2014 New Orleans Jazz fest schedule revised to give Bruce Springsteen an extra hourThat's right, you're gonna give me more time: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band now have an extra hour onstage at the 2014 New Orleans Jazz Fest.
Keith Spera, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on April 14, 2014 at 10:54 AM
When the full 2014 New Orleans Jazz Fest schedule was unveiled in late March, Bruce Springsteen partisans noticed his relatively modest allotment of only 1 hour and 50 minutes at the Acura Stage on Saturday, May 3. That would make for a far shorter show than typical E Street Band marathons; an April 12 gig in Virginia Beach, Va., clocked in at 3 hours and 10 minutes. And it was significantly less time than Springsteen was afforded with his Seeger Sessions Band at Jazz Fest in 2006 and with the E Street Band in 2012.
Well, the Boss has been given a raise. Jazz Fest's producers have revised the schedule so Springsteen can play two hours and 45 minutes. He and the E Street Band are now slated to start at 4:15 p.m., nearly an hour earlier than previously scheduled, and end at 7 p.m. If they run over by a few minutes, they may tie jam band Phish - scheduled for three hours on the first Saturday, April 26 -- for the longest show at the 2014 Jazz Fest.
Reportedly, Springsteen's camp requested the additional time. This wasn't the first time Jazz Fest's producers scrambled to accommodate a request from the Boss. The 2012 Jazz Fest was already fully booked and scheduled when Jazz Fest producer/director Quint Davis received an email from Springsteen's agent, asking if there was any way the E Street Band could be a top-secret, late addition to the roster.
Beefing up the Boss's time for the 2014 Jazz Fest triggered a domino effect that altered the "cubes" on two days and multiple stages.
The most significant change, obviously, was to the May 3 Acura Stage schedule. Now, only four acts will play on Acura on May 3. The previously scheduled opener, local salsa and meringue specialists Rumba Buena, has been moved to Friday, April 25 on the Samsung Galaxy Stage. Singer Marc Broussard, previously the second act on Acura on May 3, is now up first, at 11:20 a.m. His performance time was also extended by five minutes.
Allen Toussaint follows Broussard at 12:45 p.m., 50 minutes earlier than previously scheduled. His set length remains the same; he'll now finish at 1:55. Guitarist Tab Benoit's Voice of the Wetlands Allstars will now play from 2:25 to 3:30 p.m.; they lost five minutes of time. Springsteen and company hit at 4:15 p.m.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will close out the Acura Stage at 5:10 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the 2014 New Orleans Jazz Fest. (David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, play the Acura Stage at the 2012 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell on the first Sunday April 29, 2012.
David Grunfeld / NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Moving Rumba Buena to the Samsung Galaxy Stage on April 25 reconfigured that stage's opening day schedule. Rumba Buena will now open the stage at 11:20 a.m., instead of local modern rock band Rotary Downs. Rotary Downs was pushed back to 12:40, and plays until 1:45 p.m.
Blues guitarist Chris Thomas King, previously scheduled for 12:40 at Samsung on April 25, has moved to the Blues Tent at 1:30 p.m. To make room for King, Little Freddie King's Blues Tent set was bumped back to 12:20 p.m. in the Blues Tent - the slot where blues harmonica man J. Monque'D was.
Where is J. Monque'd now? He's been moved to "Springsteen Saturday," May 3. He'll play from 12:15 to 1:05 p.m., in a slot previously occupied by Ginga Mundo Capoeira of Brazil.
Ginga Mundo, one of several acts being imported from Brazil as part of Jazz Fest's celebration of that country's music and culture, was already booked for two other gigs at the Fair Grounds, on Thursday, May 1 and Sunday, May 4.
Thus, the end result of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band gaining an extra hour is that a band from Brazil gets an extra day off.
Here is the revised Acura Stage schedule for Saturday, May 3, 2014:
11:20 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Marc Broussard
12:45 to 1:55 p.m. Allen Toussaint
2:25-3:30 p.m. Voice of the Wetlands Allstars
4:15-7 p.m. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/index.ssf/2014/04/2014_new_orleans_jazz_fest_sch_3....