Jazz Fest Closes with its Deepest Day on Sunday

Sunday has the potential to be a spectacular conclusion to Jazz Fest. The weather forecast looks gorgeous, and there are both proven commodities and acts you’ll be glad to discover.

The final slot on the last day of Jazz Fest presents the hardest choices of the festival. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue (5:45 p.m., Festival Stage) have grown into their role as the Sunday closer , and My Morning Jacket (5:30 p.m., Shell Gentilly Stage) are touring in support of is, their best album since Z. 

There’s also Patti LaBelle (5:45 p.m., Congo Square Stage), Kamasi Washington (5:45 p.m., WWOZ Jazz Tent), and Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives (5:30 p.m., Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do Stage). 

I’ll likely start at Stuart, who’s a consummate entertainer with a great band, and finish at Washington.

A good reason to get to Jazz Fest early is Thee Sinseers in the Blues Tent at 12:20 p.m. They record on the Colemine label, which specializes in retro R&B. Thee Sinseers are a throwback to the days of East L.A. soul featuring the stunning voice of Joseph Quiñones.

On Friday and Saturday, Son Rompe Pera was the band people were buzzing about at the Fair Grounds. On Sunday, it could easily be La Conjunto Nueva Ola, whose signature sound is new wave hits from the ‘80s played as cumbias, while the band is dressed as luchadors. They’ll play at 2:10 p.m. in the Expedia Cultural Exchange Pavilion Tent, and again at 4:20 p.m. at the Jazz & Heritage Stage. 

For more previews of Sunday at Jazz Fest, check our preview of this year’s international acts from Mexico. I look forward to Mexican Institute of Sound (1:35 p.m., Congo Square Stage; 4 p.m., Expedia Cultural Exchange Pavilion Stage), the brainchild of producer/DJ Camilo Lara. It creates dance floor-friendly, electronic pop from cumbias and traditional musical starting places. 

Also, I asked New Orleans’ Brazilian pop band Lisbon Girls (4:45 p.m., Rhythmporium Stage) to share their “Milky Way,” the songs that define their musical universe. Even if you don’t speak Spanish, you can tell that the affairs of the heart don’t always go their way, Japanese city pop is one of their inspirations so it all sounds upscale and romantic. 

Jourdan Thibodeaux et Les Rôdailleurs (4:05 p.m., Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do Stage) feel like a contemporary all-star Cajun group with Joel Savoy and Cedric Watson in Les Rôdailleurs. The secret sauce is Thibodeaux though, who has rock star swagger and an unquestioning commitment to Cajun culture. It’s one of the sets I’ll plan my day around.