The Kyiv-based band is one of the few international acts on the bill when Jazz Fest starts on Friday.

[Updated] Jazz Fest’s stage-closers get that position because of their fame, so they’re rarely really news. The locals are similarly familiar because they’re local, but the international acts give the festival some urgency. They frequently offer music that is new to us and a show we might not get to see again. And since the festival has leaned toward artists that update folk traditions in recent years, they’re often making some of the most urgent music on the Fair Grounds.  

One such band is the Ukrainian DakhaBrakha, a theatrical band whose image should not be taken at face value. They refer to their genre-and culture-crossing music as “ethno-chaos,” so images of them in a pasture with sheep carry with them levels of irony more than straightforward assertions of folk identity.

But DakhaBrakha is one of the exceptions among the offerings this year. COVID and the uncertainty of international travel translates to no spotlight country this year, and most of the international bands on the lineup are based on the North American continent, so they’re accessible. Kizaba, for example, brings music from the Congo by way of Montreal. Las Cafeteras features musicians from East Los Angeles playing Son Jarocho music from Mexico.  

Even though there is no international spotlight this year, there is a Cultural Exchange Pavilion. All of the international acts will perform a set there and in most cases, a second set somewhere else on the grounds. In the past, I have found the more forgiving acoustics and relative intimacy of the space has made the sets there more rewarding. The lineup is filled out with Mardi Gras Indians, brass bands, and other Louisiana acts that provide windows into other cultures. 

As usual, the first weekend is stronger for international music since Festival International takes place in Lafayette the same weekend, and acts can play two or more shows in the area on one plane ticket. On the second weekend, most artists in the Cultural Exchange Pavilion are locals that play music from other cultures, such as Charlie Halloran’s calypso band The Tropicales, which opens the tent at 11:30 am on Friday, May 6.

Kizaba

An electronic update of Congolese music has caught on in England, and Kizaba has brought the sound to Montreal.

Friday, April 29, Festival Stage, 11:20a; Cultural Exchange Pavilion, 2p

Bombino

The Tuareg music casually referred to as desert blues can be psychedelic as hell, particularly in the hands of someone as talented as Bombino, a guitar hero for people who don’t usually care about guitar heroics..

Friday, April 29, Blues Tent, 1:35P; Cultural Exchange Pavilion, 4:45p

Les Filles de Illighadad

This female-dominated Tuareg blues band from Niger was scheduled to play Jazz Fest in 2020, but aren’t on this year’s lineup. They are, however, playing New Orleans Airlift’s Music Box Village Friday night at 8p.

DakhaBrakha

This act from Kyiv, Ukraine has roots in theater and the avant-garde as well as folk music, and it crosses culture and genre boundaries as part of its mission.

Saturday, April 30, Cultural Exchange Pavilion, 1:40p

Lakou Mizik

The Haitian group still puts traditional percussion and voices at the heart of its music, but last year’s Leave the Bones and work it has done in New Orleans with 79ers Gang and Arcade Fire show the band to be open to more contemporary sonic expressions. 

Saturday, April 30, Jazz & Heritage Stage, 1:40p; Cultural Exchange Pavilion, 4:45p

Son Rompe Pera

This Mexican band led by brothers Jesús Ángel and Alan Gama--better known as Kacho and Mongo—brings a punk aesthetic to marimba-led cumbias. 

Sunday, May 1, Jazz & Heritage Stage, 1:40p; Cultural Exchange Pavilion, 4:45p

Las Cafeteras

This Chicano band from East Los Angeles took its cues from Mexican folk music that emerged from Veracruz.

Sunday, May 1, Cultural Exchange Pavilion, 2p; Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do Stage, 4:30p

Cimafunk

The Cuban funk band has aggressively pursued a presence outside of the Caribbean and collaborated with Lupe Fiasco, The Soul Rebels', and Tank and the Bangas among others.

Friday, May 6, Jazz & Heritage Stage, 12:25p; Congo Square Stage, 4:15p

Neo-Toyko 2020

This act is not the display of tech-oriented instruments found on YouTube when you search for “Neo-Tokyo 2020.” It is a trio of Japanese musicians that met in New Orleans and share a love of funk, R&B, rock, and jazz, which they combine with Japanese influences. The trio features Takeshi Shimmer, who has played with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band; Keiko Komaki of Playing for Change; and trumpet player Satoru Ohashi.

Saturday, Cultural Exchange Pavilion, 5:40p

Updated May 4, 8:51 a.m.

The entry for Neo-Tokyo 2020 was added.