“Part of the joy of Jazz Fest is being blown away by someone unexpected. I had that twice yesterday:

– Yvette Landry‘s set in the Lagniappe Tent was a beautiful surprise, and not just because she had a drink holder on her mic stand (why doesn’t everybody?). She played a set of classic honky tonk – no more, no less – but it was beautifully executed. She writes in the mode with wit and intelligence, and she has the voice to inhabit the songs’ emotional range. Richard Comeaux’s pedal steel was a tasteful jolt of electricity every time he took a solo, and the drummer whose name I didn’t catch, patiently, calmly kept the band swinging. Every year at SXSW I see three or four bands that are trying too hard and fail to do what Landry makes sound effortless.”