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For the second year in a row, the "Louisiana Stage" proved the place to be at WMNF's annual Tropical Heatwave fest. Trombones reigned supreme. Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Sammie "Big Sam" Williams and Bonerama delivered fierce hybrids of rock, funk, jazz, soul, and hip-hop. This New Orleans party music elated the crowd of about a 1,000 that danced and watched in awe at the distinctive, Big Easy sounds.
Tropcila Heatwave again boasted six stages in and around the historic Cuban Club in Ybor City. More than 30 bands performed. But El Pasaje Plaza, aka the "Louisiana Stage" hosted acts strictly from the musically rich Bayou State. And that was there this reporter remained happily camped from 5:30 p.m. to past midnight on Saturday.
Sammie "Big Sam" Williams started the party with his expert trombone blowing, second line dancing and charismatic emcee work. The 27-year-old former Dirty Dozen Brass Band member led a killer quintet dubbed the Funky Nation that sizzled on numbers ranging from jazz standards to old-school rap favorites like the 1994 Naughty by Nature nugget "Hip Hop Hooray." What could top that? A savage rainstorm.
People took cover wherever they could, including under a service truck. The skies cleared before long, though, and attendees were lured out of hiding by the sweet, swampland sounds of fiddle master Michael Doucet and his two-time Grammy-winning Cajun band BeauSoleil. The gorgeous rural music the French-speaking Doucet discovered first-hand in the 1960s, and has been performing with BeauSoleil since the 1970s, felt utterly soothing and spirit lifting. But what came next ranked as truly mind blowing.
Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews stole the show at Tropical Heatwave in 2007 and El Pasaje Plaza appeared packed to capacity when he and the band took the stage. Expectations were high but Andrews took the crowd even higher with what the 23-year-old trumpeter, trombonist, singer and bandleader calls "super funk rock." From a searing, Crescent City-style rendition of the classic rock staple "American Woman" to the New Orleans anthem "When the Saints Come Marchin' In," Andrews remained awesome. But the biggest thrill came when, with trumpet in hand, he led an impromptu, second line parade through the audience. Andrews remained on key and in cadence the entire time. He returned to the stage to a roar of applause and continued to play. The young man might just be the most electrifying performer on the planet.
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