — the Chili Peppers are old Jazz Fest regulars who lent their star power to help reignite the event this year. Another one of those was the Who, which made good on a booking at the COVID-stymied 2020 festival as 78-year-old singer Roger Daltrey also sounded good and strong after two years off.

The Who guitarist's bond grew even stronger later that night when he played a surprise set at puny, old-school jazz haven Preservation Hall in the historic French Quarter, which is finally open again but with new sign-of-the-times COVID restrictions: Attendees can no longer wait in line to get in but have to buy tickets online ahead of time instead. One more thing in the Big Easy that's not as easy as it used to be.

Second-line jazz musicians stayed busy on the festival grounds all weekend. Funeral processions and other memorials were held there for several Jazz Fest mainstays, including festival founder George Wein, NOLA music icon Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack and jazz patriarch Marsalis.

Celebrated onstage Sunday with a tribute set by his many musical offspring, Marsalis was a COVID victim in 2020 at age 85. Dr. John suffered a heart attack after the last fest was held in 2019.

"His wish for us would be to keep New Orleans music going," Rebennack's daughter, Karla Platt, said during an emotional tribute Saturday in the middle of the fairgrounds — where Dr. John acolyte Jon Cleary performed and a permanent "Ancestors" cutout was unveiled bearing his likeness.

Other legendary New Orleans acts kept the music going after recently losing key members.

Another of New Orleans' greatest living legends, R&B pioneer Irma Thomas of "Time Is on My Side" fame showed her gratefulness to be still going strong by delivering a passionate, spiritual rave-up in the festival's gospel tent Saturday.

"Two years is too long," Thomas said, expressing how happy she was to see Jazz Fest finally lending its powers to her beloved hometown.

Some of the liveliest sets of the weekend were born out of some of Louisiana's oldest music traditions, Cajun music on the bayou-centric Fais Do Do stage. Highlights there included: Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, who also welcomed back a key member (ace fiddler David Greely); fellow Lafayette area mainstays the Lost Bayou Ramblers, whose Saturday afternoon performance edged on Replacements-like, loose-nut mayhem; and resilient 1970s-era hitmaker Doug Kershaw, 84, who talked nearly as much as he sang — which may have been just as entertaining. (Even more so for those who understood his thick drawl.)

Another survivor who's equal-parts character and singer, CeeLo Green also offered a lot of humorous talking during his set before Lionel Richie on the main stage Friday afternoon. What was really fun about Green's performance, though: It got turned into a tribute/alter-ego set honoring James Brown, complete with splits and other dance moves, driving horns and funk lines, and lots of boastful banter.

"The soul of James Brown will live on through me; I assume the position," Green cracked.

Like sugar and spice. So nice.

Weekend 2: The fest continues Thursday with Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks, Erykah Badu and Trombone Shorty among the big names, nojazzfest.com.

Listen online: New Orleans station WWOZ broadcasts live from the festival and features related content all week, wwoz.org.