Feelin' the Vibe

Pretty much the main reason why we chose New Orleans as the destination to celebrate my cousin's birthday was because of their huge annual music event, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. And when we saw who were performing that weekend, it was a done deal.

The festival took place at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, roughly a 15-20 min ride from our hotel. The first day, we got a cab to drop us and pick us up. The next day, we took the streetcar there and rode the metro bus back. I was uber excited to hop on the streetcar. Given the one that was meant to be active in DC almost 3 years ago has yet to even rev up its engine. And then there was that one time when I tried to hop on the streetcar in San Fran, my friends (locals) balked at the idea. "Only tourists get on that." Um, duh. I am a tourist. *le sigh* Anywho, walking to the festival venue was definitely out of the question. Not with the sun blazing on us. Speaking of the sun, it was a menace. Due to no clouds in the sky and barely any wind, the sun was just happy to give us hell. With no umbrella to shield us, folks just had to take the loss. It absolutely drained us by the end of the day. However, a huge plus was the festival ended at 7pm each day. On the dot. I thought that was brilliant. 

The racetrack was filled up with plenty of booths featuring food (had a helping of crawfish mac-n-cheese; 'twas good), drinks (thankfully, the Hand Grenade was not being sold because, yo...), and wonderful art to view. The festival also had 12(!!!) stages. Yep. That means, twelve performers on stage sorta kinda around the same time. Amazing.

Friday afternoon/evening had Estelle and No Doubt. 

You mean, I actually get to see my BFF (that's Gwen Stefani, by the way) perform live? And for the very first time? Take me there!

Estelle

All for No Doubt.

Yes, Gwen! (And Tom and Adrian.)

Saturday evening's lineup was a monster: Ed Sheeran. Elton John. T.I. 

However, slight problem.

All three were scheduled to perform at the same damn time on three different stages. How rude.

Well, since T.I.'s set had a 30 minutes head start, we decided to see him first. Turns out his set was so good, that we ended up staying throughout. So no Ed and no Elton. Still kind bummed about Ed. I really want to see that dude perform live.

All for T.I.

The last day, Sunday, had Lenny Kravitz. Unfortunately, he was performing around the same time we planned on heading back to Houston. womp womp. Maybe next time, Lenny.

To see what I wore on the first day of the Festival click here.

Up next? All 'bout the food.